Holding on to Hope: 1 Peter

Wednesday, June 2

Today’s reading: 1 Peter 5:8-9

Be sober minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

Here we are nearing the end of 1 Peter. I pray that these 5 chapters have blessed you as much as they have me! Two reminders before I go into the above Scripture:

1. The audio of 1 Peter read by the leadership team, per chapter, is something that you can "take with you" into the summer months. I plan to continue listening to it just so God's word gets tucked deep into my heart. Repetition is key for me!

2. If you haven't ordered your book Woven by Angie Smith, now is the time. I got mine on Amazon. I can't wait for our "summer book club" to start next Monday!

Now, back to today's verses. These are some of the more familiar one's in 1 Peter. They speak of our adversary the devil who in on the prowl for all whole hearted Christ followers. Up to this point, Peter has focused much on flesh to flesh relationships. With humans, it's interesting to me, Peter encourages us to do things like "submit to authority", "bless instead of curse", and "follow Christ's example." In doing so, God is glorified through us.

But with our enemy, the devil, we are called to fight.

In these two verses, we are told to do four active things: be sober minded, be watchful, resist him, and be firm in your faith. When I read these admonitions, I can't help but think of armor of God found in Ephesians 6: 13-17. For a refresher, here are the pieces of armor. Let's get dressed together today:

Fasten the belt of truth. Just like when you buckle up in a car or (heaven forbid) a scary roller coaster, we are called to lock into and live by the absolute truths of God's word.

Put on the breastplate of righteousness. Peter has reminded us that we are wearing Jesus' righteousness, therefore we should resemble him with our love and good deeds.

Step into shoes...with readiness for the gospel of peace. As we walk in God's truths, we become beautiful messengers of peace to others.

Take up the shield of faith. The more you understand and believe in God's character and ability, the "thicker" your shield will become. Raise your shield.

Put on the helmet of salvation. I have a motto for this, "the more you know, the stronger you grow." Meditate on God's word and character, and the blessing his salvation brings to us now and eternally! Think on these things and you always have hope.

Take up the sword of the Spirit, the word of God. The enemy flees at the living and active word of God. Do not let your sword become dull by keeping it in its sheath (or should I say, on the shelf:)). This brings me back to the reminder at the beginning of the post. I'm going to sharpen my sword all summer and listen to 1 Peter over and over so that I can be ready...

...the seeking, roaring, devouring lion is no match to a sober-minded, watchful warrior who is suited up in the armor of God.

Dear Jesus, You are our living hope! Thank you for showing us how to live both in relationship with each other and also with fighting our enemy the devil. He is no match for you. Help us to keep our belts buckled, our breastplate and shoes fastened, our shield up, our helmet on, and our sword out. Win the battle against the enemy for us and through us today. Amen.

A reading of 1 Peter 5 by sweet Anne Ayers: https://youtu.be/RvNH40yR4nk