Wives and Husbands
3:1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake
8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. 21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (ESV)
No comment?? :O GASP! It’s only what we’ve been going through for a couple weeks now! Such an awesome chapter too! There’s so much to apply. No matter how many times I read this chapter, I still can learn something from it.
MARANATHA!
Bobby, you had an amazing sermon this weekend…it felt like Revival! The intense message on the fact that if I’m on God’s team, I will suffer for it. Yes, I do face persecution, but definitely not enough! Thank you for the grade illustration Bobby because that really helped me figure out where I was at with everything. Physics this morning is my goal….I want to talk to this Lesbian girl that sits next to me…but I have noooo idea where to start! Lord please give me the words to say so that I may not turn her away…
and of course, I’ve always loved the first part of the chapter! Marriage. I wait patiently for that day to come…but for nooooooow I’m praying for that gentle and quiet spirit and reading through God’s Word so that I may one day teach my family to live a Godly life.
Mmmm totally agree Bobby your message was off the chain legit!! I was totally pickin’ up what you were stepin’ in!!
Wow what a jam packed passage! The second part totally goes with Bobbys sermon this weekend (which was awesome)
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
This verse totally stuck out to me most likely because it totally restates Bobbys sermon and once again brings it up. As “little Christ’s” as Bobby called them we need to be out in the world preaching the Gospel and not worrying about if we get persecuted. In fact getting persecuted is good for us we will get a blessing from Christ! Even though we do not really look foreward to being persecuted we dont need to be afraid at all because God is right there with us when we do His good works. So my personal goal is to get persecuted atleast once this week!
haha agreed Josh! Awesome comment B!!
I will be praying for you this morning, Bethany! That God would give you boldness to talk to the girl in your physics class and that you would have wisdom to speak His words with a gentle and loving heart.
I will definately be praying for God to give you the words to say and also for her to listen with open ears and a softened heart. I have talked to a few before and it would be cool if we could meet up and talk about it!
good luck Bethany! that would be awesome if you could talk to her about that
(is she the same one that sits in front of me n r econ class?) i’m praying that it will go well and that you will stir her heart and mind.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Righteousness is something that matters to God a whole lot! I am brought back to Pastor Bobby’s sermon two weeks ago where he pointed out that we are in one of two camps:righteous or unrighteous. The righteous are upheld by God, while the unrighteous will have their arms broken. I am blessed by Jesus’ perfect life and sacrificial death so that I could place my trust in Him and be a part of the righteous. Pursuing righteousness is not popular in our society, but it is popular with God, so it must be something I go after with all my heart. Doing everything I can to live at peace with others shows that I am pursuing righteousness. Right now I am struggling to live at peace with someone who is close to me. Keeping the mindset that the way I treat this person matters to God and impacts my righteousness is motivation to do the right thing and live at peace with her despite how difficult it is. I pray that I would continue to seek peace in all my relationships and honor God by pursuing righteousness out of a thankful heart.
MMM Great comment (:
I will be praying for you Beth, that you will live in righteousness, and become at peace with this person. I am so excited for small groups this week btw…the sermon this weekend was awesome, and i can’t wait to get into it. (:
My internet Explorer died on me again
I had a heart-filled response to verse 15 and was so CLOSE to pressing send…
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
Suffice it to say that this verse is especially impactful for me…I usually type a motherlode, anyhow, so this is a little break-up of my ususal. :/
Good Morning!!!!!
Verse 18
“18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,”
I really like this verse because again it states what Jesus Christ, our Lord, went through to give us all a chance to enter His Kingdom to live forever with His Father and all the Heavenly Hosts. That sounds amazing!! Doesn’t it to you? Jesus was so good to save us who sin against Him everyday, but we know that we need to ask for forgiveness. This is how we renew ourselves with God. Love you all and THE LORD!!
8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
These verses are really helpful. They help show us how we need to be acting on a daily basis, being sympathetic and loving to others. I know there are a few things here that I can improve on like sympathy and brotherly love. I pray that God will help me be a more sympathetic person to people around me and that I would be a more loving person to other people. At times it is hard though to be loving to everyone though, cause there is always someone that just gets to you but I pray that I would show God’s love through me to them too.
3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
In school, I’m a TA for the Junior high science teacher
I heard that all of the eighth grade girls came to school in sweats and jackets with no makeup because of this verse. I immediately had a rush of respect for them, and since i am friends with most of them, talked to them about it. They all seemed to be happy with it, and I was really happy for them.
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”
Mmmm–muy importante! We men must be absolutely respectful and considerate of our wives!
“but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”
–>For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
No matter what the situation is, God’s team is always the better side.
Even when the times get hard, we can not let go of the gift God has given us. There is no price for it.
We have to realize that any suffering we are put through on earth is merely temporal, so long as we’re on God’s side. And this, I think we can agree, is a much better choice to take than the eternal suffering found on Satan’s team.
So, in every pressing situation, we have to learn to put our faith in Christ, and not the false illusions of shelter here on earth. He is the only one faithful in the midst of all the darkness.
4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. This is something that i am continuously working on, striving to be have a gentle and quiet spirit always, one that rests fully in God’s sovereignty. I want to be precious to my Lord and Savior, i want him to look at me and say “well done my good and faithful servant.” There are so many difficult things in this life that pull at my focus, attention and trust. The Lord deserves 100% and gets all the glory. He has a perfect will for my life, and by constantly growing in my sanctification, and my knowledge of the Bible, that plan for my life begins to unfold. I am so thankful that i am able to read the Bible, and talk to my Lord whenever i want, and i have nothing to fear. As it says in verse “13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.” I am so thankful that the Lord saved me and gave me everything i need to succeed in my walk with him. Lord give me the strength to live for you through trials, and always have a gentle and quiet spirit, and “non-freaking outness” haha (: I want to suffer for righteousness sake, and share in the suffering of Christ.
I am getting baptized next sunday and i am so unbelievably excited!! (: Thought that this verse was just right there, thought i’d share!! “21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” We are dead in our transgressions, through repentance and faith, we are alive in Christ! Being baptized is an outward symbol of this inward change and i am so excited to represent my faith!!! (:
Great comment!
That’s so awesome Jordan
I’m so excited that you are getting baptized. yay! It totally changed my life. I’m going to try to make it.
FANTASTIC! Great outlook on this passage….and baptism is gonna be great! Praying for you!
Once again, great comment! I cannot wait till sunday (:
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
I want to obey God’s word and grow in righteousness each day. I don’t ever want the face of the Lord to be against me! His ears open to my prayer…that sounds good. I want to show God my love for Him by my obedience today.
AMEN.
That verse is so amazing and what you said I agree with because whenever I think of that I think … God is listing to me, even when I sin against him he still listens to me. And I don’t deserve him, but he listens to me and loves me
8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
A humble mind… that is so hard sometimes. When you just won a big game or have accomplished something you want to tell people, but this can be prideful and full of boasting. To have a humble mind can sometimes be hard, but with God it will be so much easier. And to not repay evil for evil, revenge. Revenge happens a lot between brothers and sisters or even between complete strangers. I have been working on this with my family, even though sometimes I may hate my siblings I always need to think that since God loves them and me I need to show the same love, even if they take the last of the milk for their cereal. Please pray that I can improve my non-vengeful actions with my family.
Just now I saw that in nigeria hundreds were killed because they were christians. In central nigeria there are many ethnic groups that have been fighting, most commonly the muslims against the christians. Please pray for all the brothers and sisters in Christ we had just lost sunday. What witnessess.
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed.
This chapter is reminding us that we need to do good if we want to represent God in the correct way, and also that if we are doing good, who is there to harm us?? That in itself is really encouraging and causes me to want to jump up and do good works for God so that I won’t be in harm’s way. I really like verse 14, like Pastor Bobby said yesterday, there is a bit, though it is small, of exciting news in here! If we suffer for righteousness’ sake, we will be blessed!!! How cool is it that we are shown right here that living for God does come with some reward! We shouldn’t live our lives JUST to get to a reward, that’s not the point. But knowing that when I do good for God, He recognizes it, is a comforting feeling. Not only that, but it reminds us that we ARE going to suffer, and be persecuted, but we will be BLESSED!!
Like Pastor Bobby said yesterday, we need to be willing to die for our relationship with God. That right there is true commitment, so I’m slowly working my way there.
I know that it takes courage to do that, but He did it for us, so shouldn’t we do it for Him?
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
What motivation to do the right thing. As we know doing the right thing can be hard, inconveint, and make us suseptible to attacks. However, how worth it is it to know that God has our back? His attention is on us. His eyes see us, His ears hear are prayers, and He is pleased.
Awesome comment Dan! God will be pleased if we do the right thing….we just need to motivate ourselves with a Godlike view.
10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
I love these verses because it tells me to watch my tongue very carefully. If i want to be happy in life and experience great joy, then i need to bridle my tongue and uplift those around me. I need to strive to do good and pursue peace. Thankfully God is watching over us and hears our prayers.
ELLO… I read
I like verse 17,”For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”
I like this verse because it talks about suffering for GOD. Is it better to suffer for doing good or evil? an easy question but to some it is better to suffer for evil because they say who wants to do good and suffer for it? They would rather suffer for doing something bad. When I wasn’t a CHRISTian I would have said something like this. Now I would much rather suffer from the world who can do little to nothing to me than to suffer from GOD who can do anything and everything to me. It is far better to suffer for GOD because you are following GOD and are being a good example to others.
CYA
16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
This chapter has so many levels to it! I liked verse 16 because it is so important for me to be doing this! If I call myself a Christian, and don’t act like it, then that is not street cred! I always need to have my actions around others especially non Christians so they can’t blame me for anything, or make the image of Christianity hypocritcal! If I am hypocritical, that is really not good, and Jesus did not like hypocrites! So I am going to be especially good around non Christians so I can represent Christ in an appropiate way!
8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
Hmm I am going to apply this one of these attributes every day during this school week. I will meditate on one of them each day. All of thse are so great and I definitely need improvement in all areas. Sympathy- mon, brotherly love- tues, a tender heart- wed, and a humble mind- fri. As a Christian, I am commanded to have these. Sometimes it might be hard because the world is telling you quite the opposite with a hard heart or pride. Or too much of what they call “love” which is tolerating sin.
great idea about one for each day of the week! i like it
16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
This is agood verse because there shouldnt be anything to be ashamed of, and it is important to live above reproach.
AMENN
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.
MMMMM when I read this, I immediately wanted to praise Jesus Christ in heaven!! WOW what an idea to wrap your mind around!! Jesus is reigning on high as we speak and one day he will defeat satan with all of us standing by his side!! Lately, my mind hasn’t been set on heavenly things, and I need to be more focused on what is to come!! Christ is coming back, MARANATHA!!
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
God is holy and it is my job to make that known! Evangelism is still an area that I can step it up in, and I need to cease opportunities and search for those locked and unlocked doors! I pray that the Holy Spirit will give me the words to say and that I will be ready to talk to those who want to know more about my faith. I want to represent Christ in all I do and be ready to give answers for the hope that I have as this verse says! The response is important though, because I wouldn’t want to be rude or angry while talking to non-Christians. Not only is that not right, but I wouldn’t be making Christianity look good, nor would I be repping Christ! As this verse says, I need to be gentle and respectful!!!!
17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
As Pastor Bobby mentioned in the sermon this weekend, it is better to suffer for good than for evil. There are two ways to suffer: suffer for God by persecution, or suffer for doing evil, and have God coming after you. The Lord is my master, whom than shall I fear? I have God on my side and I want to make sure my attitude is of Christ Jesus! I would rather suffer for doing good than evil, because I would be suffering for God!!!! I pray that I will always check myself to make sure my actions are pleasing to God and that my life shows I am living for him!
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
This is a quote from Psalms–my favorite book of the Bible!<3 I need to make sure my actions are righteous, not evil. Because I know I will be judged for everything and I want God to be pleased with me, not disappointed or angry. How much stronger I am when God is with me! The more I glorify Him, the greater his blessings are. I need to stand strong for God and not give into the temptation of the world. I am so thankful that God answers prayer. I need to listen to what He wants to me to do.
5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
I just like this whole part because i like how is shows how women should be. i loved this sermon, and its always great to see how God really wants us to live, and how to submit to our husband. For girls to just have a gentle and quiet spirit.
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel
When Pastor Bobby preached on on this passage I was really hit hard about how much a husband is commanded to do for the wife! There is this common misconception that the wives are supposed to be in the kitchen all the time doing whatever the husband wants, but in fact the husband must be much more than a domineering dictator. The husband is supposed to live the wife in an UNDERSTANDING way and support her because she is the weaker vessel. A parallel verse to this is Ephesians 5:25-27, where Paul tells the husbands to love their wives, and Christ loved the church! Now THAT is love! Christ gave His life for the church, you and I so that we may be holy! If I am going to be a good husband one day (Lord willing), I need to be willing to die for my wife’s holiness! That is what God commands of the men who are looking to be husbands. I am praying that God would equip me and use me to be someone worthy of being a husband! It sounds intense and I can only do it by God’s grace and power!
4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
If I want to be a good wife, I need to be able to submit! If im not submitting to God now, or my parents, how will I ever submit to my husband? Sure ill want to do what they my husband says becuase I love him, but sometime I wont want to do what he says. That will be hard. But I need to ask God to help me in submitting to His and my partents rules now, in preperation for marriage. Also, I am going to want a Godly husband, but that means he will want a Godly wife. That means I need to be humble and gentle spirited. I know that I personally dont like to be around girls that are always anxious and gitty about things. I need to make sure that I am not the same way. Before I go crazy about something that might happen I need to relax and give it all to God. If im being anxious and worring about things that means I am not trusting in God, which is not good. I need to ask God that He will give me a quite and gentle spirit.
Great Comment Kels!!!
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered
This verse is a great reminder that if I want to have an effective prayer life then I better be treating my wife with the proper respect and understanding as commanded here in verse 7. Proverbs 19:14 says Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the LORD. God has given me a great wife in Alicia, and I pray that I will treat her with honor and respect all of my days.
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
This verse is an awesome reminder for us christians. Some times people notice the verses on my binder and ask what is that? By putting verses on my binder i have opened an opportunity to start a conversation about God. Just today i talked to a girl in my science class about God and how going to compass has really changed me. God puts opportunities like these in our lives for reasons. But, if we fear what others think about it, we may loose the opportunity to talk about the great news. God made us christians to tell others of Him and to serve Him. What i ask is the purpose of being a christian if you don`t serve him or tell others about Him. Besides, if we were really on fire for Christ we would be excited to tell others of Christ. But remember, since we are christians we must do it with gentleness and respect, like the verse says. That way we will set an example of a true christian while telling the great news!!!
I really liked the first half :] vs. 1-7
In sooo many shows today you see the women/the wife in the marriage as the dominant one. The one the husband has to obey. The boss. That is all wrong! Women are to be subject to there husband and not be the one in charge. In the similar way we see some other movies or shows were the male is calling his wife women and is not respecting, but in a way abusing her. That is not how it should be. A husband should also be commited to his wife and honor her. Each one represents one another in all they do. They also represent God. In 8+ years or so, or whenever, depending on God’s will, I will be looking for a Godly husband and I need to keep praying for him and that He will have a heart of God that can help guide me in my walk with Christ. I need to pray for the future and that it will bring God glory. God has a plan and I need to listen. :]
***Praise the LORD for He is GOOD!!!***
17 for it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. I pray that I will suffer for good more often!
17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
The verses are extremely encouraging and remind me that (a.) no suffering I face in my life will be as great as the suffering Christ endured on my behalf, and (b.) if I’m suffering as a result of doing God’s will I should rest in the Lord’s assurance that the suffering is for a higher purpose. I need to rejoice in my suffering (when I’m doing God’s will) and focus on how I can bring God glory through showing love and honor to my wife and to my brothers and sisters in Christ.
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.”
This is always a relevant point for teens in high school. It’s important to not criticize (in the wrong way) others, especially before yourself. (pointing out the speck in another’s eye before noticing the plank in your own eye). I need to take stronger action about stopping gossip and bad criticizing when I hear it around me. We should be seeking peace with one another, and as Christians should be just and loving so that we can be good examples to non-Christians. Life is so much more fun if you dwell on the good and recognize God’s blessings versus concentrate on what you don’t have. It reminds me of a theory I sometimes tell myself: it’s natural to always want what you don’t have, yet sometimes it’s healthy to want/desire what you do have, because then you learn to be grateful and enjoy what God has already given you. I will try to encourage good words this week, stop evil from flowing out of people’s mouths, and be ready to be persecuted
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
It is so important that we be as good a reputation of Christ as possible. We need to be so good an example that people have nothing to say to us if they can’t think of anything good. How great would it be if everyone who was asked about Christians could only say good things or nothing at all? We need also to remember to keep a cool head when someone is mocking us. Christ took the taunts of thousands and was even spat on, we can certainly take a few words for Him.
5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands,
mmm, this is an excellent verse that i should apply even now (even though im not married)…i need to apply it towards my parents. It is important to obey my parents and submit to them because one day i will be submitting to a husband. I want to have a gentle and quiet spirit! And like kelsey said above, right now i can think that itll be easier to obey my husband because ill be in love with him and its not like hes my authority figure…but there will be times where ill disagree with him, yet i need to turn to the Lord and be subject towards him!I pray now that God will prepare me to be an honering wife!
17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
This is so easy to say but so hard to live by. Sometimes i think of how rediculous it is to do wrong and to worry, etc when i know that Gods in complete control. Who cares what the people of this world think-Gods opinion matters the most! I want to live my life pleasing to Him! I want to stand firm for God always
Maranatha!
3 external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
Looks are not everything. In this day and age especially in high school students, people are judged heavily on what they look like or if their hair is just right. Because of that, people spend hours of time a week making sure they look perfect. This doesnt apply to only girls however women are the primary source of this. While making yourself presentable is not bad in and of itself however if it becomes an obsession one finds themselves focusing and spending more time on then in the word of the Lord, it could become a problem.
3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
I love this chapter it is so helpful. This verse is not just for girls but this verse shows me what I should be looking for in girls so that I can find a excellent wife. I need to be looking at the heart and not just the outer beauty. It says in this verse that a gentle and quiet spirit is imperishable beauty and is very precious in God’s sight. So if something is imperishable and very precious in God’s sight I think that that is what I need to be looking for in a wife.
definitely man, i have been thinking about this too and it is something i need to work on
17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
When Jesus died on the cross, it was not painless, he suffered. He had done no wrong, yet he suffered imensly!! If we want to be like Jesus, then we shouldn’t be afraid of suffering for a good cause (being called Jesus freaks)! We should be proud when the time comes and take it as a compliment, because suffering is inevitable, and wouldn’t you rather it be done because of you love Jesus, rather than by the hand of God because you have refused Jesus??
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
To me this means that if we desperatley want to find someone to love or to care about in your life, then we need to only continue doing what God asks us to! We should be good people, not lie, not speak badly of others and follow His words! So we will be further rewarded by God for trying to be good people!!!
I pray that I will not be afraid of suffering in the name of the Lord! I pray that I can see it as a compliment and be happy about it! I pray that I can go through my days being a better person and trying to please God!
shossa! its so great to see you on here! this definitely encouraged me! I’m praying for you! :]
This is a passage with a lot going on inside. If I had to pick two of the verses that stood out to me, it would be verses 9+10.
9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
These really stood out to me, 1st because we talked about them last weekend. =), and 2nd, because these verses tell us what we are supposed to be doing as Christians. We are supposed to not “revenge against someone who has done us wrong,” but Jesus says to “turn the other cheek”.
It reminds me of when the bible tells us to “love your neighbor as yourself,” and we think, “Yes, there’s one commandment I’m following!” But we (at least I) always put the word “friend” in the place of the word “neighbor.” This passage shows that we are supposed to love everybody, and bless those who are going down the wrong path. That one’s good. =)
but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
i found this so inspiring! Whenever i read this it makes me wanna focus wayyyy more on the inside than the outside, because if you think about it that’s the only thing that will really last forever. Someday we’re all gonna get really old and maybe not be nice looking on the outside but beautiful on the inside. I think a good christian guy will be looking for someone with a gentle and quiet spirit. My prayer is to be like that.
16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
To have a good concience is good to have and people should lisen to it more often because if you do not it might lead you somewhere you do not want to go. After you do not lisen to your concience your concience will fade away and you start acting on the first thing you think of even if it is really bad. I pray for everyone to have a clean concience be for God and to help others to get better.
Amen Riley! There is nothing more precious in life than a clean conscience thru sinning less. A clean conscience can only come from the blood of Christ. Great post brother!
1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”
Being a Christian in a non-Christian world forces us to be on the defense, for everyone believes the opposite of what we do. They claim that there is no God, yet they don’t understand what they are saying. They accuse us of being ignorant, and I’m sad to say, most of us are.
The Christians who take seriously the defense of the Gospel, that Christ is holy, He is Creator of the earth, is authoritative through his inspired Word, and has died for our sins so that we could be saved, God truly wants Christians to do that.
Look at David, he stood up to defend the name of the Lord by killing Goliath, and silencing the mocking of the Philistines, and David was named a man after God’s heart. I want to be like David.
We too could silence those around us if we just took a little bit of time to research the Truth of God’s Word. His word inerrant. Or in other words, incapable of being wrong, all we have to do is arm ourselves with the knowledge of His Word, and the Bible will defend itself.
I pray that I could dig deep to proclaim the Truth of God’s Word so that people would trust God. And I pray that I would do that out of love, with genuine gentleness and respect.
I’m excited for True North United next week when we talk more about this
Pray for Summer Staeb because she is preaching at SC’s Campus Lunch tomorrow!
For God’s glory!
Hey I remember this site!
Well it says for husbands to love their wives! But in this case I am not a husband! It can still apply to me because I still need to love everyone else around me. God=Love. Christians should love one another. If we don’t love God then it’s impossible for us to love one another because God is love. We need to love him or the love we think we have is fake. We can’t really love a parent, a friend, or a dog unless we love God.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit
Christ gave up his own life for us, and it was definitely not painless. The very least I can do is everything i possibly can for the glory of God and try to remember that doing those things really matters and worldy things are only a blink of an eye
Nice to see you back brother!
3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
These verses stood out to me while I was reading this wonderful chapter! I am always focused on my outer appearance and how I look on the outside. I should not be so caught up in my appearance but I should focus on my heart and making my heart beautiful and having a gentle and quiet spirit for God! Also I should not judge others by how they look… I shouldn’t even judge period! But, I should notice what the person is like on the inside, and if their heart is truly for the Lord or not. Such a good verse helped me soo much!!!
Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect
Yep! I’d rather make GOD happy than man. I want God to look down and be pleased with his daughter. Sometimes its so hard to speak truth, fearing that the person will shut you down. But I always try to remember that I have to give account to GOD for everything I do and I want to be obedient. Even if this means suffering for a little bit. I always go back to Romans 1:16. I am NOT ashamed of the gospel. Who cares what people think of me. I care more about God’s view of me! I also like how it says here to do this with gentleness and respect. I pray that the Lord gives me wisdom in conversation and that my actions and words represent Christ.
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
This is a great verse that totally ties into what Pastor Bobby said a few weeks ago. Men are supposed to show honor to their wives and to help them in their Christian walks. Also, if the promise of a good relationship is not enough, they will be heard and blessed by GOD.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
I think this is an amazing incentive for me to live a godly life. If I can follow God’s decrees, God will help me in life AND will listen to and answer my prayers. A relationship with God is totally worth suffering for the faith or going out of my way to serve God! The verse also gives a flipside: what if I don’t follow God? Weeeelll, he turns his face against me and throws obstacles in my way (not to mention the eventual pit of fire.) Now….hmmm…..which side should I choose? It’s easy!! God’s side is way better than living for myself, and although I will get persecuted and will struggle with sin, God will provide for me and help live a godly life.
1 Peter 3:4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
To God, having a gentle and quiet spirit is very important. I need to work on my heart being gentle and quiet. I tend to want to be in control of things, where God commands the exact opposite of me. Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit, knowing this I should live according to the Spirit by having a gentleness about me.
1 Peter 3:17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
This verse gets me so excited for persecution! But the only way I can be persecuted is to be spreading Gods word! I need to take advantage of my last three months at a public school. I will be persecuted more if I tell more and more people the gospel and evangelize to people. Persecution is the best kind of suffering!
17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.—This reminds me of the sermon this past weekend and also how I want to strive to be like Stephen who was stoned for reppin’ Jesus! I want people to know about my ferver for the Lord and that I can be persecuted for my good deeds! I can’t wait for the next time I am presecuted! This reminds me that when I’m persecuted I need to be thanking the Lord and just think of it as a good thing and that I am doing it all for th glory of my Father!!
MARANATHA!!!!
9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
It is so easy to seek revenge when somebody have done you wrong or made you angry but that would not be the Godly thing to do. As a Christian I should not seek revenge but just turn the other cheek. I struggle with this sometimes and it is something could for sure work on.
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
LOVE these verses! It’s awesome to know that we do not have to fear persecution but instead we can rejoice in it! I really want to be ready to stand up for the LORD. I need to say in the Word and pray often so that I can be ready for anything that people throw at me! I want to be able to have a HUGE “persecution party”! I could really use some prayer in that area, that I would be bold and share the love of Christ with everyone!
22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him
We have to sometimes remember where Jesus is now. Yes, it wasn’t fun obeying authority, but it was all worth it in the end. I’m going to remember this as i obey my authority this week.
3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
This has convicted me ever since the girls workshop that Christa did on having a gentle and quiet spirit. I don’t freak out externally but I do freak out internally over things. Having a gentle and quiet spirit means that I trust God for EVERYTHING and nothing can freak me out. This is precious to God. I want my spirit to be precious to God. Now when I start to freak out I remind myself that freaking out is not having a gentle and quiet spirit and I remind myself that God is in control and I can trust him for everything.
I read…
Verse 15… “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”
Throughout the Christian life, God places people before us to evangelize to. Some of these have complex questions that we need to answer. So do our part in evangelism we need to be prepared even though God will give us the words to speak. I pray that we would all have hearts for evangelism and that we would continue to study His Word.
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
Christ was the ultimate example. He died justly for the unjust(so it says in my version). That means that although we were in our sin, He still died as the perfect sacrifice. That is a big example for me because i often want to do what verse 9 says which is revenge or payback for something wrong done to me. But that is wrong and if I want to be a true Christian, I need to follow Christ’s example and repay the unjust with justness or a blessing as it says in the second part of verse 9 because I will be blessed by God if I do that(verse 14) and that means more than the world to me
9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
Revenge is something I need to work on. It is very easy to seek revenge for something someone did to you but this verse says not to. I need to be more aware of when I am seeking revenge and crush that sin in its tracks. I pray that I would kill that sin in my life and that I would live my life as holy as I can.
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”
I love the way the Bible is completely the opposite of worldly wisdom in this passage. The world says “If you aren’t getting along, it’s ok to bail and find someone else you understand.” The Bible says, “Be understanding.” It’s so critical that we focus on our part of relationships, rather than trying to point the finger at the other side. Whether it’s marriage or just friendship, we have no place writing off the other party. As Pastor Bobby said at Revival Winter Edition, we need to be building the bridge 100% of the way across, not giving up after getting half way.
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Thiss really puts love into perspective. True love is not wanting the person you care for to sin. I find it really helpful to think this when i think i like someone. It reallymakes you think wether or not it is worth it to date them
3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious
Every time I read this chapter this verse stands out to me! I need to be working and spending more time on my heart and on my insides that what I look like on the outside!
17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
This is such a wonderful statement that seems so obvious, but yet we rarely recall it at the time it counts the most. Most of the time when we are put in a bad situation for doing something we good we complain, or whine, or question. God tells us we should have a different attitude because it is better to suffer for good than for bad. We need to remember this when the time comes!
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Now, us guys like to joke around a lot about the role a woman plays. Like the cook and stuff, and how women shouldn’t leave the kitchen. We also like to joke around like, “Yeah, women have to submit to everything we say!”….these are just jokes!
Now, it may say in the Bible how women need to submit to thier husband’s authority, but there is a bigger job on our end. As the male in the relationship, we need to be sure that we can lead a women in the Godly right direction. They are the weaker vessel, its the way God designed it. We are designed to be the leader of a relationship. It comes down to, are you ready??
Are you ready to get one of God’s precious daughters and take her, help her, and lead her by being the Godly example that God commands us to be? I know marriage is far away (for some more than others), but the reason why there are boyfriend and girlfriend relationships is for marriage ONLY! To have that kind of relationship with someone else, not for the reason of marriage, is completely wrong! So let’s make sure that if we want to be good husbands (men) then let’s start preparing.
Solid comment Luke!
9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
Heard this at one of Bobby’s sermons a week or two ago. Stood out for me then, and it still does now. Basically, don’t take revenge for something bad done to you, just accept it. That’s the way of God.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
the Lord hears all prayers that come from christians, so whenever we need to talk to him, hes always there
10 For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
These verses are awesome! It’s like the perfect passage for where I am in life right now. If I desire the thing listed above then I should be aiming to follow the commands that bring those results…spiritual growth is great!
4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
I want my heart to be beautiful in God’s eyes! When it comes down to it, outward appearances are meaningless. God is focused what’s on the inside of me and I should be focused on that too! God’s opinion is really the only one that matters, so I want to make sure that I am living out these verses and making my inner self beautiful by filling it with scripture, worship, and that gentle and quiet spirit!
9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
This goes with christianity street cred. If someone puts you down, instead of turning around and saying something back to them, you could just reply with kindness instead of hate. This might be hard, but imagine if someone saw you do this. If someone saw that happen they would think: whoah that guy takes this stuff serious. Someone might be more curious to find out what being a christian is all about. What if you saw some people at campus lunch that was maybe even the person that put you down at first. If that happened I would think that was pretty awesome.
4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
Loved the phrase that Christa used to describe a gentle and quiet spirit in GW, nonfreakingoutness. Rather than worry and get anxious about situations in this life, the person with a gentle and quiet spirit trusts God in everything! They trust God’s timing and God’s ways, recognizing that he is completely sovereign. I’m convicted tonight about my failure to trust in God’s perfect timing. Many times I want the resolution NOW and grow impatient waiting on the Lord’s timing. I fail to recognize that God is completely in control of all the details. I need to patiently wait for his timing, knowing that he is in complete control!
Wives and Husbands
3:1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
I really like….No i really love this chapter.
everyday i should read it before i go to school and when i also going to bed..
the reason why i like this part of the chapter, is because it says what God wants
us to do bout marriage, and how important it is to God about marriage.
We would fall down if we dont marry someone Goddly.
DATE TO GET MARRIED.
Pastor Bobbby, was telling us about it i think 2 weeks ago ?
9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
——————
9.That whatever someone may do to us we should never want to “get back” or “get even” with that person because what they have done to us. And instead go on and ignore what had happened.
16-17 That I need to have a good conscience about every little thing no matter how big it may be, because I don’t want anyone to see something that I’m being a hypocrite about anything or to see some way they can say things about me and that might put God to shame. It’s better to suffer when you are doing something good then when you go through something bad.
16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
This verse stuck out to me in this weekend’s sermon. This is exactly the verse I want to explain me. I want to make sure that my rep on campus is this. I want others to see I am a Christian and having nothing bad to say about me except that I am a Christian; which isn’t bad at all! It is so encouraging when people see that I am a Christian before I really even get the chance to talk to them! As a Christian I am to be completely set apart and I want to make sure I am standing out and speaking Christ on my campus!!! So pumped for the free lunch next week!!!!!
16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
These two verses are so legit!!! It reminds me of Bobbys sermon this weekend and talking about keeping a clear conscience. Having a clear conscience is one of the most amazing feelings in the world i think!!! It goes on in the passage to say that is is better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil! I would most def like to be made fun of and suffer in that way for following Christ than to suffer for doing evil by being punished by God!!!
MARANATHA 116
Wow. Just like everyone has been saying, this chapter is packed full of great stuff that Bobby has just preached on. I love verses 1-6… Which might sound weird since that section is said toward the ladies, but I can also apply it to us guys. I look ar it like a blue print for what a guy should look for in a girl. It’s a great tool for a guy to have and to read periodically to keep us on the right path.
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
this verse right here is the reason I love bible class! It’s a great chance for young guys to get together and study Gods Word. This verse is calling us to memorize scripture and supports the idea that science can be used to prove the the Bible is legit. and if the Bible is legit then our faith is legit and so are we. I love having that kind of confidence
This makes me appreciate everything that God has done for us and it explains in more depth why God did somethings in the past. Also I believe it is so important to treat women with respect. Just with basic manners like holding open the door and treating them with a higher consiteration. Men and my age kids do not do this enough for girls. THis is something we can all work on.
So much in this chapter… especially because we’ve been hearing sermons on it for weeks!! I’m so thankful
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
This is so encouraging. Persecution is a GOOD thing, it shows us that we are doing things right! I’m making it my goal to be even more bold, and I’m even sorta hoping for some extra persecution along the way so I know I’m making progress! Haha!
Can’t wait to be with Jesus FOREVER!!!
17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
It is so much better to get persecuted for doing the will of God, than any other type of suffering!! Even though, it is really not suffering, because getting persecuted, like Bobby said in his sermon, is a great thing!! It proves that you are evangelizing and showing that you are a Christian!!!
MARANATHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Its easy in the modern society to treat women disrespectfully in the home and the workplace. Its been proven that women get paid less in general than men for outrageous reasons. The world believes that women are not as important as men and for that reason they discriminate. The problem is that since the world hasn’t heard of God’s love and sacrifice for us, they have no sacrificial love for their peers and partners! I need to constantly be respectful to the ladies around me and treat women with honor. If I’m not a mature leader than I’ll never successfully be able to lead a wife! Without God our marriage will be epic fail. Let’s Not Stop Standing.
4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
A quiet and gentle spirit is precious in God’s sight and Peter describes it as imperishable beauty. I love how God does not leave us guessing on how he views the roles of man and woman. He has given us clarity in His Word. So often I think of beauty as external, but this is truly what God values. I pray that the Holy Spirit would develop this within me, a quiet and gentle spirit preparing me to submit to my future husband. I agree with Katie–I loved Christa’s expression of nonfreakedoutness. This creates such a sharp contrast with the world. I do not want to give in to the world’s view, but focus on Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
I need to be glad If I suffer for righteousness’ sake!!!! Aslong as I am suffering for Christ sake I will be glad to do it!!!!!! I pray that i will have the strength to be able to suffer for Christ when I need to!!!!
Maranatha
17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
This is exactly what bobby was talking about this weekend at the beggining of his message and it really stood out to me. it is an honor to suffer for Christ already, but then when you look at the other option of suffering for evil it is no question of which way I want to go. God is so good to me and I want to be 100% in His service no matter what He asks me to do.
I read . . .
1 Peter 3 . . .
“3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”
Its so easy sometimes for us girls to just get caught up in the latest styles and trends and not care about our internal beauty. Yes, girls will try to look the greatest, prettiest, skinniest . . . and so on. But you know what? All of that . . . IS COMPLETLEY MEANINGLESS. This verse is saying, don’t strive to be externally beautiful, strive to be INTERNALLY beautiful. I know this is something that I can work on. To not TRY to look pretty or focus/point out all the reasons why I think I’m not.
I should strive and pray everyday to be internally beautiful. To not care about what anyone around me thinks. To read the bible more and be spiritually … RADIANT.
One may ask, well why would you NOT wanna look pretty on the outside? That’s not what me, this verse, or God is saying. This verse is saying to not let the things that make you BEAUTIFUL be on the outside. Let them shine brightly in your heart, that one day, your future husband and God may be proud. Another thing in my life that I can improve on is having a more quite and calm spirit with the Lord and in life. I know it’s so easy to just fly off the handle sometimes with some things. But you know something? That’s not PRETTY to God. Infact, that’s discusting to Him. He doesn’t want to see one of His daughters (me) completely flipping and stressing out about the stupidest thing. He wants to see me with a calm and collected heart that doesn’t stress out or flip but insteads completely trusts and relies on Him.
Father,
I pray that I would have a calm heart Lord. Help me to not freak out Lord on the smallest things. Father you already know what’s going to happen in the future, so why worrie about the things? Not only that God, but I want to have a heart that brings you glory and praise and a heart that is calm and cool as a cucumber.
~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~MARANATHA~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~
~ Ariana Mishreki ~
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Living with somebody else in an understanding way is not an easy command! To understand someone else, you have to spend time getting to know that person, thinking about that person, and considering what they want. Basically, you have to be selfless. Selflessness is definitely an attribute I need to be working on now. I cannot think that once I get married, it will suddenly “kick-in” to a new level. I need to be working on it now!
16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
This verse is talking about preventing the oh-so-common stereotype of Christians – that we are hypocrites. However, if I make sure I have a clear conscience like described in this verse, despite how much they disagree with me on my beliefs, or what is truth, I can still know that they can accuse me of no wrong or hypocrisy. I want to have a spiritual street cred that cannot be taken down by anyone, because I have a clear conscience before both God and men (Acts 24:16). This way, even if people do not agree with me, they will see the way I act and employ characteristics of righteousness and Godliness, and will realize that there is something different about me (1 Peter 2:12).That something is the Holy Spirit. A clear conscience and a righteous attitude are bound to open doors for potentially having the Lord use me as a witness to non-Christians. I need to be taking pains like Paul says in Acts (above). Having a clear conscience is not a simple task, and is much easier said than done, however – I have the Lord of the universe at my right hand, and he will help me through everything I do (Psalm 16:8). Especially in my pursuit and practice of a righteous character that is pleasing to and will glorify his name.
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
I love verses 14-17 and it reminds me of this weekends sermon. I need to get excited and zealous for doing good and doing good deeds for the Lord because when i do good works for God, i am fulfilling his purpose for me. Persecution and suffering is standard for Christians and just as Christ suffered, i should be willing to suffer. I am willing to give my life for God and i am excited for suffer. Through the suffering, i will be blessed (: But i must have a good conscience and listen to it! I must also suffer for the right things, suffer for doing good. Praise God for suffering for us (:
It’s encouraging to read everyone’s comments this week, especially how you have been learning from the sermons the last few weeks. Praise the Lord for taking us through 1 Peter and the things we are learning at True North! May we apply them to our lives!
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
I am already thinking about this verse as I will be preaching on it this upcoming weekend and then we’ll be having a special True North United the next Wednesday night…please pray for my preaching…and pray that we will be ready to say what we need to defend the faith!
10 For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
This is great wisdom written down in this one verse! It is saying that if there is anyone who wants to love his life and live to see great days, then he must guard his speech from evil and hold his mouth from speaking lies and deceptive things. The world loves deception and evil. Especially on high school campuses, there’s so much drama hyped up from different people exaggerated more and more of what really is the truth. For many, what is true just isn’t good enough to be interesting. But these people aren’t going to see real good days. They may be living it up here on earth, but that’s it. Their hollow and deceptive speech leads them into further evil.
As my tongue is made for evil, I must make war against its desires to be used for wrong! I need to keep a tight rein on the things that I say, that I may keep my tongue from both evil as well as deception. Even if I don’t directly lie in a situation, it is just as bad if I am deceiving the person, full well knowing that they are perceiving the wrong thing to be true. I need to be a man of the truth, a man recognized for keeping his word. When I speak the truth, others will recognize it and I will gain their trust. But if I am always lying and making stuff up, no one could trust anything that I say. I can’t be a hypocrite telling others to watch their mouths, yet slipping all the way down myself. Though my mouth desires to speak evil, I need to hold from what is wrong ans seek to speak the truth in love!
11 let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
This verse makes a good point about pursuing peace – about doing everything within one’s power to attain it. A peaceful heart, one that is slow to anger, slow to panic, and quick to trust God, will easily set us apart from the world and should be a defining characteristic in our lives. But it’s not something that will just come about; it is something we have to desire enough to chase after. I need to be proactive in letting peace reign in me by praying through all situations and trusting God to take care of me, so I do not rush into any trivial quarrels or situations where I am tempted to turn away from Him and trust in myself.
1 Peter 3
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
I like this verse because it points out exactly why our lives need to be holy and righteous. We can’t fool God thinking that he didn’t see our sin. Our God is omnipresent and omniscient he is everywhere at all times and God is all knowing. You can’t escape the eyes of the Lord.
James 5:16 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
If we want our prayers to be heard and answered by the Lord than we need to be living holy lives that are right in the sight of the Lord. If we want our prayers to be receive and answered by God’s great power then our lives need to reflect His holiness.
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
As was preached this weekend, we *will* be persecuted. God never promised the Christian life here on earth would be easy, but do not be discouraged by this! Instead, consider the persecution a sign that you are doing what is right in God’s eyes and that you will one day be rewarded in heaven for the works you do in Him on earth. Like Pastor Bobby said, we ought to be throwing persecution parties!
I loved these sermons pastor Bobby preached on. I like the wives section when it is talking about submition to your husbands. This got me thinking when Pastor Bobby was talking to the ladies that we should be careful who we choose to be out husband. Well until we die we will have to submit to everything they say. I know if we choose a non Christian then they can lead us far away from the gospel. I know marriage is a long way for the most if us. So us as a teenager date. Past Bobby says it’s a sifhn that the girls that our out we should be looking to date when we are ready to get married and work hard in school and that God will find someone right for you
what a great chapter i like this verse16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
ok my computor was being lame last night so I figured I would just post on this chapter today….anyways this chapter definately reminded me of the be a good date sermon…This is something I have been praying about…that I would be a good date and in turn glorify God!