1 Peter 2:13-14

Respecting People in Authority

13 For the Lord's sake, accept all authority — the king as head of state, 14 and the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish all who do wrong and to honor those who do right. (NLT)

 

We must always remember that God is in control, not man or the world. God wants you to accept all authority because He is in charge. God even uses unbelievers to accomplish His plans. We may not always agree with those in authority over us, but we must remember God put them there to accomplish His will. You can always trust God in that He knows what He is doing since He created everything and He has the power over everything. Everything will work out according to God’s plan -- not our plans or our desires -- but His. Give God all the glory and be in obedience with His word. Remember it is not about us, it is about God.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

1 Peter 2:11-12

11 Dear brothers and sisters, you are foreigners and aliens here. So I warn you to keep away from evil desires because they fight against your very souls. 12 Be careful how you live among your unbelieving neighbors. Even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will believe and give honor to God when he comes to judge the world. (NLT)

 

The world you live in hates you because you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It fights against your very soul to derail you from serving Jesus. Be careful how you live, live in such a way that Christ is seen in you and living through you. Give God the glory whether you are seeing a blessing or you are going through a trial, give God all the praise and glory. Your life is to be lived for Jesus Christ.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

1 Peter 2:8-10

And the Scriptures also say,

"He is the stone that makes people stumble,

the rock that will make them fall."

They stumble because they do not listen to God's word or obey it, and so they meet the fate that has been planned for them.

9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God's holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 

10 "Once you were not a people;

now you are the people of God.

Once you received none of God's mercy;

now you have received his mercy." (NLT)

 

To those who do not believe Jesus He is a stumbling block to them, they will not obey God or even listen to God’s word. Yet you must continue sharing the gospel despite their ignorance to the gospel, for in doing so they will be without excuse.

But you are not like that, you are chosen, you are a priest and you have been saved to be Jesus’ own possession to glorify Him. You are a wonderful light unto this dark world to share the gospel with whoever will here and receive Jesus.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

1 Peter 2:7

Yes, he is very precious to you who believe. But for those who reject him,

"The stone that was rejected by the builders

has now become the cornerstone." (NLT)

 

Jesus is very precious to you who believe. Jesus is to be your life for He gives you purpose and meaning in your life. It is Jesus who holds you together, gives you breath and gives you peace. It is He who blesses your life, who loved you when you were unlovable and cared for you when you were deep in your sin. But because of God’s great love He sent Jesus to die for you and to be your cornerstone and your firm foundation.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

1 Peter 2:6

6 As the Scriptures express it,

"I am placing a stone in Jerusalem,

a chosen cornerstone,

and anyone who believes in him

will never be disappointed." (NLT)

 

When you focus on Jesus and not on yourself you will never be disappointed, ever. When you take your eyes off of Jesus is when disappointment comes. Disappointment comes the instant you move your eyes away from Jesus. Disappointment never comes by himself, but he brings his friends along with him. Some of his friends are despair, desire, lust, craving, selfishness -- to name just a few. God placed Jesus in your life to free you from sin and to give you an abundant life, so keep your eyes and your focus on Jesus.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

1 Peter 2:4-5

4 Come to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God's temple. He was rejected by the people, but he is precious to God who chose him.

5 And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple. What's more, you are God's holy priests, who offer the spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ. (NLT)

 

Come to Jesus, the living stone and the one precious to God. It is He who builds you into living stones holy unto Him. You now are a holy priest unto God the Father. Turn from your old ways and put on the new person in Christ. Your life is now to be lived unto the Lord Jesus. God chose you as He chose Jesus. He sees you as precious and He sees Jesus as being precious. God counts you as worthy to be His child. Now therefore live as His children and represent Jesus by being obedient to Him.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

1 Peter 2:1-3

So get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit. Don't just pretend to be good! Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing. 2 You must crave pure spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for this nourishment as a baby cries for milk, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness. (NLT)

 

God does not ask you to change your personality (because that is who He created you to be), but He wants you to change your behavior. Behavior and personality are not the same. Behavior is what you do or how you act. Being malicious or deceitful is an outward act.

Don’t pretend to be a good person but truly be a good person inwardly and outwardly. As you walk with the Spirit, desire the word of God and become obedient to Christ you will begin to be what God created you to be.

As a baby begins its life drinking milk so in the Christian life you must begin with spiritual milk,  the basics. As a child grows they soon can eat solid food and again as you grow in Christ you will be able to understand the deeper things of Christ. Therefore cry out to the Lord for understanding of the deeper things of Christ and feed on the Word of God.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ

1 Peter 1:23-25

A Call to Holy Living

23 For you have been born again. Your new life did not come from your earthly parents because the life they gave you will end in death. But this new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. 24 As the prophet says,

"People are like grass that dies away;

their beauty fades as quickly as the beauty of wildflowers.

The grass withers,

and the flowers fall away.

25 But the word of the Lord will last forever."

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you. (NLT)

 

The way of the flesh is death, but the way of the spirit is life everlasting. When you are born again you are born of the Spirit and you enter into eternal life. The flesh will die but you will live on with the Lord Jesus Christ forever. The flesh is temporal, it is here today and then dies and its sinful life is meaningless, but eternal life comes from God and it is a blessing to you and to those around you. Share it. Eternal life was meant to be shared, not held onto. Share the words of the Good News with all -- for it was meant to be given away just as Jesus gave His life away so that many will come to eternal life. Only the word of God has life, true life and a life to be enjoyed.

 

Engage the Present – Create the Future – With Jesus Christ