October 11, 2022
1 Peter 2:11-12
Take Time to Pray
Psalm 64:1-2
1 Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint;
protect my life from threat of the enemy.
1 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from that noisy crowd of evildoers.
Examine
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.
Notice
God
· God will be glorified even by nonbelievers on the last day.
· God/Jesus is coming back.
Lesson
· We are to strive to live free from sinful desires.
· We are to live in such a way that people know we are different from the world.
Do
Question
· How can I live today so that people know that I am different?
Response
· Give God credit.
· Check in on friends/family
August 18, 2023
I love these verses. You don't have to say anything, but people get the message. You're different and there is a reason. I have suffered harassment at more than one job because I was different. It was hard and it was painful. If I had done something wrong, I would have understood it. But I was just quietly living my life, trying to follow Jesus, and it resulted in some pretty bad things being said to me and done to me. However, during all of that time I took comfort in the fact that they were seeing my difference and were seeing a small piece of Jesus. Granted, they didn't want to know why I was different. My difference was threatening to them and they responded much like the people in Jesus' day treated him. But they were seeing the difference and that meant that I was living differently for God. God was in me. God was with me. Sure it wasn't much fun, but there was comfort in knowing that I was undergoing these trials for God. Even in the dark times, I didn't give up being different. I relished it.
Being treated poorly has been a theme throughout my life because I was different. As my faith has grown, that difference has become more apparent. When someone refuses to have anything to do with me or says something bad about me, I just remember - I am reflecting Jesus to the world. I should expect to be treated poorly because the world doesn't like the reflection of Jesus any more than it likes Jesus.