EXPAND TO READ: 1 PETER 3 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 7): I have failed You quite often in my marriage, Father. I have failed You, my wife, and the covenant I promised when I married. You say that I am to live with my wife in an understanding way, showing them honor as coheirs to the grace of life. I have failed so much in my marriage at being understanding towards my wife and showing her the honor she deserves as a coheir to the grace of life. Please forgive me for this, Father. Help me to be better at being understanding towards my wife, respectful towards her, and showing her honor as a coheir. Help me to be more like You have been towards me instead of how I have been towards her, Father. You are the prime example of how to treat the other person in a relationship as You always treat me with understanding, respect, and honor. Help me to be better at knowing, embracing, and following Your example of how someone is to be in a relationship in this life, Father.
PROMISE (verse 17): Your promise to us is that it is better for us to suffer for doing good, if it is in Your will for us, than for doing evil. I have suffered a LOT for my evil, selfish, fleshly ways in this life, Father. I now understand that all of that suffering was self-inflicted for the most-part and not in Your will for my life. If I had been doing good instead of evil through all of that, then my suffering likely would have been far less, although also likely to not be non-existent. I see this verse as a promise because You are promising us that we will suffer at times, even if we are abiding by Your will for our lives by doing good. We aren’t promised a perfectly harmless life without suffering if we 100% abide by Your will for our lives, because suffering is sometimes a necessity to produce greater fruits for Your kingdom. If I never went through certain things in my life, would I really be where I’m at now spiritually? Probably not, because that suffering drove me deeper into relationship with You. It drove me down a path of experiences that I’m now able to use for Your glory and Your kingdom. Thank You for the trials of my life, Father, even though most of them were likely self-inflicted. Thank You for the lessons learned from the promise of a life that is not always going to be easy.
ATTITUDE (verses 8-9): As I read these two verses, many memories come to mind of things I could have and should have done far better for Your kingdom. I have failed at times to live out my faith in a compassionate and humble manner. I have failed at times to not pay back evil for evil or insult for insult. I have failed to bless others sometimes when I felt the Spirit moving in me to do so. You say in this verse that we are called for this so that we may inherit our own blessings from You. Help me to be better at walking in the attitudes of compassion, humility, and blessings, Father. Help me to be better at embracing the Holy Spirits movement inside of me, so that I actually act on what I am feeling convicted to do. Help me to be better at living in the way I was called to live, so that I can bless others more through the blessings that I receive from You.
COMMAND (verses 14-16): There are several commands in this chapter, but I find the command in these verses to resonate with me the most right now. You tell us that we are blessed, so we should never fear what the unbelievers fear and we should not be disturbed by them either. You tell us that we should honor the Messiah as Lord of our heart. You tell us to always be ready to give a defense of our faith, but to do so with gentleness and respect while keeping our conscience clear. Help me to live in this command better, Father. Help me to embrace this command fully, so that I am not fearful of what may come, rather I am proud of what and Who is. Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I need to ensure that I represent Him well in this life, as You have commanded me to do so here. I also need to be able to do so confidently, regardless of the situation I’m put in. Help me to be better at living out my faith in this way, Father—with the confidence to speak to others with gentleness, respect, and always maintaining a clear conscience.
EXAMPLE (verses 10-12): This is such a great example to learn from. You say that the one who wants to love life and to see good days, must keep his tongue from evil, lips from speaking deceit, and must turn away from evil by doing what is good. You say that we are to seek peace and pursue it, because Your eyes are always on the righteous and Your ears will be open to our requests, but that Your face will turn against those who do what is evil. Help me to be better at living in this example, Father. Help me to be better at doing what is good, at loving life, at seeking/pursuing peace, so that when You look at me You will be pleased and so that my requests will be heard by You.
*DAILY NOTE: Peter definitely gave some amazing Spiritual insight into relationships and our daily walk in this life. I felt convicted by the husband statements, but that’s a good thing because I am still learning how to be a Godly husband to my wife. Thank You for opening my eyes and heart more each and every day of this relationship, Father. Thank You for using Peter’s writing as a vessel to speak directly to my heart even more today than yesterday. Thank You for pursuing me daily and for helping me to do what is good in Your eyes and to do less of the evil things that my flesh may desire. Today’s conversation is something that I need to reflect on more for sure, but I am grateful for what You have revealed to me today, even though some of it was tough to hear. Thank You for the tough lessons that I often need, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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