"After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth."~Genesis 8:6-11

Monday, February 4, 2013

1 Peter


This letter was written by Peter to believers in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia in the late 50’s early 60’sAD.  The believers are suffering in varying degrees, seemingly primarily facing verbal abuse and rejection.  In many cases this is causing the Christians to feel ashamed (in a culture where honor is highly valued) and sad. 

Peter encourages them by helping them to look beyond their circumstances in multiple ways:
·      -Reminding them that this is not their homeland, they are currently exiles looking forward to something much better (1:1, 1:17)
·      -They are not alone- Christ also suffered (1:11, 3:18)
·      -Many other believers throughout the world are suffering (5:8)
·      -Peter himself can relate to their feelings of exile (5:13)
·      -They should not be ashamed because those who revile them will be ashamed (3:16, 4:16)

He commands them concerning their actions and humility and submission.  He also shows concern for how their actions impact the potential faith of those unbelievers that surround them (2:12, 3:1, 3:15).

"you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."- 1 Peter 2:5

OBSERVATION
What is the illustration?
The original readers are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

 INTERPRETATION 
What might those “spiritual sacrifices” consist of?
Philippians 4:18- the gifts that the Philippians sent Paul were accepted as a sacrifice
Romans 12:1- Paul appeals to the Romans to present their bodies as a living sacrifice
Hebrews 13:15-16-Through Christ the Hebrews should offer a sacrifice of praise to God by speaking acknowledgement of his name.  Also, doing good and sharing what you have is a sacrifice pleasing to God.

TIMELESS TRUTH
We ought to lift up sacrifices to God which look different than those of the Old Testament: gifting others, our very bodies (obedience), speaking and praising God’s name, doing good and sharing what we have.
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