Thoughts on I Peter

Wow! I really enjoyed reading through I Peter this week! What an amazing book of the Bible! I don't know if I've just never read through I Peter from beginning to end before, or if I was distracted last time I did, but I was blown away by how much I enjoyed this book.

There are many familiar verses in I Peter and there are some that I felt like I was reading for the first time. In order to keep this post from turning into a book, I will limit myself to one passage per chapter. It will be hard to choose!

I Peter 1:13-16  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 

Gird up the loins of your mind. This is such a vivid picture to me. In that culture they wore loose, flowing garments. If they were to go to war to fight, or get ready to run, or really get ready to do any hard work, they would gird up their loins, or pull their garments up so they would be ready for action. Here, Peter tells us to do that, not with our clothes, but with our minds. We are in a battle. We are called to be obedient children, to turn from the sinful lusts we used to indulge in, and to be holy. This is not an easy calling. It takes hard work and determination. It will not come from just floating along in life hoping for the best. We need to be intentional about our walk with God. We need to gird up our minds and get ready to work. 

I Peter 2:1-3  Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

The first verse of chapter two tells us to lay aside malice (the desire to cause harm or distress to another), guile (deceit, duplicity), hypocrisy (the false appearance of virtue), envy (wanting the blessings of others), and evil speaking (backbiting, slander, etc.). These are the things that are bad for us. They will stunt our Christian growth and are highly likely to turn others away from God in the process. The second verse tells us what to replace all that we just purged from our lives: the Word of God. This is what is good for us; this is what will help us grow in Christ. Why should we put away these things? Why should we desire the Word of God? Why should we endeavor to grow in Christ? Because we have experienced the grace of God. 

I Peter 3:10-12  For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 

I work with teenagers. Do you know what teenagers want most? They want to love life. They want to live life to the fullest. There is nothing wrong with that. I mean, really, who doesn't want to love their life? But this is where Satan jumps in and trips them up. He tells them that the key to a good life is to do whatever feels fun. To do whatever their flesh feels like doing whenever it feels like doing it. He tells them that life is all about them. But that's not what the Bible says. Peter tells us that those who want to "love life, and see good days" should run from evil and do good. You want to have a good life? Live for God, not yourself. God watches over the righteous and hears their prayers. But He is "against them that do evil." And having the Lord against you is certainly not conducive to having a good life. 

I Peter 4:8-9  And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 

Peter tells us not just to love each other but to have fervent love for each other. What does that mean? It means zealous, demonstrative, intentional love. I love my husband. I love him very, very, very much. But if I never tell him or show him that I do, what good does that do him? Very little, if any. We need to be intentional about showing our love to others. I love verse nine, "Use hospitality one to another without grudging." Unless there is somebody in your church who is unusually perceptive, it is very easy to put on a smile at church and let everybody think that your life is just dandy. Church is only a few hours a week. Anybody can keep up a facade for a few hours. This doesn't do anybody any favors. It robs you of the blessing of being loved on and robs others of the blessing of serving you. That's where hospitality comes in. Hospitality is not just having people over for dinner. It's taking time to get to really know people. It's an attitude of openness. It's an attitude of receptiveness. It's paying attention to those around us. And we are supposed to do it without grudging. Have you ever gotten stopped on your way out of church by that person that just loves to talk and talk? You're hungry. Maybe you have kids who need to get home and eat and get their naps. The last thing you want to do is chat. We've all been there. We politely nod at what the person is saying and smile or frown and make the encouraging noises we think are appropriate but we aren't really listening. But that is not being hospitable. How are we supposed to bear each other's burdens if we won't even take the time to hear them? And most people aren't just going to come up to you and lay out their burdens. It takes building relationships. It takes intentional love. It takes being open to others.

I Peter 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 

This verse wraps up all the other verses I chose. Why should we "gird the loins of our mind"? Because we have an enemy. Why should we put away evil from us and soak up the Word? Because we have an enemy. Why should we run from evil and do good? Because we have an enemy. Why should we intentionally love our fellow Christians? Because we have an enemy. And this enemy is not passive; he is actively trying to destroy us. He wants us to not be ready when he attacks. He wants our lives to be filled with malice and hypocrisy and evil speaking and void of the Word. It makes us weak. He wants us to seek our own way to find happiness. That's one of his favorite ways to destroy us. He wants us to try and fight him alone instead of helping each other through trials. It's much easier to fight someone with no backup. But we need to be ready. We need to be filled with the Word. And we need to have each other's backs.  

Those are just a few of the passages from I Peter that stood out to me this week. I've really enjoyed Esther and I Peter so far. I can't wait to start II Peter tomorrow! Will you join us? Don't feel the need to catch up! Just jump right in where we are!

Click here!

Have you read I Peter recently? If not, I highly suggest you do soon! Do you have a favorite verse from I Peter? If so, I'd love to hear it!