Tag Archives: the book of 1 Peter

December 13
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“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”  (1 Peter 3:8, NIV)

Whether in the human family into which we were born, or the spiritual family of God into which we both chose and were chosen; success depends on: (1) Having the same values and goals (like-minded).  As both scripture (Mark 3:25, Matthew 12:25, Luke 11:17) and President Abraham Lincoln have said: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Getting on the same “wave-length” as others can be very difficult, but we must persist because achieving and maintaining like-mindedness is essential in any task or endeavor where we must cooperate with others.

Taking the time to imagine what it would be like to live in someone else’s shoes (empathy) opens the door to like-mindedness.  – Luther

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December 12
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“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”  (1 Peter 3:8, NIV)

Whether in the natural human family into which we were born, or the spiritual family of God into which we both chose and were chosen; success depends on:

1. Having the same values and goals (like-minded)
2. Showing sympathy for each other
3. Displaying love for one another
4. Showing compassion
5. Displaying humility in all things

Over the next five installments of “Daily Encouragement,” we will address each in turn. For today, please consider the whole of 1 Peter 3:8, which was written to disciples that were attempting to live holy lives under extremely challenging circumstances.

Peter’s letters remind us today that we are never alone in our trials; and that God always provides us with the grace, and the tools to stand with integrity and with courage.  – Luther

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December 10
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“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”  (1 Peter 2:23, NIV)

To be Christian is to be like Christ.

Peter provides two clear, practical, snapshots of what it means to be like Christ: Ignoring insults from the “haters”; making no threat against the agents of suffering and pain.

According to the scriptures, in his early years as a disciple of Jesus, Peter quickly quickly responded to every insult and engaged every opponent.  Through faithful discipleship, Peter was not the person “now” that he was in those early years.

To grow in maturity as a Christian means to become more and more like Jesus.  A measure of our maturity is the degree to which we are willing to entrust ourselves “to him who judges justly.”  – Luther

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