Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Peter 5:1-14.  Let’s go!

1 Peter 5:1-4 (NIV) 
1  To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed:
2  Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;
3  not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
4  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

On verses 1-4:  I encourage every parent, small group leader, team leader and anyone else who has the responsibility, passion or gift of shepherding others to meditate on these verses.  May they inform and transform the way you lead those in your care.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Peter 4:12-19.  Let’s go!

1 Peter 4:12-16 (NIV) 
12  Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
13  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
14  If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you…….

On verses 12-16:  It shouldn’t surprise us or seem strange to us whenever we go through painful trials.  Jesus Himself said, “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  Since suffering and trouble are part of living life on earth, you might as well suffer trouble for the right reasons, says Peter, instead of for the wrong reasons (v15).  If you have to suffer, suffer because of your faith in Jesus.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Peter 4:1-11.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-3:  What does Peter mean in verse 1 when he writes, “because whoever suffers in his body is done with sin”?  For us Christians, the moment we die physically is the moment we go to heaven and are done with sin and its ill effects.  Here Peter is saying: live that way now.  Think of your old life – the life you lived in the past before coming to Christ (v3) – as having died already.  Now you are living a new life that is controlled by Christ, not by sin, a life lived for the will of God, not for human desires (v2).  You are a new creation in Christ.  That is your identity, so live that way.  As Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Peter 3:13-22.  Let’s go!

1 Peter 3:13-15 (NIV) 
13  Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?
14  But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”
15  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.

On verses 13-15a:  Don’t misunderstand Peter in verse 13.  Peter is not naively saying that no one will want to harm you if you are eager to do good.  Peter himself witnessed the greatest doer of good in history, Jesus Christ, being repeatedly criticized and ultimately crucified by people intent on harming him. But what Peter is saying to his Christian readers is: remember that the Greatest One is on your side.  He will be there to protect you and to keep you from any ultimate harm.  So do not be afraid of those who want to harm you while you live out your faith and calling.  For even if you suffer because of it, you will be more blessed in the end.  When you remember that the Greatest One is on your side, or in Peter’s words, when you “set apart Christ as Lord”, you will not give in to fear.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Peter 3:1-12.  There are so many powerful lessons we can learn from this passage.  Let’s go!

1 Peter 3:1-2 (NIV) 
1  Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,
2  when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

On verses 1-2:  Continuing his theme of being submissive to your leaders, a theme which Peter introduced in chapter 2, Peter addresses married women and tells them to be submissive to their husbands.  What is the reason Peter gives for why married women should submit to their husbands?  For Peter it’s about evangelism, or as we say at THRIVE, living out loud: it’s about leading the husband to Jesus – “so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives when they see the purity and reverence of your lives”.    Here again we see Peter’s ongoing emphasis on how a Christian’s actions should speak well of Jesus.