Tag Archives: Bible

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Peter 3:13-14

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

As 1 Peter 3 continues, Peter gives some encouragement to those who suffer for doing what is right. You can see this for yourself in 1 Peter 3:13-14.

1 Peter 3:13-14

This idea of suffering for doing right is a common theme throughout this letter. Peter will revisit the idea of staying strong in the face of suffering again in chapter 4, verses 12-19. His encouragement to his readers is to be prepared, and to be strong.

He begins with a rhetorical question: Who is going to harm you for doing what is good? The answer, of course, is no one. That seems to be at odds with what he is writing about though, and at odds with what his readers are experiencing. And later, he will state that suffering for doing good is nothing strange or unexpected (4:12 and 5:9).

So what does he mean by this statement? I think he is referring back to his use of Psalm 34, which he just quoted in the previous paragraph. In Psalm 34, we see that God is in control, and is aware of everything that happens to his people. He rewards the righteous, and ultimately, will allow no harm to come to them. This statement here is the conclusion of Peter’s use and exhortation of Psalm 34. It parallels Paul’s thoughts in Romans 8, where he states that nothing can separate us from the love of God, or, as Peter refers to it, our inheritance.

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The Alternative To Worry Is Trust

Learning How To Avoid Fear And Trust God

Psalm 37 is one of what many call the “Security Psalms,” which ranges from Psalm 32 to Psalm 37. Last week, I shared some thoughts on the phrase found in this psalm, “do not fret.” Now I want to look at the answer to that.

The Alternative To Worry Is Trust

Worry, or fretting, at the most basic level, is a feeling of insecurity. Many people believe that the opposite of worry is contentment, peace, or calmness. I don’t think any of those provide a complete picture of what replaces worry. God tells us not to worry, and he does say that we will receive peace and contentment as a result, but that’s not the basic root of the issue.

What we are called to instead of worry and fear… is trust.

Trust is the opposite of worry. Trust is what we are called to do. Peace and contentment will come as a result. But if we don’t have that trust, that faith, worry will continually overtake us.

Trusting God in the face of difficult circumstances can be very difficult at times. Fortunately, the same psalm that tells us not to worry also tells us how to trust. Psalm 37 gives us five different ways to build and strengthen our trust in the Lord.

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Do Not Fret

How To Avoid Worry And Find Security In God

Psalms 32-37 are often called the “Security Psalms.” This is a series of psalms of David, written at times in his life when he had to rely on God for his his security, and not on his own efforts.

Do Not Fret

Our natural inclination when things get crazy is to worry about the outcome. It’s human nature. And although the Bible commands us to avoid it, we find that hard to accomplish most of the time. Worry is ultimately a lack of trust. We see our own inability to control things, and we fret over them, knowing that we can do nothing about it.

Psalm 37 is the final portion of this series of Security Psalms, and is one of the most poignant. In it, David addresses our inclination to worry, and then gives us an alternative.

David was often faced with troubling enemies. He was pursued by Saul before he became king, and faced threats from multiple foreign nations during his reign. He also faced a threat that came from his own son, who attempted to take the kingdom from him in rebellion. David had to rely on God for his sense of security.

In Psalm 37, we can see his trust in God come through clearly.

First, David assures us that the prosperity of our enemies is short lived, and that their fall is self-evident in their own nature. The wicked are their own worst enemy. But in stark contrast, the way of the righteous is secure, because it is established by God, and he provides safety to those who follow him.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Peter 3:12

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

Last week, we saw the first portion of an Old Testament quotation Peter used. Today, we see the rest of that quote. See it for yourself in 1 Peter 3:12.

1 Peter 3:12

Peter used Psalm 34:12-16, from the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, to reinforce his point. Last week, we looked at the first portion of his quote. This week, we’ll memorize the rest.

Like last week, here is the passage Peter uses in its entirety:

Whoever of you loves life
    and desires to see many good days,
keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from speaking lies.
Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Peter 3:10-11

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

In the last passage, Peter stated that live in unity and be a blessing to others. He supported that statement with a quote from the Old Testament. Read it for yourself in 1 Peter 3:10-11.

1 Peter 3:10-11

Peter states very clearly that we are to live our lives to a higher standard, and especially so when we are faced with suffering because of it. In order to reinforce this, he quotes the Old Testament book of Psalms, using the Septuagint version. The Septuagint was a Greek version of the Hebrew Old Testament Scriptures, and Peter uses Psalm 34:12-16 from it to make his point.

Here is the entire passage:

Whoever of you loves life
    and desires to see many good days,
keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from speaking lies.
Turn from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their cry;
the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Peter 3:8-9

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

In most Bibles, 1 Peter 3:8 begins a new section. This is misleading. The passage begins with the word “finally,” meaning that it connects with what has come before. You can see what Peter says in 1 Peter 3:8-9.

1 Peter 3:8-9

Peter’s main topic since the middle of chapter 2 has been the idea of submission. Here in the middle of chapter 3, he begins to wrap up those thoughts with some specific instructions about how to respond to suffering under such circumstances.

The difference between this passage and the individually addressed sections is in the fact that Peter begins to address the whole Christian community now.

First of all, he urges harmony. It seems as if many of the churches were experiencing division and strife, and have been ever since. Peter encourages harmonious living and smooth relationships. This would definitely apply to relationships within the church, but also to their relationships to outsiders as well.

Next, he instructs them to be sympathetic to each other. This means to care about the needs of one another, their concerns, their joys, their circumstances.

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Memorize Scripture: 1 Peter 3:7

Hiding God’s Word In Our Hearts

Peter shifts from his instructions to wives to speak to husbands in this week’s passage, and he gives some very specific directions. Take a look at what he says in 1 Peter 3:7.

1 Peter 3:7

Peter has been addressing the attitude of submission, specifically in three areas: submission to the governing authorities, submission of slave to their masters, and submission of wives to their husbands within the realm of marriage. I find it interesting that in two cases, these directions are one sided. Peter does not give any direction to the governing authorities, nor does he speak to the masters of the slave. But he does address the husbands in the third section.

In all three cases, Peter addresses the ones who were likely to experience oppression from those in authority over them. It was, and is, quite common for governments to persecute their people, for masters to abuse their slaves, and for husbands to treat their wives poorly. But out of the three, Peter gives some specific instructions only to the last one, the husband.

Peter’s instruction begins with an imperative here. Most English translations soften it simply because it is difficult to put in English smoothly, but it should be translated more along the lines of “live with your wives according to your knowledge of what God requires.” Husbands are to live with their lives, informed of how God requires them to live, informed with knowledge of God’s will. Why? Because the wife is the weaker vessel, the weaker partner.