Three Minute Bible

June 19, 2020June 19, 2020

1 Peter 1: 11 (b) — The Value of Hindsight

A closeup view of a car's rearview mirror.

…when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah …

The suffering of the Messiah is the pivotal event in all human history. Without a willing Messiah, humanity would have eventually burned itself up. In the final analysis, after all the souls were counted, God would not have had much to show for his trouble. The rest of us would have ended up in the eternal garbage bin, languishing forever in the vacuum of rejection we had crafted for ourselves.

But that is not how it played out. Instead, the God who created us became our savior. More than that, our salvation was not an impulsive gambit. It was not a last-minute effort to save the day. Instead, our God knew from the very beginning that a savior would be needed. (See Genesis 3: 14-15) He also knew who that savior would be, and the point in history when salvation needed to occur.

June 18, 2020June 18, 2020

1 Peter 1: 10-11 (a) — Decoding God

A picture of the WWII encryption machine called "Enigma."

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing …

What is the best way to decode what God is saying? Over the years since the days of Moses, there have been two general approaches to this problem. One approach is to listen to God’s Word with an open heart and an open mind, willing to follow God wherever he leads. The other approach is to try and smoosh God’s Word into a box that fits with our personal expectations.

June 17, 2020June 17, 2020

1 Peter 1:9 — Random Thoughts

Hundreds of small multi-colored cubes floating against a black background.

… for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

So what is the point of having faith in Jesus? Why would anyone want to believe in someone that they cannot see? Well, the answer it turns out has to do with something else we cannot see; the salvation of our souls.

Two days ago, in the post, “Testimony,” I shared the short version of how I came to believe in Jesus. Along the way, I had to come to believe in “all things visible and invisible” as it says in the Nicene Creed. One thing I firmly believe in is the existence of my soul. If I were no more than a stalk of celery or a blade of grass I wouldn’t care what happens to me. But I do care. I care a lot. And the fact that we care about what happens to us sets you and me apart from almost everything else in Creation.

June 16, 2020June 20, 2020

1 Peter 1:8 (b) — Joy

…and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…

Who could object to having inexpressible and glorious Joy? Even for a moment, let alone for a lifetime. But for eternity? Really?

To put this verse in context Peter says, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and…you believe in him … and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…”

In yesterday’s post, “Testimony,” we discussed why people believe in Jesus even two thousand years after he lived on earth. The answer, it seems, is that God calls us to believe and makes it possible for us to believe. But how? How does God do this?

June 15, 2020June 15, 2020

1 Peter 1:8 (a) — Testimony

Cartoon image of man speaking before a microphone.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him …

This is truly one of the great mysteries of our Modern Age. How is it possible that two thousand years after a man named Jesus walked this earth, people still to this day believe that he is alive?

In Acts chapter 5, there is a story about the Jewish Council (called the Sanhedrin) who condemned Jesus to death for claiming to be the Messiah. Two months after they had rid themselves of Jesus they expected things to go back to normal. But they didn’t. Instead, the disciples of Jesus, now called Apostles, kept talking about Jesus like he was alive. To complicate things, they did miracles of healing in the name of Jesus. Thousands of people were coming to believe that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah.

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?

June 12, 2020June 12, 2020

1 Peter 1:4(b)-5 — Funeral Time

A wood bench sits empty against a stone brick wall.

This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Jason sat on the bench next to the brick wall. He looked dejected. His shoulders slumped over resting on elbows supported by knees. His hands dangled.

Arthur Throckmorton III stood for a moment looking at the young man. He was only twenty years old but today he looked all of thirty. His grandfather had died two weeks ago and had been all the family Jason had known. Arthur had helped Jason with the funeral arrangements. Arthur was more than Jason’s attorney. He was also his friend. He had known Jason’s grandfather for more than fifty years and had known Jason all his life. He sat down next to Jason on the bench.

June 11, 2020June 12, 2020

1 Peter 1: 3-4 (a) — Born Again

A newborn's feet stick out of a warm blanket.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

It was night. We presume it was dark. The year was somewhere around 33 or 34 AD. What passed for streetlights were torches or fire-pots, and now and then stray lamp light escaping from a window.

A man of advancing age wearing the robes of a professional educator makes his way down one alley after another. Finally, he reaches his goal, a door of rough wood in a seedy part of town. He knocks and after it opens exchanges a few words. He enters. His name is Nicodemus. The person he has come to see is a man named Jesus.

June 10, 2020June 10, 2020

1 Peter 1:2 (e) — Grace and Peace

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

In our meditation on James 4: 6 (a) we examined the concept of Grace. I wrote:

“Grace is one of the simplest concepts in the Bible, and yet for some reason, it is difficult to understand. Grace is commonly understood to mean a manner of acting. For example, a ballerina dances with grace. Grace can also mean a gift or favor. In this case, I think it might mean both.

“God loves us even though we are unlovable. When a perfect being shows kindness and affection to his enemy (James 4: 4) it is an act of grace. When our God takes the extra step of giving us the means to be redeemed from Satan’s power, he does us a favor. What he gives us is the gift of Himself. We call this gift the Holy Spirit.