Thoughts from 1 Peter

When was the last time you read through the book of 1Peter?  This morning I spent close to an hour reading and meditating upon the words of Peter, which were inspired by the Lord and I was reminded of how much the Lord warned His people that we would be persecuted if we live righteous lives.

Which made me think about whether or not, we as followers of Jesus, really do live righteous lives.  What does our week really look like between Sundays when we are seen by our friends at church.  Are they really holy?  Do we really have expectant faith and do we rejoice that our salvation was bought with the imperishable blood of Jesus Christ, which is more valuable than pure gold?

I Peter 1:24 - 25 says,

"“ All flesh is as grass,
      And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
      The grass withers,
      And its flower falls away,
       25 But the word of the LORD endures forever.”

^{Did you see that?  The Word of the LORD endures forever!!!    And we can all rest securely in that.  But it gets even better.  Read this... 1 Peter 2:7-8}

7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,

      “ The stone which the builders rejected
      Has become the chief cornerstone,”
 8 and

      “ A stone of stumbling
      And a rock of offense.

Have you ever wondered why Christians all over the world can enduring suffering for the name of Jesus?  I think the answer is because to those of us who believe JESUS is PRECIOUS.  But to those who don't believe or who don't care to know Him, Jesus is an offense.

So we see that not only the Word of God will endure forever, but to those who believe in Jesus, we know He is precious.

And isn't that exactly what we hear all the time from those who are suffering severe persecution for His name all of the time.  It is and my prayer today is that you and I would begin to internalize and meditate upon the value of God's living and imperishable word and that we would know how PRECIOUS JESUS is.

We will end this devotion with this for you to meditate upon: 1 Peter 2:21-25

21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
       22 “ Who committed no sin,
      Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer^[i] of your souls.