1 Peter 5 - 6.6.24

S - 1 Peter 5:8-10

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

O – Peter wrote this as an encouragement to suffering Christians who were scattered about and suffering. He wanted them to be thankful for the privilege of suffering for Christ as they lived to become more like him. Peter had known persecution firsthand but would allow nothing to shake his faith in Christ. He wanted to urge others to not let their suffering distract them from living holy lives, for being loyal to, and putting their trust and hope in Jesus. He wanted to warn us to watch out for Satan when we are suffering or being persecuted. He wanted to remind us that even when we are suffering and it feels like the pain will never end, in comparison to eternity which we are promised with Him, this is just a “blip” on the radar.

A - It is imperative as Christians that we trust God and resist Satan (temptation). This is not a passive thing and requires action on our part. Being sober and being vigilant are closely connected. The word vigilant means keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties.  A vigilant person actively pays attention to what is vying for his attention and what affects his heart and mind.

Mark 13:33 3 Be on guard! Be alert[a]! You do not know when that time will come.

We must keep a clear mind as we vigilantly keep watch over our lives and the world around us. Now more than ever!! The enemy is just waiting for us to drop our guard, to be divisive, to be isolated, to be hyper focused on our problems so that we are like a weak little lamb to be devoured. When we are struggling/suffering through a situation, illness, addiction, etc., that is not the time to skip church, stop praying, stop reading or stay indoors and hide under the covers! THAT is when we call on our brothers and sisters in Christ to rally around us in prayer. I can’t tell you how many times over the years I have had Christian friends tell me about a situation they had gone through….ummmm, how come I, or someone in the church was not aware? How come we weren’t praying them through that situation? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t isolate yourself when feeling alone and weak. That is the enemy’s playground! You have a church family at DSC who loves you and prayer teams just waiting to pray for you.

Ephesians 6:1818 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

The term sober literally means “free from intoxicating influences.” To be sober means to not allow ourselves to be influenced by anything that leads us away from God’s truth and sound judgment. Sobriety is a state of being (gotquestions.org). Therefore, it’s important that we take the time, every day if necessary, to ask Him what are we allowing into our lives that may be leading us away from His truth.

P – Lord Jesus I thank you that you have given us your written Words through people such as Paul, as instruction on how to live Holy lives. Thank you for Your Words on how to pray, how to protect ourselves. Words to remind us that this little time here on earth will be challenging but that the benefit we will receive once we get to spend eternity with you makes it all worth it. Help us to be on guard here and now. Help us to keep our eyes on You and resist the Devil. To be alert and actively pursuing you through prayer each day. In Jesus’ name I pray! Amen.

- Crystal Flory

1 Peter 4 - 6.5.24

Scripture

1 Peter 4:8-11

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.

Observation

As we have ALL received God’s grace, an unearned gift, we are called to pass that same grace on to those around us. We are ALL called to serve.

Application

“It is an essential understanding to know that God’s grace not only flows to us but through us.”

God’s grace to us is an unearned gift. He doesn’t love us and forgive us because we deserve it. And likewise, we are called to serve others with grace.

At Desert Streams, Serving is for Everyone, is one of our core values. Sometimes, serving is different for each of us, based on our areas of giftedness. There are other types of serving that we should all be doing – praying for others, investing in others, modeling what following Jesus looks like, loving and supporting others, and meeting needs.

Serving benefits others. But it also challenges us and helps us grow and become more like Jesus. In fact, just in preparing this journal entry, I have been challenged TWO separate times to serve and show God’s grace in action!

Will we serve others with the same grace that Jesus shows us?

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for prodding me and teaching me and helping me to grow. I was feeling pretty comfortable in serving, but there is so much more that you want from me. Help me to always listen to your voice.   

- Debbie Dunn 

1 Peter 3 - 6.4.24

SCRIPTURE:  1 Peter 3:8 - 9

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 

OBSERVATION:

The prior verses, 1 – 7, are focused on instruction to wives and husbands (which is a great topic too – a must read for all married couples) but this section is about how all Christians are called to handle difficult situations, relationships and harsh treatment.

Peter begins by calling all Christians to be like-minded. The Greek translation of the word “homophron” is to be single-minded or of one mind. Dictionary.com says “having a similar or identical opinion, disposition, etc.  To the early church and to even the church of today, we’re all so different yet we’re called, within the fellowship of believers, to have the same perspective, in unity.  How can this be accomplished when we might have different opinions or viewpoints? Personally, I can say on one hand it’s easy and on the other it’s tough. The easy way is when I view a fellow Christian or situation as Christ sees it/them. When viewed through my human eyes, the thoughts and opinions can sway in different directions.

Peter goes on to discuss how to handle the sufferings and difficulties that happen from unbelievers (and could also apply in any situation) towards us. We’re charged with not responding to evil with evil or insults with more insults. Our sinful nature can easily go to the “get even” mode or responding back with the same words or actions we’re encountering. It’s so easy to walk down the wrong path when suffering or being insulted or treated in a wrong way.  We’re encourage to repay the evil deeds, word, or actions with a blessing. Here’s the sweet part – we inherit a blessing when our response is a blessing to the person doing wrong.

APPLICATION

I think God understands the challenge of being single-minded by taking the instruction a step further by saying we should be “sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” When showing sympathy, the focus is off the current situation and towards the other person’s situation or thoughts. Maybe the other person has a history on the disagreement, is going through a rough time, maybe was hurt by someone, received bad information or instruction, etc.  When being sympathetic towards someone else, we’re actively showing them love, compassion and being humble.

God also knows our sinful human nature. We want to defend ourselves when evil or insults are thrown around. It’s easy to quickly respond back when we’re the victim. We want to fight and make it “right” in our own eyes. But God has a better way! Repaying evil with a blessing will have a profound impact on the other person. Can you imagine the other person receiving a blessing instead of what they might deserve from the evil or insult they are giving out? They might feel convicted, shocked and even curious why you’re not responding in the normal, human way. Isn’t this the exact reason we came to know Jesus? We’re loved and forgiven (given a blessing) when we justly deserve the opposite from our sinful life.  Ultimately the person who has done wrong might come to know Jesus because of a kind response. No matter the outcome with the other person, God’s promise to us for handling the wrongs with the right response is “so that you many inherit a blessing.” Praise God for his blessings! 

PRAYER

Lord, you created us all as individuals yet we’re one family in you! Help me to always remember to be unified with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  If there is ever a disagreement or difficulty, help me to sympathize, love, show compassion and humble myself to the other person and before you. Ultimately, I want to be in unity with all believers especially knowing I’ll be spending eternity with them. If anyone (non-believer or believer) shows me any form of evil or insult, help me to shower them in your blessings. I pray any person who is shown blessings comes to know you! Amen

- Mary Oberg