1 Peter 5:5

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,But gives grace to the humble.”

Personal challenge

It is one thing to encounter resistance from those around us, but I don’t think I want to encounter resistance from God. However, every time I step out to do something with an attitude of pride, resistance from God is what I will encounter. That resistance, if received properly, can be a part of my theosis because it will continue to conform me into the image of Jesus. However, if I choose to do things with a humble spirit, God will give me the grace that I need to do His work. We learn humility through our submission to others, to God first, to those who are over us, and even to one another, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

1 Peter 4:10-11

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Personal challenge

We have each been blessed by one or more gifts from God in our spiritual lives. These gifts are not for us to keep or hide under a rock, but to give away to those around us by using them so that God may be glorified. Once more, our, salvation is not about us, it is about Him. Glory be to God!

1 Peter 4:7-9

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

Personal challenge

Sometimes other people are just a pain in the neck and it feels like it would be better just to write them off. I am sure that other people have the same feelings about me at times. These are the times for us to have fervent love for one another. If we love Jesus, then we are to love one another and be hospitable to them, no matter what the circumstances. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 Peter 3:8-12

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For

“He who would love lifeAnd see good days,Let him refrain his tongue from evil,And his lips from speaking deceit.Let him turn away from evil and do good;Let him seek peace and pursue it.For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,And His ears are open to their prayers;But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Personal challenge

We live in a world and a time that is filled with anger and contention. Our part in this world is to be peacemakers in all that we do so that by our actions the Word of God is shared with everyone. This is no small task, but the rewards are eternal. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 Peter 3:7

Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

Personal challenge

This passage, and the one before it is often misunderstood and misused. Wives are told to submit to their husbands, and husbands are told to honor their wives. Here is what my Orthodox Study Bible says about this:

3:1-7 A stunning call to contentment in Christian marriage, whether we live in the first century or the twenty-first. The dignity and modesty of a woman—and her good conduct—have the power to call her husband to faith and devotion. Husbands are not to take advantage of this superior conduct on the part of their wives, but are to reciprocate, indeed to give honor. Peter’s image of marriage is one of sacramental union, not merely of legal contract. Contrary to the inheritance customs of the time, husband and wife are heirs together of the grace of life (v. 7). Failure to live with understanding with one’s spouse even affects one’s relationship with God (see Eph 5:22–33).

We view marriage as a sacrament in the church because, through it, two people become one. Husbands and wives are peers and partners at the same time. This is the personal challenge, to always put my wife and her needs before mine and continually give her the honor she deserves. Glory be to God!

1 Peter 2:19-20

For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.

Personal Challenge

So, what is being considered commendable here? When we are subservient to another, whether it be our employer, a government official or the government itself, or anyone that we are under the authority of, then whether they treat us nicely or poorly, it is our responsibility as Christians to be submissive to them. We do this because we are ultimately being submissive to God. Glory be to God!

1 Peter 2:12

having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Personal Challenge

Who are the Gentiles that we are supposed to have honorable conduct around? They are those around us who do not yet know our Lord. Our lives are supposed to be lived in such a way that those who do not know our Lord or those who have rejected Him, cannot refute the good works that we are doing on behalf of our Lord. This means that the words coming out of our mouths, the things that we do, the places that we frequent, the positions that we take in our social structure, all shout loudly about the grace and mercy and love that our Lord has for everyone. Living this way makes it impossible for anyone to accuse us of doing wrong and having that accusation stick. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Encouraging Words

I remember well those days of my youth when all the kids in the neighborhood would come together for that game of stickball. The two coolest guys would be the team captains and then they would start picking the rest of the lineup as members of their teams. Oh, how awesome it felt to be chosen. Peter reminds us that we are a chosen group of people, special in the eyes of our Lord, called out of darkness into His uncreated light. Glory be to God!