Hello,
This week we had the awesome opportunity to walk verse by verse through both 1 Peter and Philippians. (we didn't make it all the way through Philippians but what we did was amazing!)
I would love to share with you two quick simple things that stuck with me!
I love in 1 Peter when it talks about the role of a Godly women in Chapter 3. Peter writes in the perspective of this women being married. Well I am married and it was really encouraging to read and study what is called of me as a wife.
The four things that Peter tells us that are of Godly women are as follows
1. be submissive to your own husbands
2. observe your chaste and respectful behavior
3. your adornment must not be merely external
4. Gentle and Quiet Spirit that is the hidden person of the heart
I loved Chad Hampsch's take on submission, it is not what the world tells us. The world tells us to not be submissive but take control and be authoritative and a strong leader that doesn't answer to anyone. Chad took this approach, that to be submissive in a marriage is healthy and our make if we understand the word submissive. Submissive does not mean belittled or controlled. This passage is talking about husbands and wives and we are told the woman is to be submissive to the husband. Submissive means we are to allow the husband to lead. The husband has a role as the wife has a role and we are to strive to be within those roles as believers and promote a healthy and joyful marriage. When we as women submit to our husbands with the respect of their roles to lead then we understand what it means to follow and support our husbands well because we aren't to worried about control. It is awesome that a Godly marriage is reflective of Christ and the church and even the relationship of the Trinity. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all one but still unique, still all God but the Son and the Holy Spirit show submission in their roles. Submission is not a bad thing - it actually allows us as women to be free to embrace our roles as caregiver and helpmate to our husbands as well as invest in other women's lives around us!
Another part of 1 Peter Chapter 2 when Chad Hampsch brought up list of things a Believer is exemplify in living on this earth.
This was great conversation in our class time and it was good for me to be reminded of my need to love and submit to authority and protect the words I use when talking.
This week I have really been challenged with how I love others around me. It says in 1 Peter 1:22 for us to have "a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart." 1 Peter 2:17 "Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king." and 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins."
Also this week we had our discussion of our week of precepts of 1 John and talked about love. Loving with out expectations and this has been an incredible week of growth for this area in my life. Love is hard to do because we as humans want to feel more loved than what we express - so selfish in our love for people and that is not we are called to do. We are called to "love because He first loved us" in 1 John and we do this because "God is love" and if we are to abide in God then we should love others. There is no way that we can say we love God and not love the people of this world. This has been a shedding of selfishness and expectations this week in how to receive love and show love for me and I just wanted to challenge you with a couple things!
It is Valentine's Day - the holiday to express love to people! How are you sharing about the Love of God to the people in your everyday life? How are loving without expecting anything in return? Have you let the Love of God effect your daily life to be something you show in action or just knowledge of His love that does effect you?
It is a subject that can be very touchy or convicting and you can respond with bitterness or acceptance that you have to work on loving people everyday!
Thanks for reading and 1 Peter is really an awesome book we are given from our Father to remind us of His gift - Jesus and to lay out what Christian living is about here on earth, in submission and love towards others. 1 John is jam packed with straight forward statements on what love is and how we are to love and abide in God! Both you should read and spend sometime today reflecting on who you are doing loving people around you!
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