Deeds – Page 12 – Three Minute Bible

August 20, 2020August 20, 2020

1 Peter 3:7 (a) — The Cost of New

Picture: Close-up photo of two wedding rings.

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives…

Peter has instructed wives and now turns his attention to the husbands. He begins, “… in the same way….” In the same way as what?

To find the answer, we have to go back to Chapter 3, verse 1. Peter writes, “Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands.” Wait a minute. In the same way as — what?

If we go back to Chapter 2, verse 21, we read: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

August 18, 2020August 18, 2020

1 Peter 3:5-6(a) — The Brush

Picture: Photo of a man's face with a large brush stroke of color across it.

For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord.

Today’s passage is interesting. If I read through it quickly, I think, “That’s nice…” But, if I stop and think about what Peter is saying, I have to cringe a little.

Peter begins by talking about “the holy women of the past.” That is a broad brush to paint a picture with! It includes all holy women in the Bible. Who would you put on that list? Who wouldn’t make the cut?

August 17, 2020August 18, 2020

1 Peter 3:3-4 — Godly Values

Picture: Photo of the entry sign at Graceland.

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

When I think of “outward adornment” my mind wanders back to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. The year I was born Elvis Presley was already twenty years old. He had just signed his first recording contract with RCA Records. As a kid, there was always an Elvis song on the radio. Maybe I was a bit jealous but I decided at an early age that I didn’t think much of him or his music.

August 16, 2020August 17, 2020

1 Peter 3:1(b)-2 — Without Words

… so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

Why would anyone want to submit to God? Mmmm…. because God is the creator of the universe and everything in it? Because when our body dies our spirit remains? Because God is the one who determines whether our spirit is with Him for eternity or tossed into the burning lake of fire? I guess that would be a good reason to submit to God.

And what does God want from us? He wants our love above all else and that we should love others as ourselves. (Matthew 22: 35-40) Oh, and he wants us to “go and make disciples.” (Matthew 28: 16-20)

August 15, 2020August 15, 2020

1 Peter 3:1 — The Same Old Deception

Picture: A statue of a child listening to a sea shell.

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands …

One of the things that is difficult to get our heads around in this life is that we are not alone. There is a saying that goes, “What you see is what you get,” but that is not true for the world we live in. There is so much more to life than what we can see.

In our recent post, “The Back Side of the Page,” we took a look at what is behind the facade of what we call reality. Behind the stage props we call “life,” there is a larger and more real existence. It is where we find God, the angels, Satan, and his demons. It is also where we find our spiritual existence. What is hard to see are the connections between the physical and the spiritual, but they are very real.

August 14, 2020August 15, 2020

1 Peter 2:25 — We are the Sheep

Picture: A goofy looking sheep gazes at the camera with a, "Who, me?" look.

For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

I have to confess that I do not have any direct personal experience with sheep (outside of seeing one in a petting zoo once or twice). I do know a couple of people who have had experience working with sheep and neither one much cared for it. Sheep are dirty, stubborn, stinky, and troublesome. It is interesting that Jesus would choose to use sheep as a metaphor for people as often as he did.

What I do have experience with is going astray. I have LOTS of experience there. I don’t know how much trouble a lost sheep can get into, but people seem to have an unlimited range of options when it comes to going astray. I am pretty sure that everyone reading this has their own experience in this department, so there isn’t any need for more description here.

August 11, 2020August 11, 2020

1 Peter 2:24 (a) — Innocence Found

Picture: An old teddy bear sits alongside an abandon railroad track.

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross…

Experimenting is an age-old way of testing something to see if it is true. For example, when somebody says, “Try this, you’ll like it!” you might believe them or you might not. When I was twelve, my uncle handed me an oyster and gave me that line. It tasted terrible! “Try it again,” he said. I did. It didn’t taste any better the second time. So he took the oyster, tried it, and spit it out. “No wonder,” he said, “it’s rotten!” So I still don’t know if I like oysters or not, but I do know that I don’t like rotten ones.

There is another kind of experiment that can be helpful. It is called a thought experiment. In this kind of experiment, we imagine a situation and then ask ourselves questions about what we see. I think it might be helpful to do an experiment like this to help understand today’s passage.

August 10, 2020August 10, 2020

1 Peter 2:23 (b) — Things in Common

Picture: A soldier carries a wounded dog on his shoulder.

Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

Who is the “him” who judges justly? And what does it mean to “judge justly?”

I gotta be honest about the “him” part of this. The Bible does not talk about God “judging” a lot. It is mentioned a few times, but the references are oblique for the most part. So if you don’t mind, I am going to fudge a bit on this one.

August 9, 2020August 9, 2020

1 Peter 2:23 (a) — This is a Test

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.

This is a test: Someone you know well is angry and they express that anger by insulting you.

Question: How do you respond?

Our response to this test says a lot about who we are. The same is true for a similar test: How do we respond to suffering at the hands of someone else?

August 6, 2020August 8, 2020

1 Peter 2:21 — Jesus’ Footprints

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Peter tells us that Jesus was an example for us. We should follow in his steps. This is good advice if we apply it correctly. The problem is that it is easy to misapply.

When you look at Jesus, what do you see?