Day Eight, Nine and Ten

Scripture Read:

1 Peter 2

1So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. 2Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God.
3You've had a taste of God.
The Stone 4Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. 5Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you'll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God. 6The Scriptures provide precedent:
Look! I'm setting a stone in Zion,
a cornerstone in the place of honor.
Whoever trusts in this stone as a foundation
will never have cause to regret it.

7To you who trust him, he's a Stone to be proud of, but to those who refuse to trust him,
The stone the workmen threw out
is now the chief foundation stone.

8For the untrusting it's
. . . a stone to trip over,
a boulder blocking the way.

They trip and fall because they refuse to obey, just as predicted.
9But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you-- 10from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted. 11Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. 12Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.
13Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; 14they are God's emissaries for keeping order. 15It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you're a danger to society. 16Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. 17Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.

The Kind of Life He Lived 18You who are servants, be good servants to your masters--not just to good masters, but also to bad ones. 19What counts is that you put up with it for God's sake when you're treated badly for no good reason. 20There's no particular virtue in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you're treated badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God.
21This is the kind of life you've been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.

22He never did one thing wrong,
Not once said anything amiss.

23They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. 24He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. 25You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you're named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.
CULTIVATE INNER BEAUTY

1 Peter 3 1The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated 2by your life of holy beauty. 3What matters is not your outer appearance--the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes-- 4but your inner disposition.
Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in. 5The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. 6Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as "my dear husband." You'll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated.
7The same goes for you husbands: Be good husbands to your wives. Honor them, delight in them. As women they lack some of your advantages. But in the new life of God's grace, you're equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don't run aground.

Suffering for Doing Good 8Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. 9That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless--that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

10Whoever wants to embrace life
and see the day fill up with good,
Here's what you do:
Say nothing evil or hurtful;
11Snub evil and cultivate good;
run after peace for all you're worth.
12God looks on all this with approval,
listening and responding well to what he's asked;
But he turns his back
on those who do evil things.

13If with heart and soul you're doing good, do you think you can be stopped? 14Even if you suffer for it, you're still better off. Don't give the opposition a second thought. 15Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you're living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. 16Keep a clear conscience before God so that when people throw mud at you, none of it will stick. They'll end up realizing that they're the ones who need a bath. 17It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad. 18That's what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others' sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all--was put to death and then made alive--to bring us to God.
19He went and proclaimed God's salvation to earlier generations who ended up in the prison of judgment 20because they wouldn't listen. You know, even though God waited patiently all the days that Noah built his ship, only a few were saved then, eight to be exact--saved from the water by the water. 21The waters of baptism do that for you, not by washing away dirt from your skin but by presenting you through Jesus' resurrection before God with a clear conscience. 22Jesus has the last word on everything and everyone, from angels to armies. He's standing right alongside God, and what he says goes.

1 Peter 4
Learn to Think Like Him 1Since Jesus went through everything you're going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. 2Then you'll be able to live out your days free to pursue what God wants instead of being tyrannized by what you want.
3You've already put in your time in that God-ignorant way of life, partying night after night, a drunken and profligate life. Now it's time to be done with it for good. 4Of course, your old friends don't understand why you don't join in with the old gang anymore. But you don't have to give an account to them. 5They're the ones who will be called on the carpet--and before God himself.
6Listen to the Message. It was preached to those believers who are now dead, and yet even though they died (just as all people must), they will still get in on the life that God has given in Jesus.
7Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. 8Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. 9Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless--cheerfully. 10Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: 11if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything--encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!

Glory Just Around the Corner 12Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. 13Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.
14If you're abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It's the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. 15If they're on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that's a different matter. 16But if it's because you're a Christian, don't give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!
17It's judgment time for Christians. We're first in line. If it starts with us, think what it's going to be like for those who refuse God's Message!

18If good people barely make it,
What's in store for the bad?

19So if you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, and he'll keep on doing it.

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What it means to me:

Man I love these passages, its kinda good that I put off this for three days so I could get the whole picture of these three chapters.

You have God, good for you, now clean out any unholy thing in his temple ( we are temples for God), and use it to glorify God. We won't stumble if we obey God's will, and that is the whole analogy behing the stone. Were chosen to preach the word of God, I mean who else is going to do it, certainatly not the buddhists. God will use us in many ways, don't get cozy to this world and God's use for you in it. You will die, it's a scientific fact is it not? Don't give into earthy desires for they just interfere with the high goal God has for you, preparing you for his kingdom. Instead we are suppose to live along side everyone in this world. We have to get along with them, even if they don't get along with us. Our lives can evanglise to them, so it is always important we are always doing everything for God, so he shines through us. Respect not just your heavenly master, but respect earthly authorities. God has put them there to keep order for the time being, if you obey you can cure the ignorance of the world who think your a danger to society. Excersise your freedom by serving God, not breaking the rules. I love that part. Love everyone, respect the governement. Perservere with love even to those who beat you, or treat you bad for no reason. Look at Jesus, he was killed with no just caused and he never raised a hand to his enemies, he never sinned through all the pain he endured, and for what, to reconnect us with our heavenly father, I think we should be doing all we can for this guy, and acting like him is a good way to start.

Get rid of your old habits that would make you attached to this world and live for God alone.

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Memory Verses:

"Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. "

1 Peter 2:11(Msg)

"It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad."

1 Peter 3:17(Msg)

"Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it:"

1 Peter 4:10(Msg)