Discerning – Page 25 – Three Minute Bible

July 20, 2020July 20, 2020

1 Peter 2:9 — Family

Picture of scrabble blocks that spell "family."

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

One of the most amazing aspects of Christianity are the Christians themselves. We are not born of an ancient lineage as are the Jews. We do not have tribal connections or a common heritage. We do not even have a common language. Yet God has made us into one family. More than that, we have become a royal priesthood and a holy nation.

Wherever you find God’s people they declare God’s praises. They are different. You can tell. They no longer walk in darkness. Instead, they walk in the light.

July 19, 2020July 20, 2020

1 Peter 2:8 — Obedience

Picture of a small dog being trained to sit.

…and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble

and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

What does it mean for a Christian to “obey” the message? The message is the offer of salvation through belief in Jesus Christ. But what does it mean to obey?

Each of us comes to the Lord from a different place. By that, I mean that you and I are very different. We have grown up in different ways, and have different opinions and experiences. Even in my own family my three brothers all experienced growing up from a different point of view.

July 18, 2020July 18, 2020

1 Peter 2:7 (b) — Choices

Picture of white arrows on a green background with the words "Possibility" placed next to the arrows.

But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone…”

Have you ever been one of those people who hate to make choices? I have. I would overthink every little decision. When I finally made a decision I would wonder if I should have chosen differently. Another version of this was the knocking of opportunity. Should I take this opportunity or wait for something better?

All this overthinking and worrying resulted in stress. It also meant I never felt certain about anything. Ironically, finding Jesus put an end to all that anxiety. Suddenly the question, “Is this God’s will?” trumped everything.

July 17, 2020July 18, 2020

1 Peter 2:7 (a) — New Eyes

Picture of reading glasses and clear letters through the lens.

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.

Yesterday we talked about Jesus being the “cornerstone of reality.” In today’s passage, Peter points us to the people who believe.

Something interesting is going on here. The “stone” Peter talks about looks different depending on belief. We will talk more about the unbeliever’s view tomorrow (Lord willing!). The believer’s view alters everything.

July 16, 2020July 17, 2020

1 Peter 2:6 — Read

Picture of a small boy reading an old Bible.

For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

Today Peter leads us through the first of three Old Testament passages. He has carefully laid out his teaching about Jesus being a “living Stone.” He points out that this “stone” has been rejected by humans but is precious to God. Then he explains that when we are in Christ, we are like living stones, too. Now he walks us through the Scriptural foundations for his teaching.

How do we know that the Bible is God’s Word? One very important clue is the consistency of God’s Word throughout the Bible.

July 15, 2020July 16, 2020

1 Peter 2:5 (c) — At the Foot of the Cross

Picture of the cross silhouetted against the morning sky.

…offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

This may be one of the most important verses in the Bible. Oh, I know…it looks benign. You can read it and think, “Nice verse…” and go on with your reading. But when I look at this verse I see all the threads in the Bible coming together into one place.

I can guess what you are thinking. You are probably thinking, “Okay, Jeff. Go ahead. Show me how this ties together all the threads in the Bible. But remember, this is ThreeMinuteBible.com, not TwentyYearBible.com, okay?” Okay. Fair enough. Since we are constrained on time, I will use large brush strokes again and see if I can paint a picture of what I see.

July 12, 2020July 12, 2020

1 Peter 2:4 (b) — Door to Door

Picture of a door knocker on an old door.

… rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—

There are several ways of looking at Jesus. Each one highlights a different aspect of who and what he is. I don’t claim to understand them all myself. However, as I have matured in my faith, I find that my understanding of who Jesus is has changed.

Yesterday, we explored the meaning of Peter’s reference to Jesus when he calls him a “living Stone.” (See “Cornerstone”) We learned from the comments yesterday that Jesus is also referred to as the “Capstone.” (See Zechariah 4: 7 – Thank you, Rich!) Ron gave us a collection of verses pointing to God’s nature as Alpha and Omega. He is both the beginning and the end of all things.

July 10, 2020July 10, 2020

1 Peter 2:3 — Yum!

Picture of a cup of ice-cream and berries.

… now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

I don’t know why this should be, but there are some verses in the Bible that seem to jump off of the page. Then they grab me by the lapel and shout, “ISN’T THIS THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER?!” For me, this is one of those verses.

Peter has been talking about nourishing our spirit using the food we feed our bodies with. Specifically, he uses the example of a newborn baby craving milk. His example is ripe with all kinds of inferences that color our understanding of what he means. Then he goes on to say, “now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

July 9, 2020July 9, 2020

1 Peter 2: 2 (a) — In Search of Truth

A picture of a man looking through binoculars.

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk…

In looking over Peter’s letter, I get the impression that he is giving us a “Cliff Notes” version of the entire New Testament in a few words. I marvel at the consistency of God’s Word. Whether we look through the lens of Luke, Paul, James, or Peter, the message is consistent.

I’ve helped to raise a couple of amazing young men from when they were very tiny babies, but that doesn’t mean that I am an expert on babies. I do know, however, that there are different kinds of babies. The kind of baby that Peter is talking about is “newborn.”

July 8, 2020July 9, 2020

1 Peter 2: 1 — Good Riddance

A picture of three garbage cans and a broom in a back alley.

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

Today we finish what we started yesterday; the first verse of the second chapter. What are we dealing with here? What is Peter asking us to do? What are malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander? Is there something that they all have in common?

Malice is the desire to do evil. Okay. We can probably agree that we should avoid that. We can also agree that malice is ungodly.