Good morning, today is Saturday, May 30, 2020. My name is Keith and welcome to the Worship Daily from Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.

Well, here we are, on our last Worship Daily for the summer. Thank you to those who have taken this journey with me. It has been a pleasure reading Scripture and reflecting for a few short moments in the mornings

Today we will close out the Easter season before we worship together on Sunday by reading the last chapter in 2 Peter. I believe the NIV does a great job making Peter’s words clear enough to us, so I will simply read them today and let them speak for themselves. Remember, Peter is writing to a faith community and wants to leave them with his last words to hold fast to his witness of Jesus and to reject the false teachers. Peter’s concern is that we would be adding to our faith, the faith that is a gift from God, so that we can better participate in God’s very nature of love. We can read this letter and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through it as well.

2 Peter 3

Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Good morning, today is Friday, May 29, 2020. My name is Keith and welcome to the Worship Daily from Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.

I just want to remind you, today and tomorrow will be the final additions to the Worship Daily for the next couple months. We are finishing our Easter season this Sunday and with the end of this season we bring to a close the major movements in the church calendar that we have been observing all year. Think back, we started with the season of preparing for the birth of Jesus during Advent last year in December and we have moved all the way through the Gospels and the story of Jesus to his ascension and the giving of the Holy Spirit. As we look toward Pentecost Sunday this coming Sunday, we are reminded of our place in this grand story and that we now live with the empowering of the Holy Spirit and the Spirits guiding and helping us to live the teachings of Jesus. I hope observing the calendar as a devotional tool has been helpful for you.

Yesterday we noted that Peter is rejecting the false teachers and their corrupt lifestyles in this final letter before he dies. 

Peter objected to the claim that he and the other apostles just made up the resurrection and future return of Jesus in chapter 1. Now, Peter addresses the the false teachers when they say there will not be a final reckoning of all things. These false teachers were ignoring Jesus’ teachings on money and sex and were hiding behind their false idea that there would be no judgement from God. So Peter reminds the church that God will meet rebellion with His justice.

So, Peter gives three examples from the Scriptures about how God brought divine justice to situations: 1) the sin of the angels, the flood in Noah’s day, and the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah. But, then Peter reminds the people about how God was always faithful to His people. So, the story of Lot being saved from the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah, as sad of a story as it is, provides us an example of how God will bring divine judgement, but will save those who are His.

These false teachers are distorting the teachings from Paul that we are free in Christ. Peter turns the tables and says that these false teachers are actually slaves to their flesh and to sin. Because they reject the teachings of Jesus with their corrupt lives, they are not free at all.

2 Peter 2:1-10, 17-22

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.

These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.”

Good morning, today is Thursday, May 28, 2020. My name is Keith and welcome to the Worship Daily from Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.

2 Peter 1:12-21

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Peter is acknowledging that he is most likely entering the last days of his life. And as his life comes to a close, he challenges the churches to whom he is writing that to follow Jesus means to never stop growing. Remember Peter’s challenge we read yesterday to add to your faith all these different things. Peter is referring to growth in knowledge but also growth in how you live your life and by what criteria you make decisions and do what you do. Remember that big list of character traits that Peter referenced in the verses just above that we looked at yesterday— add to you faith goodness, godliness, knowledge, affection for family, endurance, self- control, and love. Peter’s challenge is that to actually participate in that divine nature that he talked about, requires that the one following Jesus take on a life long pursuit of growing in these other attributes.

Peter also mentions and spends most of the rest of the book referencing a number of false teachers who were corrupting the churches. These false teachers were saying things like the apostles were lying about Jesus and his resurrection. They also were refuting the apostles’ teaching that Jesus is more than a man, he is actually God and that Jesus is coming back one day. These truths are at the very heart at what it means to be a Christian and to grow to be like Christ. So, Peter recounts some of his memories and reminds the people that Jesus is the fulfillment of every promise we find in the prophetic Scriptures. Remember, Peter is pointing out how his Bible, what we call the Old Testament, has been pointing to Jesus all along and it is in Jesus that they find their fulfillment. In other words, the Scriptures point to Jesus and it is in and through Jesus that God has spoken to us.

So, as far as an encouragement for you to go in to your day with, know that these teachings that we hold to and live in — the resurrection of Jesus, the ascension, his coming again, his divinity — these are the same teachings the apostles gave. Jesus, our great hope, is who the Bible gives testimony too. And it is in Jesus that all the promises of Scripture are being fulfilled. Maybe spend some time thinking about the promises from Scripture that have kept you going or have maybe changed your entire outlook on life— it is in Jesus that these promises are kept. 

Good morning, today is Wednesday, May 27, 2020. My name is Keith and welcome to the Worship Daily from Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.

2 Peter 1:1-11

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

A couple of phrases Peter uses stand out to me. The first is that Peter opens up his letter about the faith by calling this faith precious and received through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I just think about those things in life that are most precious to me… But right here Peter speaks about a reality that I think all of us with faith can understand and relate to in some way. He calls our faith precious. Something that is so foundational for each of our lives.  I think perhaps what is most interesting about how Peter talks about faith is that you get this sense that his faith is something given to him. And, for Peter, faith is not just something that we do, not just a verb, but it is something we possess.

And Peter encourages us to add to our faith and thereby participate more in the “divine nature,” as Peter calls it. So we can surely relate to Peter’s idea that our faith is a precious gift and something integral to our lives, but this idea of faith producing a godly live that is participating in a diving nature may be a little more foreign to you. But, it is for this reason that it is beneficial to add goodness, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, and love to our faith.

So, I encourage you today to maybe go back if you have some time and read through 2 Peter chapter 1. Look for how Peter is making a startling claim that a life of living in the grace and peace that we possess because of Jesus is participating in the divine nature. Our faith enables us to intersect with the very heart of God — his very own glory and goodness.

Good morning, today is Friday, May 22, 2020. My name is Keith and welcome to the Worship Daily from Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.

As we head into the weekend I want to help you think toward this coming Sunday. Yesterday, Thursday, was what has historically been called Ascension Day. But we, like many churches now, will celebrate this day on Ascension Sunday, this coming Sunday. The Ascension is a key piece of what we believe as a church and has a large impact on some of the underpinnings of our theology. I know most of us probably do not ever really think of the Ascension, and probably couldn’t really define it well if we had to right now. But, that is why we make use of some of these historic devotional tools, like a 50 day Eastertide season!

We are going to talk much more about this wonderful day on Sunday, but for today I wanted to get your minds heading in that direction by reading the account of Jesus’s ascension from Acts 1 and then playing an audio clip of Malcolm Guite reading a Sonnet he wrote for Ascension Day. As most of you know by now, Malcolm Guite’s poems have been very helpful for me devotionally, and it sounds like they have been impactful for many of you as well. So, this poem is taken from his book Sounding the Seasons.

Acts 1:6-11

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Malcom Guite says of this day, (original quote and Sonnet found here: https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/blog/)

In the mystery of the Ascension we reflect on the way in which, one sense Christ ‘leaves’ us and is taken away into Heaven, but in another sense he is given to us and to the world in a new and more universal way. He is no longer located only in one physical space to the exclusion of all others. He is in the Heaven which is at the heart of all things now and is universally accessible to all who call upon Him. And since His humanity is taken into Heaven, our humanity belongs there too, and is in a sense already there with him.”For you have died”, says St. Paul, “and your life is hidden with Christ in God”. In the Ascension Christ’s glory is at once revealed and concealed, and so is ours.  The sonnet form seemed to me one way to begin to tease these things out.

Ascension

We saw his light break through the cloud of glory
Whilst we were rooted still in time and place
As earth became a part of Heaven’s story
And heaven opened to his human face.
We saw him go and yet we were not parted
He took us with him to the heart of things
The heart that broke for all the broken-hearted
Is whole and Heaven-centred now, and sings,
Sings in the strength that rises out of weakness,
Sings through the clouds that veil him from our sight,
Whilst we our selves become his clouds of witness
And sing the waning darkness into light,
His light in us, and ours in him concealed,
Which all creation waits to see revealed .

Find this Sonnet and Malcolm Guite’s other work here: https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2020/05/20/a-sonnet-for-ascension-day-9/

Good morning, today is Thursday, May 21, 2020. My name is Keith and welcome to the Worship Daily from Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.

Well, we have finished reading the book of First Peter together, and, before we move to Second Peter next week, I wanted to sort of move back out to a big picture view of First and Second Peter both. Dr. Sebastian Kim actually has given a very short introduction to these two books. This is some of what he has to say.

These epistles were read primarily by churches in the providences in Asia Minor

The first book is about Christ as the firm foundation, the living stone rejected by the Jews, but chosen by God and precious to Him. It also encourages us to be like that living stone — to be a holy priesthood. The big idea is that our faith is based on Christ as the living stone. Christ provides us a solid rock on which to build our lives.

It is also encouraging us to build up our identity as a chosen people, royal priesthood, and a holy nation. And I actually think Peter is doing something very subtle in how he communicates this. Peter uses all sorts of images and symbols from the Jewish tradition to help us understand that we, whether we are Jew or Gentile, are actually those who will cary this story forward. It is in Christ that all of Israel’s story finds its climax and meaning, and it is in our following him that we continue that same story that God has been writing since creation.

Third, it gives us a vision for living for others and contributing to our neighbor’s and society’s good. There has been so much of this sprinkled throughout the first book, but especially toward the end when Peter challenges the reader to live with a dramatic type of love and humbleness aimed at our neighbor. To prefer others is at the heart of what it means to have new life!

So, the books of First and Second Peter encourages us to build our lives on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, cultivate an identity of the people of Jesus, and shows us to be the people of Jesus means living for others — giving our lives for others just like Jesus did for us.

As far as this being devotional, I would like to actually go back and read the beatitudes that Jesus gave as the introduction to his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. Remember, Peter is filtering everything he has learned from his Bible, our Old Testament, through these teachings of Jesus in Peter’s instructions to us in his own letters. So, just like everything Jesus says, these words find new life each time we re-read them and re-think about them through a new leans.

Matthew 5:1-12

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 

Good morning, today is Wednesday, May 20, 2020. My name is Keith and I am one of the pastors at Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.

Today we are going to read the last chapter of 1 Peter, 1 Peter 5:1-14.

1 Peter 5:1-14

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Just two things in this passage that I think are worth pointing out. First, notice that Peter, while speaking to the elders and the younger in the church reminds them that to cloth ourselves in humility and preference toward each other is actually one way that we remind ourselves that Jesus opposes the proud and favors the humble. When you really sit and think on this a while, this is a startling application and a challenging warning. I think it would be prudent to spend a few minutes today considering how the Holy Spirit might be inviting you in to deeper humility. Ask yourself how well you prefer others. Ask yourself how far is too far before you become uncomfortable not getting “your way.” Then ask the Holy Spirit to remove the pride in your life and lead you into better humbleness. Remember, Philippians tells us that Jesus himself humbled himself to the cross. And humbling ourselves to prefer others, regardless of your status in the faith community, is how we identify with Jesus.

Second and finally, notice how Peter continues to use rich metaphors loaded with meaning from his Bible, what we would call the Old Testament. First, Peter reminds us that our enemy is a spiritual reality called the Devil that walks like a lion trying to devour you. This is a startling image and meant to startle us into understanding the seriousness of the threat. He also calls Rome, the place he is writing from, Babylon. This is another image from his Bible, our Old Testament, that is loaded with meaning. We know that we face a spiritual enemy who is behind the structures and systems built by the world that ultimately maim, cripple, and ultimately destroy those who are under them. 

And now we are left asking ourselves, how do we live well in the Babylon we currently live in? How do we resist the Devil, the spiritual reality behind the world’s systems, who seeks to devour us? Well, Peter’s whole first book is the answer. Walk in love. Walk in humbleness. Do these things, even when under persecution, because this is the way of Jesus and the new life that Jesus is offering us. A life where peace comes to the sojourners and strangers, this new kingdom of priests, who live in Babylon but have an allegiance to a kingdom where love and humbleness become our new way of life— just like Jesus.

So, like before, I’ll finish by reading some of Peter’s final words to you again: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

Good morning, today is Tuesday, May 19, 2020. My name is Keith and I am one of the pastors at Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.

So, we are nearing the end of 1 Peter. Today we will read the end of chapter 4. Peter is closing his argument that those who experience suffering actually participate in the actual way of Jesus in that way because Jesus experienced suffering. And, ultimately, we have a great hope that our suffering will be vindicated in our new lives in Christ because we know even death itself did not hold victory over Jesus. His resurrection is a symbol of hope for us that we will also gain victory over suffering and death itself.

Peter, echoing the teachings from Jesus in Matthew 5:11-12 from the Sermon on the Mount reminds us that we should find some sort of joy when we are persecuted because of Jesus. Remember, Jesus said, ““Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)

Peter is reminding us that God’s people have always been, and still are, a misunderstood minority, living under the rule of a different King. And persecution offers a chance to show others the generous love of Jesus. So, we can say, there is hope in the midst of suffering.

1 Peter 4:12-19

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And,

“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Good morning, today is Friday, May 15, 2020. My name is Keith and I am one of the pastors at Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.

This morning hear this from 1 Peter 4:1-11. If you haven’t listened to yesterday’s reading, I encourage you to listen to that first because this last part of chapter 3 and first part of chapter 4 actually go together to make one big point that we are being saved from our suffering and in our suffering by comforting more and more to the image of Christ. 

We need to stop for a second and acknowledge that we are sojourners and strangers in a broken world. But as those born of this world, we actually play a part in the brokenness because we are fundamentally broken people. But, Jesus has come to make us whole again. And, through his suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension, we are actually being invited into a new way of life, a new life altogether! So, we are now priests in this world. And as priests, our values and ways of seeing the world come at odds with the broken philosophies and methods we are actually still surrounded by. So as priests we are sojourners and strangers who suffer.

1 Peter 4:1-11

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Our suffering gives us a unique opportunity to shed desires that are not in line with God’s wisdom and gives us an opportunity to align ourselves with the will of God. Peter’s line, “they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God” reminds me, in a way, of Jesus’ prayer when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane that God would let the cup of suffering pass from him, but ultimately that, “not my will, by thy will be done.”

I also hear echos of Jesus’ encouragement to persevere in our faith in him. Not to allow suffering to throw us off course. Those who have come before us and have placed their faith in a coming Messiah were vindicated when Jesus came. And it was Jesus’ death that actually led to their vindication. And we stand in that same line of those through all history, Jew and Gentile, who have placed our faith and trust in Jesus. And we also will be vindicated.

Peter then ends with a note about what is to come. He says, “The end… is near. So be alert and sober minded so that you my pray.” Again, I hear so many echoes of what Jesus was saying in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus told his disciples to watch and pray because the time was coming when the evil one would come and Jesus would suffer.

And finally, Peter’s end is the same message he has been pushing this whole book, above everything and even in your suffering, love each other.

Good morning, today is Thursday, May 14, 2020. My name is Keith and I am one of the pastors at Green Acres Baptist Church in Athens, GA.

We are continuing on in 1 Peter. The section we will read today and 4:11 that we will read later actually make up one big thought that Peter is trying to explain to the churches he is writing to. Like we noticed in the first couple chapters, Peter is using all of this Old Testament language to help the predominately gentile churches understand that they claim the same promises God originally gave Israel. These gentile followers of Jesus, and us today as well, actually need to understand Israel’s story with God as our story with God. We, this new multi-ethnic family of believers, are a royal priesthood.

Now, in chapters 3 and 4, Peter is more directly addressing the suffering and persecution they are facing. I’m going to back up and re-read a couple verses and then continue, 1 Peter 3:10-22. Notice Peter’s encouragement to the churches and to us today that suffering has meaning because it is one way in which we are united with the Jesus we follow. His suffering gives us meaning and hope even in our own suffering. Further, our baptism as a sign of the hope we now have in Jesus works as a reminder that we have passed through the chaotic waters, just like Israel, and into the new life that Jesus is calling us into.

I know that’s a lot to try and comprehend in one sitting! I say it simply to encourage you to, as you listen to Peter’s words, see how Peter is mapping on our experiences to those of Jesus. Because of Jesus’ resurrection after his suffering, and his offer to rise to new life with him, we are being vindicated of our suffering. In this way, our salvation is a process of being saved from our suffering through our union with Jesus. Our baptism is a sign, a sacred symbol, showing us that we are joined to Jesus and reminding us of the new life of victory over sin, death, and the devil that we have.

1 Peter 3:10-22

For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.