Allow God to speak through the simplicity of this chapter. Peter wrote things down in a very plain way so that everyone could understand them. I also encourage you to not assume that you fall into the follower section of this chapter. Some of you are leaders to more people than you know and you can learn from this chapter in multiple ways.
Since this is the last chapter in 1 Peter, you should reflect on the book as a whole. Even if you have to read through the whole book again I suggest you do so. Just by reading the few comments posted every week I can see that God is revealing new truths to you. I love all of you and I look forward to reading the comments that you post about this chapter.
- Stephen
1 Peter 5:10,
ReplyDelete"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."
the part in this verse that stuck out to me
was "after you have suffered a little while".
so there really is no question about it.
your going to suffer because God has suffered.
your going to suffer because you chose to become a follower of Christ.
but the part of this verse that is so awesome is "He himself will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast".
and sometimes i feel like my life is falling apart underneath me.
sometimes i feel like im the only person thats going through hard times.
but i know that God will restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast.
and he will do it in his own timing.
Psalms 5:5 stuck out to me...
ReplyDelete"Gird yourselves with humility... God resisteth the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
One of the simplest commands but none of us really follow it. I know I'm proud. I try not to be but it comes out at some of the strangest times, and I know everyone else is too. We all strive for attention, to be noticed, that we forget that we're not supposed to have that attention; God is. I know I'm proud in that sometimes, I can't admit mistakes or I think someone is better than me. It's horrible, I know, but I'm working on it. I think we should all work on it; ultimately, it doesn't really matter of were noticed if were good looking or whatever, but for what we do. And even then to not be prideful about it.
Modesty, people! (:
1 Peter 5:3 (NKJV) “nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;”
ReplyDeletePeter is telling the leaders in this verse that you don’t necessarily even say that you are being a leader, but that you should just lead by example. Humility is mentioned elsewhere in the chapter and I think it applies here too. It’s more important that you be a good leader by example than having everyone know that you are a leader.
1 Peter 5:9 (NKJV) “Resist him [the devil], steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”
This verse really jumped out at me. Plain and simple it means “you are not alone.” I know that at times we really feel like we are alone and no one knows what we are going through. This is a nice verse to remind us that we’re not. And I’m going to take it even a step further… Even if there is no one in the world that knows what you’re going through, you are still never alone. God is always there with you and He understands.
As fro the chapter as a whole… I enjoyed this. Reading and trying to take each verse apart to understand it better. There were verses in this chapter that are usually over-quoted and there were verses that are usually overlooked. I noticed that I found new meaning in the over-quoted verses and that the overlooked verses seemed to jump out and impact me the most.
To end on a somewhat less serious note, my favorite verse was 1 Peter 2:15 (NKJV) “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.” It may be just me, but when I read that, I’m pretty sure it says, “God wants you to do good so you can shut up all the stupid people.” ;)
1 Peter 5:8-9
ReplyDelete"8 Be sober, be vigilant; beacuse your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."
What i got out of this is that even though you may feel alone that there is no one around who understands the Bible says your brothers all around are experiencing the temptation and persecution you are. Though the devil may be out there it says be vigilant in your faith because you know that God and your fellow brotherhood in Christ are with you. Then what is there to fear?