Every Day Devotion

1 Peter 2:12 [12] Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (ESV) After Peter has given us great instruction on making sure that we are pure as the body of Christ, he now turns our attention to how we ought to live amongst those who do not belong to the body. We are living stones connected to Christ the cornerstone of our faith. We are a royal priesthood, chosen by God. We minister with one another in his spiritual house he is building. Purity is essential. Friend, the outside world is watching us. In Peter's time, he referred to the world of unbelievers as Gentiles. Because outsiders to the faith are watching us it is important that what they see is something that is "honorable." Peter reminds us that those who do not know Jesus are going to bring accusation against the body of Christ. If our lives are pure God will be glorified and the accusers ...

1 Peter 2:11 [11] Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. (ESV) The first word in this verse is very important. Peter is about to give a word of instruction concerning how we are to live our lives. He will admonish the believers in Jesus Christ to abstain from sinful behaviors. Notice, that he starts by telling them that he loves them. This is significant. The Apostle is not condemning them in anger. He is admonishing them in love. Our Heavenly Father loves us. When he establishes guidelines and boundaries for us it is always for our ultimate blessing and good. I am so thankful that the Lord knows that we are weak. He knows that the enemy of our souls is active every moment, trying to destroy us. He lovingly reminds us to follow him and to walk in the ways that he has for us. Peter reminds us that we are sojourners and exiles. You may be reading this and have a hard time with the thought that you are a fo...

1 Peter 2:10 [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (ESV) In the previous verse the Apostle Peter has described those who believe in Jesus Christ as a royal priesthood, a chosen people, the possession of God. He now reminds them that they were previously not a people. This statement would apply not only to the new Gentile believers, but also the Jews who were believers in Christ Jesus.  God spoke through the prophet Isaiah about Israel, who had wandered from God. In Hosea 1:10 he says, "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them, “Children of the living God.” (ESV) Peter recognizes that in Jesus Christ the Jews will find the fulfillment of this prophecy from Hosea. There were Jews who would have heard Peter's words and been in...

1 Peter 2:9 [9] But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (ESV) PRIESTHOOD . In this amazing verse Peter describes who we are. Firstly, we are a priesthood. In the Old Testament there was only one tribe of people, the Levites, who could be priests. It was not for everyone. Because of Christ we are now priests, with him as our perfect high priest. This is all because of grace. None of us are holy or righteous on our own. We have been chosen to be holy priests before the Lord. PEOPLE . We are a people. Under the Law, there was only one people, the people who were part of the covenant that God made with the descendants of Abraham, the Jews. In Galatians 3:8 we are reminded that the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles before the Law was given because in Abraham all nations would be blessed. We are part of that blessing. We are God's...

1 Peter 2:8 [8] And  “A stone of stumbling,  and a rock of offense.”  They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. (ESV) To those who are saved the idea of being a living stone, attached to Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, being built into a spiritual home is a great honor. We realize that it is all a work of God's wonderful grace. We take delight in being a place where pure and holy worship happens as God's people gather together and give God glory. It is truly an honor to belong to our God. In today's verse we look at the ones who have not believed in Jesus Christ. They are not living stones attached to Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our faith. Jesus is still a rock to them, but Peter describes him as a rock of offense. Because they refuse to believe in him they stumble over him. Their unbelief causes them to stumble.  Peter says that their stumbling is because of disobedience to the word. Did you realize that those who do not believe ar...

1 Peter 2:7 [7] So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,  “The stone that the builders rejected  has become the cornerstone,” (ESV) There are two words that we need to focus on in this verse. "Honor," and "believe." These words apply only to those who belong to the kingdom of God, through Christ. We sometimes struggle with the idea of there being people who are excluded. There is, of necessity, an exclusivity in Christianity. Jesus shed his blood for the sins of those he came to save. For those who have heard the message of salvation and believed the truth there is eternal salvation. We do well to be reminded of what the Apostle Paul said to the church at Rome: "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). Those who believe have the honor of being part of an eternal kingdom. Peter, in the previous verses, was talking ab...

1 Peter 2:6 [6] For it stands in Scripture:  “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,  a cornerstone chosen and precious,  and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (ESV) Peter continues with the stone metaphor. Here he refers to Psalm 118 and shows that Jesus, the precious cornerstone is a fulfillment of Scripture. Here is what was prophesied in Psalm 118:22: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." The builders rejected this cornerstone. He is speaking of the Jewish people who rejected their Messiah. Consider for a moment the value of a cornerstone. It is the first stone laid. It becomes the reference point for all other stones laid after it. If the cornerstone is off the rest of the building will be off. What is the cornerstone of our faith? Jesus Christ! God the Father is building this spiritual building. The stones of this building are you and I. Jesus was the first stone of the building, the cornerstone. In this spiritual house th...