1 Peter 3:8-12

1 Peter 3:8-12
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 "You are God's chosen ones, and he will bless you."
  This line is stuck in the midst of this passage, and it's a crucial reminder for us -- so often, our minds and lives get busy with the stuff of everyday life, and we get overwhelmed trying to figure out how we're going to manage it.  We're exhausted, and in those rare moments when it feels like we're able to keep everything up in the air, all we can do is worry about what else might be coming.  Life can be overwhelming, so it's crucial to slow down and remember that God loves you, and that you are enough, and that God will keep all the promises he has made to you.
  So let us strive to live simply, to stop trying to compete with one another and trample each other to get first place in some mythical rat race.  May we be content with the blessings we have, and may we rest in the endless and all-consuming love of God.

1 Peter 3:1-7

1 Peter 3:1-7
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  The Bible is filled with advice for wives and husbands.  The men who have been charged with leading the earthly church for the last few hundred years haven't always done a great job of reading all of it -- they have tended to stop when they got to the end of the part about the duty of the wives, ignoring their own call.  Wives are called to serve their husbands just as husbands are called to serve their wives.  In selflessly serving one another, the two are united in their effort to faithfully serve and honor Christ in all they do.
  So what to do if they are on differing levels of faith?
  Live a life that so thoroughly honors God that the beauty of the life-seeking-faithfulness will attract the other.  I don't know how many people have been nagged or pestered into the Kingdom, but many more have been won over by selfless service and steadfast dedication.  When you are partnered with someone who is uncertain, live an honest life that strives to proclaim Christ's selfless love in word and deed, trusting the Holy Spirit to bridge the gap.
  Cover these things in prayer.  We do the best we can, and in so doing we point to Christ, and the power of his outstanding love.

1 Peter 2:18-25

1 Peter 2:18-25
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 At the end of a baseball game, we can all look at the scoreboard and see who has won.  Lately, in the case of the Cincinnati Reds, it has become fairly predictable to know what that scoreboard will look like.
  In the world, we're programmed from birth to look at newspapers and magazines to see who is winning.  We're taught that people with fame, money and worldly power have more status, and thus, they are winning.
  In Scripture, the scoreboard looks different.  God calls us to serve selflessly, to love all, even out enemies.  We don't have to worry about the score, because the rules are different -- we are judged based on what Christ has done for us, not on what we achieve on our own.  It's hard for us to understand how to play by these rules, but it's a vital step, because when we let go of the anxiety that comes with worrying about how we are viewed by the world, we are free to bask in God's love and share that love with others without concern about how others might view our actions.  Our only judge is the same God who has come as Savior, and so we need not worry about the score.  It has been settled.  We have been set free to live for the glory of God!

1 Peter 2:11-17

1 Peter 2:11-17
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  There's a great book by theologians Stan Hauerwas & Will Willimon called Resident Aliens.  The gist of it is that this place is not our home -- we have a true home in God that our souls long for.  We were made for union with God, and being separated from him makes us foreigners in a foreign land.
  So how do we live as strangers in a strange land?
  We serve and honor and love the people around us, and we obey the rules of the land.  We act as good citizens, returning evil with good, always loving the other.  We demonstrate how God is at work in our lives, and in so doing we invite others to come and see that the Lord is good.  To do so, we have to engage with the community around us, and this is risky -- they could reject us, or they could hurt us, but we are called to serve selflessly, to risk all for the kingdom. This is hard, and I'm probably the last person to ask about risking things, but Scripture guides me forward, calling me deeper into the faithful life, to let go of all the idols I'm holding on to and all the fears that hold me back.
  We are free, as Peter says.  Free not for the sake of being free, but free to love and serve and give thanks to the One who has freed us from sin!!

It should be easier, right?

What does my heart truly want?
  To be closer to God than my next breath, to trust his steady and faithful presence, to search for his coming with anticipation, to be guided by his knowing Spirit each and every day.

  I know this to be true, and yet somehow I manage to insulate myself from the presence of God -- not knowingly, not willfully, but slowly, steadily, without intention or effort, I drift from the will and closeness of God, preferring easier things.  I busy myself with tasks and chores, many of them important, and I always manage to leave off the most important thing.  The small crack that exists on one day is widened by lack of effort, and it soon turns into a void, and I stare into the chasm and wonder how it arrived and if there is any hope for filling it.  Over the years, my heart has grown calloused and indifferent, and I wonder what tomorrow holds.

  While some of the parables in the Bible leave me fearful, wondering if it is too late, others give me joyous hope -- like the prodigal feeding himself in the trough, like the coin lost in the woman's house, I believe in a God who searches for the lost.  I know that I am lost, because I do not recognize the surroundings in which I live -- they are familiar, and yet they are not right, because the anxiety in my soul tells me that this is not the life to which God has intended me.  There are pieces that are correct, but I have assembled them wrongly, believing other things to be more important.  I believe God seeks my heart, calling to me in the deep, blowing the Spirit across the smoldering embers of the faith I have neglected, stirring something to life.

  The journey will not be easy, and the temptation to turn back, to choose an easier way, is always present.  I know not where the road leads, and I can scarcely make out the next step in the murkiness of modern life, but I believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and as that light has shined in the darkness for ages past, I believe it still shines today for those of us who long for direction on the path that leads to life.

1 Peter 2:4-10

1 Peter 2:4-10
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Imagine you're a mason working on a building.  You have an eye for the right stone, knowing exactly what you need, and so you search and search in the hopes of finding the right stones to construct the building.  It's hard work, and each stone requires individual work, chiseling and polishing until it is just right.  Then on to the next one.
  Well, now picture God working with us, living stones.  We squirm and resist God's efforts to form and mold us.  We hesitate when God tries to place us where we need to be, and just when it feels like God is placing the next row, we jump out of the wall and God starts all over again.
  God is patient and kind, and over the course of your life, God is molding and forming and shaping us into part of something huge, something grand and beautiful and glorious.  We don't want to miss it!!!  We have been chosen, and we are special and holy because of who chose us and what he has chosen us for, not because of anything unique to us -- but God needs to work on us, and we need to cooperate.  God drew us from darkness into light, from no identity to a Godly identity, and rather than squabble about who is most important, let us fix our eyes on Christ, the model for each and every living stone, and allow God to shape and form our wayward hearts so that we might resemble him more closely, live as he did, filled with selfless love.

1 Peter 2:1-3

1 Peter 2:1-3
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  I find it humorous how simple and straightforward the Bible can be at times.  We often like to pretend it's this big, complicated book that is so obscure as to make following it complicated.  While there are often complicated parts, sometimes it spells things out pretty clearly.  (I believe is was C.S. Lewis who said "It's not the parts of the Bible I don't understand that worry me, it's the parts I do understand that worry me.")
  Not only should we stop being jealous, hateful and insincere, but we should seek good things with the same excitement and eagerness that babies seek food.  We have tasted and seen how good God is -- we should be so hungry for continued nurture and sustenance from God that we will let nothing stand in our way.  Believe me, everyone within a city block will know when a baby is hungry, because that baby cares about being fed.  Do we approach the Word of God with the same passion?  Do we have the same hunger?  Or have we grown indifferent, accustomed to its nearness, but allowing its wisdom to grow stale in our consumption of it?
  If so, it's best to start small, to take some small bites and let them soak in, appreciating Scripture for what it reveals about the God who stands behind it.  Let us wonder for a time at how deep the Father's love is for us, and may that lead us into a lifetime of hunger for knowledge and experience of God's goodness.

Peter 1:22-25

Peter 1:22-25
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Often, when we're kind to others it is because they were first kind to us, or because they can help us in some way, or perhaps because they are like us.  Our reasons for kindness are often muddied.
  Here, we are called to love one another sincerely because of the love God has shown for us.  We who have been richly loved are called to extend the same love to others.  Not in hopes of future gain, but simply because that's how we should behave in response to the great love by which God loves us.  God loves us enough to send his son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins, to accept our punishment while sharing with us his great reward.  No greater love than this is possible, and this selfless, sacrificial love is the type we should strive for when we think about how to treat those around us.  We should not consider ourselves, but rather the needs of others, and love with all of our hearts, and to keep on doing this, even beyond the point of exhaustion.

1 Peter 1:17-21

1 Peter 1:17-21
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  We weren't saved by our wealth, or because we came up with some bright ideas.  We weren't chosen in a beauty contest -- God saved us by his grace and love alone, and he did so when we were strangers, when we were enemies of God through our sin.  We were lost, and God came looking for us.  We tend to forget this fact, believing instead that we are just a little bit bad and need some help across the finish line.  No, we have lost the map and need a Rescuer, and in Jesus Christ we have exactly that.
  Christ came not just to teach us about God, but to lead us to life-transforming faith.  He didn't just want to capture our minds -- he came to capture our hearts as well.
  So when we set aside time, no matter how big or small, and sit before the Lord, we are making a statement about what matters, about how we intend to make God a priority, about molding our lives to follow Christ more closely, honoring God for all that God has done for us.

1 Peter 1:13-16

1 Peter 1:13-16
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 Discipline is tough.
  I just finished reading Living with a Seal, a story about a man who hired a Navy Seal to come live with him for a month and help him train.  The Seal's discipline was intense -- he led the author into more physical activity in a month than most of us get in a year.  They ran 9 to 10 miles everyday.  In New York.  In December.  There was a day that included 1,000 pushups. It didn't matter how badly they felt -- they stayed committed, because of the Seal's drive.  Turns out the Seal hates to run -- but he does it anyway.
  What are you committed to?  If you're committed to fitness, you'll likely give up some free time to work out.  If you're committed to a sports team, I'm willing to bet you would sacrifice a lot to make sure you never miss a game.  For the biggest relationships in your life, you probably give up time to strengthen them.
  What about faith?  Are you disciplined enough to make the sacrifices necessary to build and sustain your relationship with God?  What do you give up to make sure you fit in time with the Lord?  Does your sense of gratitude for what God has done keep you focused on serving God?
  It's easy to move toward indifference toward God.  We can't see God, and he often isn't making himself obvious.  Other things seem more pressing, and if we're not disciplined, that relationship can slide.  Avoid letting your desires drive you -- be motivated by a deep love and gratitude for all that God has done.

1 Peter 1:8-12

1 Peter 1:8-12
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  What brings you happiness and joy?  I was watching the kids chase bubbles last night, and it was astounding to see the joy that bubbles brought them.  They laughed and giggled until they couldn't stand up anymore.  I couldn't help but wonder how many conflicts could be solved by watching kids chase bubbles.
  Does salvation bring us this kind of joy?  Are you glad and happy that God reached down from heaven so that you could spend eternity with him, so that your sins might be forgiven and you would have redemption and hope in the person of Jesus Christ?  Does that kind of joy guide your every passing day?
  To teach us about this salvation, prophets were writing thousands of years ago -- not for their audience, Peter tells us, but for you.  God has been at work for centuries so that you might see his hand in history, so that you might read and understand the fullness of the love of God.  God loves you and would move heaven and earth to bring you into his eternal kingdom.
  May that thought bring you joy.

1 Peter 1:3-7

1 Peter 1:3-7
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Just take a moment and read that over again, and see if it doesn't bring a smile to your face and a joy to the depths of your heart.  God has given you new life and an eternal hope, and there is something stored up for you in heaven, and nothing can damage this gift.  It's like a Christmas present your parents have stored for you, saving it for the perfect day, desiring to bring you joy.  There has been a plan in the works for a long time so that you might discover joy beyond joy, grace beyond grace, peace beyond peace and life everlasting.
  Now, to get to that place, there may be some tough sledding.  It won't always be easy -- it may be hot and uncomfortable, to the point that we may wonder if God has abandoned or forsaken us.  Just as the gold wonders what the refiner is doing, just as the seed may wonder what the farmer is doing, we may not understand the trials that lead to new life.
  But we are called to endure, to press on, to trust in God that on the other side of the trial is everlasting and abundant life.  We see that Christ endured the cross to win eternal victory for us, and so we stay the course, enduring what comes our way, confidant in the presence and love of God to lead us to a richer and better place.

1 Peter 1:1-2

1 Peter 1:1-2
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

   We work so hard to find peace in our lives, and often our efforts lead to more busy-ness.  We try and create space to be calm, to relax, and yet the hectic pace of everyday life overflows into our efforts, filling our moments of quiet (if we can make them) with thoughts about what has to be done and what we haven't done.  We fall short, and this bothers us as we beat ourselves up for being failures.
  True peace, lasting peace, can come only from God.  He grants it as a free gift to all who come to him -- and we cannot make or earn it on our own.  It is a gift to be received with gratitude, and the earlier we recognize that we can find it only in him, the more we will enjoy it here on earth as we prepare for our eternal peace with God.  May we cease our wasted efforts to produce what God is trying to give us.
  As Augustine says, "Our hearts are restless until they find our rest in God."

James 5:13-20

James 5:13-20
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 What we find here is James encouraging us to turn to the Lord in each and every scenario of our lives.  If all is not well, we should fall into the Lord, counting on him to be our strength, asking for healing, be it physical, mental or relational.  If things are going well, we should praise the Lord, for he is the source of our joy and peace.  If we have sinned and recognize our brokenness, we should turn to the Lord in humility as a community, asking for forgiveness.  If we love one another to the point that we want all to find the abundant life in Christ, we should endeavor to share the Good News.
  God is at work in every point of our lives.  God loves each of us powerfully, passionately.  God will never leave nor forsake you, and even in the darkest valleys of our lives, God is at work, drawing us closer.  In this life, we are preparing for eternity, when we shall be with God forever.  Let us practice well here on earth, seeking to spend every moment focused on the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

James 5:7-12

James 5:7-12
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 It's easy to forget that the Lord will return.  It's been a few thousand years, and so we just assume that our plans and lives will go forward without interruption.  Actively waiting and serving Christ slides down the priority list as things that seem more urgent cry for our attention.  As our attention becomes divided, we forget about Christ's call more easily, and soon we realize how far we've unintentionally drifted from our desired course.
  So James calls us to endure, to stay faithful, to remain focused on Christ, waiting and serving patiently until he returns.  Each day we tend to the seed the Holy Spirit has planted within us, watering and caring for it with faithfulness to the task.  A farmer doesn't see instant results from one day -- instead, a yield is derived from the work of many consecutive days.
  Let us remain faithful, day after day, always remembering that we are blessed from above with grace upon grace.

James 5:1-6

James 5:1-6
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 Harsh, right?
  But James is trying to get a message across, and sharp language is the best way to break through someone's defenses.  If you have put all of your hope in money, believing that wealth can insulate you from whatever might threaten you, you will be in for a rude awakening.  Wealth and power cannot keep death distant, and it will not buy us eternity.  We can only receive eternal life as a gift, and to those accustomed to using wealth as an influence to get what they want, this is a hard transition of the heart.
  It takes courage to be humble, to accept the fact that we owe a debt that we cannot pay, that Jesus Christ has paid for us, and to receive the gift of salvation that he has procured for us.  To believe that money will earn a way into God's good graces is to foolishly believe the ways of the world, and James wants to stir the rich into this realization before it is too late.
  So harsh words are reserved for desperate times.  May we have the prudence to see the foolishness of whatever idols we cling to and pass them by on the path of humility and selflessness that leads to the foot of the cross, where the gift of eternal life was secured.

James 4:13-17

James 4:13-17
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 This one gets me every time.  Rachel and I both are planners, worriers.  We wonder about tomorrow, about what might come.  We want to be prepared.  This is good in a way -- I think there is an element to faithfulness of preparing thoughtfully for the future.
  The danger is when preparing for the future becomes an idol, and we start to believe that we are entitled to that future.  When this happens, we forget that all of life is a gift from God.  When we start to count on the future, to expect it to always be there, we are forgetting that God is the author of life and that all of it depends on his gracious will.  We cannot guarantee tomorrow -- it can only be granted as a free gift, given generously and out of love.  Our plans may unfold... or they may not.  Life tomorrow, if God grants it, may look completely different than life today.  It will still be a gift.
  So let us not get so caught up in planning for tomorrow that we forget to take a moment and thank God for today.  Today is a gift, one we cannot earn and do not deserve.  May we fall before the throne of God and give thanks to the giver.

James 4:11-12

James 4:11-12
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 When you break a rule, you are making a statement that you know better than the person who put the rule in place.  For example, when you speed on the highway, you're indicating that you believe that you know better than the state what is the safest maximum speed you can operate a motor vehicle on that particular road.  When you cross the street without waiting for the light, you're indicating that you can judge when a safe time to cross is better than whoever installed and timed the lights.
  When we break God's rules, we're making a statement that we know how we should behave better than God does.  We're grasping for authority that isn't rightfully ours, and human history shows us that human judgment doesn't always lead to good places.  God calls us to be merciful, selfless and kind, and often our natures lead us to be selfish.  The Law is in place to lead us to abundant living, not to restrict us.
  So let us think seriously about how we respond to God's call to love others and God more than we love ourselves.  When we choose to live by placing ourselves first, we're making a statement that we believe we know best how to be happy.  Is it working?  Or might God's way lead to a richer life?

James 4:4-10

James 4:4-10
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  The image of the old sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God still resonates with us.  We have this idea seared into our heads, that God is furious with us and looking for every opportunity to punish us.  Like children afraid of our parents, doubting their love, we look for every possible way to squirm out of our situation, hoping for an easier escape, chasing shadows and the morning mist, hoping against hope.
  The picture Jesus paints us, the picture he illustrates with his body on the cross, is that of a God ready and eager to forgive, with his arms open wide and accepting us as the broken sinners we are.  This requires the difficult step of setting down our pride and accepting the truth -- that we have sinned against God and broken his commandments.  This isn't easy, but confessing this and accepting God's grace is the only true way out of our predicament.
  We are sinful and broken, but God is willing and able to forgive us our sins and cleanse us, sharing with us Christ's glory so that we might find the abundant life.

James 4:1-3

James 4:1-3
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

 No one has relationship problems because they are too driven to serve the other.  No one complains when someone else is too eager to serve them.  Selflessness is rarely the cause of dispute.
  So often, our relationship problems are driven by selfishness.  We want something, be it a physical good or attention or time, and when we don't get it, there is conflict.  The person who refuses to give whatever is desired is often tied up in selfishness as well -- there are conflicting desires, and these desires drive a wedge between people.
  So how do we conclude this situation?  We fight and argue, and that makes everything better.  If all else fails, we scream at each other, because that always improves the situation.
  Jesus demonstrated how to love one another -- through selfless acts of service.  In consistently serving others, he modeled what loving relationships should look like.  We should be thinking of how we can serve the other.  On the cross, Jesus showed us how far God is willing to go to serve the relationship, to heal the other.
  How far will we go in our relationships?  Will we serve with all we have?

James 3:13-18

James 3:13-18
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Imagine planting a seed, then caring for it, watering it, and waiting in anticipation until it grows up and bears fruit.  You invest a lot of energy in that seed, hoping for a positive outcome, letting it consume a lot of your time and energy.  It matters what that seed is, doesn't it?  You should choose wisely, because it will some day be much bigger than it is now.
  In the same way, we should choose wisely our sources of wisdom.  If we choose to follow God and invest ourselves in his Word, we are planting a seed within us that, if nurtured, will grow and guide our lives.  Our entire lives will be wiser by choosing to invest in caring for this source of wisdom.
  If, however, we choose to listen to the voices of the world, the pressures of mainstream culture, or if we don't choose and just drift along, letting the currents of society push us to and fro, we're nurturing a different kind of seed.  This will still grow, and we'll still rely on it for guidance, but just like a tree rotting from the inside out, we won't realize how weak it is until a storm comes and we discover that we have invested ourselves in a plant that is not strong enough to bear our weight.
  Let us intentionally choose, each and every day, to invest in God's wisdom, following his Word and seeking the abundant life in Christ that he promises.

James 3:6-12

James 3:6-12
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

  Yesterday, I mentioned the book I was reading about the Lusitania (Dead Wake).  It's been a fascinating read, for it wasn't one big mission the Germans launched to sink it, but lots of little things that conspired to bring the ship and the U-Boat together on that fateful night.  Had any one of those little things changed, history might look very different.
  This is true of most historic events.  When you study the details, it often seems as though thousands of little facts lead up to the most historic events.  The details matter, for in them we find the driving forces that caused such events.
  The same can be true of our words.  As James says, the tongue can be like a spark, a tiny little force that can start the largest forest fire.  One little drop of poison can change the course of history.  Small words can start large wars.
  So let us be mindful of even the smallest details of our lives, not letting little things slip because they seem like they don't matter.  Our lives are comprised of one small moment after the next.  Jesus tells us that when we are faithful with a little, we will be given a lot.  So let us be mindful, aware, practicing faithfulness in the smallest of tasks, believing that the habits of faithfulness that are honed on the small things will teach us how to be faithful in the bigger things that come our way.