I Peter 5- Be on the Alert

 ⁶  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
 ⁷  casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
 ⁸   Be of sober spirit, be on the alert your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
 ⁹  But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
 ¹⁰ After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

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What a great, succinct way to end a book packed with incredible truth. 

Based on all the previous truths I have shared, Peter says, be humble, trust God, be always prepared for battle, have compassion for your fellow believers because God is performing incredible things in your life!

Thank you Lord for working in me, through me and with me.

I Peter 4- Serve with God's Strength

 ¹⁰ As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
 ¹¹ Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

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God has blessed each of us, as believers, with a supernatural gift.  There are many things that can be done by our own strength, but none will compare to the ability God has given if we perform it to His glory, by His strength.

I Peter 3- AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD

 ⁸ To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
 ⁹ not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
 ¹⁰ For,
         "THE ONE WHO DESIRES LIFE, TO LOVE AND SEE GOOD DAYS,
         MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.
    ¹¹ "HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD;
         HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.
    ¹² "FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS,
         AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER,
         BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL."

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Twice in these five verses Peter reminds believer to avoid evil but also to pursue good or a blessing.  I am amazed at the number of times this has shown up since my first recognition of the concept earlier this year. In fact I cannot go more than a few days without reading in The Word a variation of the same concept...

It must be important if God repeats Himself over and over.  I have read the Bible many times cover to cover and not until this year have I been impacted by this concept. 

Thank you Lord for the teaching, make this a reality in my life and help me to be training my children to behave this way too!

I Peter 2- Advertise with our Behavior

 ¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
 ¹² Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
 ¹³  Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority,  ¹⁴ or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.
 ¹⁵ For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.

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I Peter 1- Our Hope

 ¹³ Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
 ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
 ¹⁵ but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
 ¹⁶ because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."

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This passage caught my eye and my heart this morning because of the word "hope".  A guest speaker preached at my church yesterday and brought to light the Greek meaning of the word hope.  He brought to light that the word "hope" is not defined the same as the "hope" we use today... (i.e. "I hope I get an "A" on that test", or "I hope you feel better in the morning."   Something that could go either way, but we have a preference for one.)  In the Greek, this word "hope" means "a settled certainty based on the promises of God."  That is a shortened definition, but get's to point across. 

The hope we have in Christ is Perfect in that it is already settled, our sins are forgiven, our Savior was triumphant over the grave so that we can be sure of our eternal position in Christ..

James 4- Double Action Required

 ⁷ Submit therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.
 ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

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I am so taken by how often we see this required double action, this two step process, to continue in righteousness.  God has placed before us the perfect plan for successful living.  I have described this before, but it continues to astound me how often Scriptures are repeated in a slightly different way.

1) Submit to God... pursue righteousness.

2) Resist the devil... flee from evil, hate evil.

We cannot live successful without doing both of these actions...  doing one of the two will always result in failure.

Jame 3- Untamable Tounge

⁵ So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!
 ⁶ And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell.
 ⁷ For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.
 ⁸ But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
 ⁹ With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;
 ¹⁰ from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.

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