Good Morning, Sweet Studiers!
Isn't it wonderful to know that we have a community of people who are committed to seeking God's will and plan for their lives through the study of God's word? What a resource! I love knowing that I have a circle of people are studying along with me.
Thank you all for your words of wisdom and insight as you study. I've learned so much from so many of you! Your faithfulness is a blessing. Keep it up!
- Pray - Invite God into your time of study.
- Read 1 Peter 3 - If you have time, go back and read 1 Peter 1-3. Remember, our whole objective is to hide these words in our hearts, to make them our own, to put them at the center of our thoughts. So, when time permits, we want to go back and meditate on them.
- Reread 1 Peter 3:13-22 - This is a continuation of the section that we read on Day 3. The theme is suffering for doing good. Take some time to meditate on this idea and its application in your personal life.
- Apply - My suggestion is that you make a list of the instructions that are provided in this section. To me, a list format is very useful for quick reviews.
- Comment - Tell us which of these instructions will likely be most difficult for you to follow. What do you already feel capable of doing?
Happy hunting for God's words of truth!
Okay, here's the list of instructions I wrote down:
ReplyDelete1. Be willing to suffer for righteousness sake
2. Do not be afraid of the threats of evil men
3. Do not even be troubled by them.
4. Sanctify the Lord in your heart.
5. Be ready to give a defense to the questions of unbelievers/be equipped to share the gospel
6. Be meek when speaking to others
7. Fear God/have reverence for Him in your actions, attitude and words
8. Rest assured with a good conscience
I would say that the instruction that I already feel the most capable of following would be the one that instructs us to fear God. My level of reverenece for Him is great and my awareness of His beauty and Holiness compared to mine apart from Him is crystal clear. However, the area I feel would be most difficult for me to follow out of these instructions actually challenges the instuction I just said was pretty easy for me to follow! It is the instruction to "not even be troubled by threats." I find it interesting that we are first instructed to not be afraid of them but then instruction is taken even a step deeper into our so-easily-worrying hearts to not even be troubled by them. Troubled to me says, worry, pondering, fearing, going through all the "what-if's." *sigh* I tend to worry and war in my mind in this area constantly. The Lord is helping me with this. I am confident of that, but it is a daily battle that I often do not win. I worry over what someone might do to us, our home, my son, my husband, my family. And I haven't even be "threatened" as this scripture first implies before instructing this. Yikes. The fear I face is nothing compared to what it must be like for missionaries in third-world countries who have had their very lives threatened if they dare to share the gospel one more time. I have wondered what my faith would look like if I were them... how worried would I be then if this is how worried I cna become now? *sigh again* I know worry is a sin and it is one that I want more then anything right now for the Lord to help me overcome. Not fun, not productive and definately NOT encouraged according to this passage and the rest of God's Word at that.
So how much do I REALLY reverence Him and His Word? Have I taken His Words to the very core of my heart and am I experiencing the freedom from their fruits in my life? I am challenged by this. Challenged to view this worry of mine as actually being irreverent of the One who commands me not to. Challenged to put my reverence for Him into practice by trusting in His soveregnty, His protection and His faithfulness in my life.