Seeking Pearls

As we near Christmas it is fitting for us to study this beautiful woman whose life of trauma was turned around and used mightily. A woman who others may have considered worthless, loveless, and purposeless God saw as courageous, bold, and fit to be in the lineage of His Son Jesus. Join us as we befriend Rahab, learn her story, and discover that God's plan for our lives goes beyond what we could ever imagine and even beyond what we will ever comprehend while we live on this earth.

If you have ever felt unseen, unnoticed, and unvalued (and I think you have), then Hagar is a sister in Scripture you need to befriend. Hagar too experienced the heartache of wondering if anyone really saw her. And then one day, when she was pregnant and alone, God showed up on the roadside and invited her to tell him her story. Her response after her encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ was "You are the God who sees me."

Friend, there is a God in heaven who sees you, loves you, and invites you to share your story with him as well.

In this extension of our "Do You See this Woman?" Series, we will be meeting beautiful woman from the Scriptures whose life experiences led them to feel unloved. Though they lived thousands of years ago, their stories are timeless.

Leah resonates with any woman who has felt tossed aside, neglected, worthless, and unloved. This is exactly how Leah felt...for years. Praise God that He reached into her story and showed her that He alone can complete her and give her the love her heart was yearning for.

In this final chapter of his letter, Peter challenges the Christ-follower to shepherd well the sheep that are entrusted to our care. The Chief Shepherd indeed is coming, and in the meantime our job is to care for those He loves. Also, we are given a third warning to be alert and sober-minded...this time because the enemy is real and is looking to devour us. But stand firm. You have the power within you to resist the enemy. Amidst all the suffering, for those in Christ, peace will in fact have the final word.

1 Peter 4 continues to teach us about how to live through the suffering that will inevitably come into our lives. For many around the world, this suffering is in direct relation to their commitment to Christ. For us in the western world, that time probably hasn't come; but it will. And in the meantime, there is plenty of suffering in our lives. Through this suffering we can gain beautiful intimacy with Christ, if we will draw near to Him. Peter's words can encourage us to lean into Jesus as we wait for His return.

1 Peter 3 is a challenging bit of Scripture, no doubt! But when we take God's Word line by line, word by word, it reaches deep into our hearts and teaches us, shapes us, and makes us more like Jesus. Let's dig in and tackle this tough section together.

In this challenging chunk of text we learn that while we suffer unjustly on earth, we can follow Jesus, who suffered unjustly for us. We can lean into the Shepherd of our souls who not only shows us how to suffer, but also suffers alongside us and looks upon us with eyes full of favor and love while we suffer.

Jesus is the living Stone and we also are living stones being built together into a temple. All barriers that could stand between us have been broken down through the cross of Christ...we are one body in Christ, holy, chosen, precious to Him.

In the second half of 1 Peter 1, Peter writes to the believers with instructions about how to live as aliens and foreigners in this world. Prepare your mind for action, set your hope fully on the return of the Lord Jesus, live as obedient children, and love each other deeply.

Today we begin a very exciting new series as we journey through 1 Peter. This letter was written to exiles living in what is now northern Turkey, likely fleeing persecution from Rome and also from Jerusalem. They lived in times of great danger but were filled with an even greater joy. We can learn much from this wonderful treasure of a letter, meant every bit as much for us as it was for those dear exiles two thousand years ago.