Thursday, May 21st
Peter says to cast our anxieties on God because he cares for us. Easier said than done! But even still, realize that God does not want you walking around filled with fear, anxiety, or dread. He wants to take those things from you. So try to hand them over, and find ways to walk in God’s peace.
Wednesday, May 20th
True humility, it has been said, is not thinking less of ourselves but thinking of ourselves less. It can be natural for sinful pride to creep in when we use the gifts God has given to us. We could forget our gifts come from God and come to think we’re the great ones, instead of God being the great one. Let us learn to think of ourselves less, that God may give us his grace.
Tuesday, May 19th
At first glance, this passage seems like it might not have much to say to those who are not pastors, but I think these words can be applied to everyone. No matter your work, serve those under you, over you, and around you, as if you were serving Jesus. And be grateful for the work God has given to you as this very well could be your ministry in this world.
Monday, May 18th
Peter says that if we suffer for being a Christian, then there is special blessing in that, but he also says not to suffer for doing wrong. I think sometimes there are some Christians who so want to suffer for Jesus that they go out looking for people to tell them not to talk about Jesus. They’re offensive with their faith. I think that falls into the category of suffering not for following Jesus but for doing what’s wrong. We should strive to follow Jesus in all ways, including in consideration for dealing with others.
Sunday, May 17th
Jesus says that if your hand is causing you to sin, then cut it off, for it’s better to enter heaven maimed than hell whole. While we (hopefully) don’t take this advice literally, it is nevertheless good to think about the things that are preventing us from growing in our faith, from growing in holiness, and to then cut those things out from our lives, that we may grow in faith, hope, and love.
Saturday, May 16th
All that we are, all that we do, everything, should be for God’s glory. I love compliments; I love praise. But when we are strengthened by God, when we have what we have because of God, we cannot fail to give God his due and honor God as the source of all good things.
Saturday, May 16th
All that we are, all that we do, everything, should be for God’s glory. I love compliments; I love praise. But when we are strengthened by God, when we have what we have because of God, we cannot fail to give God his due and honor God as the source of all good things.
Friday, May 15th
How would your words be spoken differently if you thought that they would be perceived as the words of God? How would your actions be different if you knew people were associating them as the actions of God? Peter writes that this is how we should speak and conduct ourselves.
Thursday, May 14th
Some people may worry that they don’t have the gifts that they see others having, and because of that, feel like they aren’t able to serve God at all. But God doesn’t look at it that way. Each believer has been given at least one spiritual gift; at least one thing that they can use to serve God. So don’t worry about what others do. You do what you do, and God will honor that.
Wednesday, May 13th
The woman I like to call my adopted mom, Patsy Goodman, has the spiritual gift of hospitality more than anyone else I know. This is such an important spiritual gift, and yet it’s one that I think is often overlooked or taken for granted. But hospitality is all about welcoming someone, helping them to feel at home, and no longer letting them be the stranger; all of these things, all of such hospitality, is at the heart of the gospel. And so let us show hospitality without complaint, and do as much as we can, in general, without complaint.
Tuesday, May 12th
Peter writes that love covers a multitude of sins. I would say Peter is very correct. Often, at the heart behind some of own conflicts with others, is the question of whether they even like us, much less love us. We should let our love be so abundant that others know our hearts and do not worry about our motives.
Monday, May 11th
Peter says we should be disciplined, as the time is drawing near, for the sake of our prayers. Our prayers? Not for the sake of others? Not for the ability to live out the gospel? Really Peter? For our prayers? I gave this some thought and concluded that we are disciplined for our prayers because prayer is the very thing that should empower all the other things we care about in our spiritual walks.
Sunday, May 10th
On this Mother’s Day, we may experience a different sort of grief, either because we aren’t able to be with our moms or because moms cannot be with their children. Or maybe we know a bit of grief because our mom has passed away, and we miss her, or it could even be because you never had any children, and so you hear all this fuss about mother’s day, and it has come to feel like a party you weren’t invited to but heard so much about. Either way, Jesus is here for us and with us in the midst of our grief, and Jesus does care.
Saturday, May 9th
One of the hardest things to do is to get to the place where we can give up our desires or our will in order to follow after the will of God. While we never enjoy it in the moment, scripture often affirms that one of the best ways to grow in the type of maturity that would lead us to this willingness to give up our will for God’s, is through suffering. Something about suffering puts us in touch with the God who suffered and helps us to grow more and more into the image of Jesus.
Friday, May 8th
Peter tells the people to be ready to give a defense for the hope that they have. Implied in this is that they will so exude hope that others will notice and want to know why they have this hope; what makes them so different? Likewise we should be so in touch with Jesus that we exude the fruits of the spirit, and then when others want to know why we have this hope, we’ll be prepared to tell them.
Thursday, May 7th
Today’s passage is a directive to slaves, which seems not to apply to us, since we’re not slaves. Adding to that, it’s a hard one because it’s not the kind of passage that feels very satisfying to us, because Peter tells slaves who are suffering that they receive God’s approval for unjust suffering. This passage is relevant to us today though because there are often ways we suffer unjustly: a bad boss, an unfair work evaluation, a teacher who doesn’t like us. In the midst of all these things we can look to Jesus, who himself suffered unjustly and understands what we’re going through.
Wednesday, May 6th
Texts like today’s are wildly popular when your candidate or party of choice is in power, but then they seem to be forgotten if your preferred party is not in power. But regardless of party affiliation, we are called to honor the authorities and to strive to do good under them.
Tuesday, May 5th
People are instinctively afraid of the dark. I see that with my children now. If you can remember such a time, when you were afraid of the dark, then you may remember the relief that comes when you’re suddenly in the light. This is what God has done for us – called us out of spiritual darkness and brought us into the marvel of his light and all that this light offers us: comfort, security, safety, joy.
Monday, May 4th
Peter writes that God has chosen the people, and by extension us, as a royal priesthood, as God’s dearly beloved. But why? To proclaim God’s mighty deeds and to do honorable deeds themselves among those who do not know God. Our relationship with God is not something that allows us to sit back and simply bask in our special status as “chosen.” Rather, we have been given a job to do, so let’s do it. Let’s worship God, tell others of his good deeds, and seek to do good ourselves.
Sunday, May 3rd
God says he is doing a new thing, when he puts rivers through the deserts. This made me think about the passage about baptism that we’re studying in Mark, as Jesus is in the wilderness, the desert, in the Jordan River, where God is doing a new thing through Jesus. We think we’d love new, but often, we like the old, even if it’s not as good as the new. As God is doing a new thing now; may we be open to embracing it.