1 Peter 1-2

I began to read this book on a whim in January because I was in between Beth Moore Bible studies. I got up, read the Oswald Chambers selection of the day and then read a portion of 1 Peter.

1 Peter 1:3-9
 ³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, ⁵who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

• Being joyous despite a period of grief and trials
• "No matter what changes God has wrought in you, never rely upon them, build only on a person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives." -OC
• The spirit of grief and anxiousness is not of the Lord [look up verse]
• "Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Christ is revealed" v. 13

1 Peter 2:10-11, 16
¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
 ¹¹Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
¹⁶Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.

• Living as one in Christ means we live differently from those in the world. 

  January 7, 2010

Last night I discovered peace and a general feeling of gladness and hopefulness. Praise God for endorphins from exercising, good friends and His blessed Holy Spirit!

Something I learned about myself that might later contribute to the good work which will be completed - I need to be busy. I get bored easily and I need changes of scenery. I shouldn't feel bad about not wanting to stay home all day in my PJs. It's okay to want to keep my mind occupied but it's not okay to run myself into the ground by squandering my time. Maybe in this year of my 20's I will find the happy medium. Amazing how one can find out more about themselves being 23, almost 24!


Quotes from OC:

• "Friendship is rare on earth."
• "When once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic." (This is my goal!)

1 Peter 2:5
⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

• we give sacrifices of spirit
• What is our spirit? uneasiness, happiness, pain, gladness, suffering

• we give them through Jesus
• our relationship with Him is essential!

• He called us out of darkness into his wonderful light! (v. 9)
• So why do we act like we live in the dark?

"And the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame" v. 6; Isa. 28:16

• Why should we be ashamed of our humanness? God created us - he fashioned every side of us!

[And then I found in my Bible that Isaiah 28:16 was cross-referenced so I went to see why.]

Isaiah 28:16-17
 ¹⁶ So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
       "See, I lay a stone in Zion,
       a tested stone,
       a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
       the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
 ¹⁷ I will make justice the measuring line
       and righteousness the plumb line;
       hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
       and water will overflow your hiding place.

 And of course after reading that I had to find out what the "plumb line" was.. it is the measuring line, the exact line.

1 Peter 2:11
 ¹¹Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.

• Abstain from sinful desires
• Be consistent even though people think you're doing wrong
• God's will - by doing good we silence ignorant talk of foolish men [reference?]
• God tells us to live according to the law of the land - submitting to authorities without forsaking our consciences.
• Peter continually uses references from the OT [Old Testament] to back up what he's saying. He also reminds us of Jesus' character and there is a focus on His divinity and purpose here on earth.