Righteous Living – Page 33 – Three Minute Bible

July 5, 2020July 6, 2020

1 Peter 1:23 — Two Camps

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

When Peter addresses his letter to “the elect” (verse 1) who is he writing to? This question speaks to one of the hidden assumptions that we all make when we think or talk about the Bible.

Generally speaking, people fall into one of two camps. In the first camp, let’s call it the world view camp, people believe (i.e. – assume) that the Bible was written by people about God. In the second camp, we can call this God’s view, people believe that the Bible is written by God through people. There is a radical difference between these two points of view.

July 4, 2020July 4, 2020

1 Peter 1:22 — Checklist For Love

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.

So far in these first few words of Peter’s letter to us, he has touched on a number of points:

We have been chosen by God (v 2)
God’s Spirit is sanctifying us
We are to be obedient to Jesus Christ

He continues with more insights into the Christian life:

July 2, 2020July 3, 2020

1 Peter 1:20 — Let’s Agree

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

It is hard to know how to approach the text here. We just blasted through two whole verses with a story about a shepherd who was kidnapped to be a slave four millennia ago. We could have taken a week or more to parse those same two verses. Today’s passage is similar. Today’s verse hangs in the sky as if it were a neon sign. Each word is like a beacon of light that illuminates dozens if not hundreds of passages throughout Scripture.

The “He” Peter refers to is Jesus, of course. Peter referred to the “blood of Christ” in the prior verse.

Jesus, he says, was, “…chosen…”

June 30, 2020June 30, 2020

1 Peter 1:17 — Boxes

A check box on a piece of paper next to the words, "I Agree."

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

The question today is what does Peter mean when he writes, “…a Father who judges each person’s work impartially…?”

Wait a minute…

Doesn’t Peter know about grace? Doesn’t he understand that if we believe in Jesus we get a pass on judgment? How can he say that God is judging our “work?” What is going on here?

June 27, 2020June 29, 2020

1 Peter 1:13 (b) — The Quiz

The word "quiz" written on a chalkboard.

… set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

Peter continues. He advises us to keep our minds alert and sober. Why? He tells us to set our hope on something that will be given us when Jesus comes. What? What will be “brought to [us]” when Jesus is revealed?

Honestly, this sentence by Peter feels a bit like a flash quiz. In school, there were the tests that you knew were coming; midterms and finals. Those you could plan for. The ones that everyone seemed to hate were those quizzes.

June 25, 2020June 25, 2020

1 Peter 1:12 (b) — Beyond Measure, Part III

A dove flies against a black background.

Even angels long to look into these things.

Today is the third installment of what salvation means. We are exploring this topic because Peter is. He has just pointed out that the prophets were serving you and me when they wrote down the things that we have been told about the gospel. The “things,” he goes on, are of such significance, that “even angels long to look into [them].”

The first thing we noted (and remember, we are speaking in broad terms here!) is that Jesus redeems us from spiritual death. In referring to a “spiritual death” the scriptures point to our separation from God as being dead to God. (Genesis 3: 3; 3: 8-10)

June 22, 2020June 22, 2020

1 Peter 1:12 (a) — Whom do you serve?

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

What sets a prophet apart is being called by God to be a messenger of God’s Word. I am capitalizing “Word” because these messages are holy. Mundane or spectacular, the Word from God is special. But never forget, prophets are people, too. They are not Superman. They have feelings like you and me.

June 20, 2020June 20, 2020

Jeremiah 45 — Hanging Out With The Prophets

When Baruch son of Neriah wrote on a scroll the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.’ But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the earth. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.’”

The prophets of God are an amazing group of people. Being called to be a prophet was a great honor, but the burden that went with the honor was also great. Since we are talking about prophets, and in light of the events that have been in the news recently, I wanted to share this short passage from Jeremiah.

June 14, 2020June 14, 2020

1 Peter 1:7 — Refined by Fire

These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

I don’t know about you, but I find this sentence confusing. I glanced through several other translations of this verse and you know what? They confused me, too.

Let’s deconstruct what Peter is saying here:

These have come…

In verse six, Peter talks about the grief believers suffer because of “all kinds of trials.” Peter knows what he is talking about here. He certainly has experienced all kinds of trials! But why do trials come? Why do we suffer if God is watching out for us?

June 13, 2020June 14, 2020

1 Peter 1:6 — Congratulations Graduate!

A large group of graduates throw their mortarboard hats into the air.

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

Are you graduating this weekend? Congratulations!

Are you the parent or grandparent of a graduate? Congratulations to you, too.

Let me ask you a question: Does how much you had to go through to get to graduation have any bearing on how happy you are to graduate? To put it another way, if your school is handing you a diploma for simply signing up and showing up to class a few times does that have any meaning for you?