Daily Bible Reading, Week 21

Hello, and welcome to the Westside churches special Monday Morning Coffee podcast on this podcast, our preacher Mark Roberts will help you get your week started right. With look back at yesterday's sermon so that we can think through it further and better work the applications into our daily lives . Mark will then look forward into this week's Bible reading so that we can know what to expect and watch for. And, he may have some extra bonus thoughts from time to time. So grab a cup of coffee as we start the week together on Monday Morning Coffee with Mark.

Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to the Monday Morning Coffee podcast for Monday, may the 20th. I'm Mark and I'm holding a great cup of coffee. This is some Mexican coffee that me and a buddy have roasted up. We're getting better at that all the time and this is pretty wonderful coffee. I am holding my Bible here as well and some notes about the first epistle of Peter. What I am not holding is anything from yesterday's sermon at West Side . I wasn't at West Side yesterday. Dina and I, as you are listening to this, are on a boat somewhere in Norway. We have had the privilege of arranging some group cruises. Every other year we take a big group. Folks want to go somewhere and see something exciting that God has made. And we are in Norway right now with 92 of our closest friends having a great, great time. But I did record this ahead of time because wherever Dean and I are this morning, we are reading our Bible. We're staying with this reading schedule so that we can be up to date . So we're reading the Bible, you're reading the Bible. Let's, yeah, let's get started. So I said, I don't have any sermon notes for you today. Can I take that back on May the 12th, a week or so back now in the 9:00 AM I preached on reading first , Peter, can we, can we think about that again, the keys to reading first Peter. Peter is joyful and hopeful. He's saying to his audience, I want you to be joyful and hopeful. He's saying to them, secondly, be like Christ when you're persecuted. And then he's saying, be holy. When pagans want you to act like Pagans, like you used to be, you be holy instead. And some of the big keys in all of that is to read this from an alternate translation. Are you doing that? Are you doing that ? Reading that out of something that you normally don't use? Lots of times that'll really shake your Bible reading up. You'll read a verse and you'll think, whoa, I , I didn't know that verse was in the Bible. And you just go and compare to your old version that you normally read from. You say, oh, it's just worded a little differently. Maybe the sentence orders are different and and it just makes sometimes the reading come alive. We'll be reading from the NLT while we are on this cruise and I'd encourage you to read, read from the NLT or read from something and then also read your regular study Bible, the Bible that you normally use like the ESV. Then secondly, don't forget to stand in the audience. It's so easy to sit by Peter as he's writing this and we are telling people what to do. Instead of being admonished by an apostle stand in the odds may I should say, sit in the audience, watch for that pattern because of this. You should do this or because Christ did this, you should do this. And then pay attention to the verses where Peter's talking about sticking together as a church. That matters here. These people are under the hammer of persecution. They need to stick together. And then don't forget to do these questions that are on the back of the reading schedule. They'll help you as you think through the reading. Remember, Bible reading has to become Bible living and that only happens when we think about what we read. It doesn't automatically translate into action. If we are not intentional about that, use those questions, think through it. If you're reading your Bible 15 minutes, you ought to allocate five minutes to meditate, to consider, to think about, to let the word work on you. Bible reading has to become Bible living. And we're gonna start today doing some Bible reading in Bible living from the first epistle of Peter chapter one. We're reading beginning in verse 13. Let's get started. It is Monday and today we read first Peter chapter one, verses 13 to 25. I love how this begins, therefore preparing your mind's for action, being sober minded , set your hopefully on the grace that we brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. The therefore connects to the preceding material of course. And what Peter is saying is we have this great blessing, which we talked about on Friday and this is how we respond to it. And you may have the marginal note if you're using an ESV . Preparing your minds for action is literally in the Greek girding up the loins of your mind. And that is a reference to the practice in the biblical times of girding up your garment so that you could run, if you're in a long flowing robe, you're a man, you're gonna run, I guess even ladies two , you would pull that, get the bottom of that, the hem of it, the back part of that, and you'd pull it up through your legs and tuck it into your belt so that it wouldn't get in the way of you as you're trying to run down the road. A couple illustrations of that in the Old Testament of girding up your garment. So girding up the loins of your mind would mean roll up your sleeves or you know , take your coat off and put your hard hat on. Let's do something. Let's act like this matters. Let's get busy with it. And what Peter wants them to do is to be holy and to love the brethren. And we get very much the gentile flavor here of this book. Be holy verse 16, as I am holy, you should be holy for I am holy. And then verse 18, knowing you are ransom from the futile ways, inherited from your forefathers. That's not Judaism, that's idolatry, that's paganism. You have been ransomed from that kind of life with the precious blood of Christ. Verse 19, really using some Passover language here. And I think that may say something about the kind of Gentiles that are the recipients of what Peter is writing. They are not Jews, but they certainly are aware of some of these ideas, some of the things that are going on. I jumped over verse 17 where he talks about during the time of your exile or the time of your sojourn or the new American standard has stay on earth. And that is a key idea in Peter. I would have to admit as I was putting together the material for that sermon about how to read first Peter, I was ready to go with lots of pilgrim, sojourn, that kind of thing. Language a sojourner is is somebody who's a resident alien, they're in place here but they don't belong here. And it doesn't occur as many times as I thought, but it is something to be aware of and certainly to watch for. You don't belong here because you've been ransomed out versus 18 and 19. And so you have the opportunity to live a different kind of life. And that verse 22, having purified your souls means you need to love one another. So it closes here with a strong note about loving each other because you've been purified by the word of God . Great ode to the word of God here in verse 23 and 24 and 25. This is the good news then this is the word that is the good news that was preached to you, that comes out of the book of comfort in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 40 and would be very comforting. We have obeyed the truth. We know the Lord via his word and what his son has done for us being the ransom, being the sacrifice, the lamb of God for the sins of the world. What a powerful reading that is. And that gets one peter off to a great start. The French part of chapter one, which we read on Friday. Maybe it's worth rereading here today, sets before the reader all the things that God wants and it's so optimistic and warm in tone. And now because we have these blessings, we're gonna respond to these blessings and that will keep up in the reading on Tuesday. I'll see you tomorrow. It is Tuesday. And today we read one Peter chapter two verses one to 12. This is one of those places where the chapter division is not really very good, therefore two , one or so put away all malice connects back to the ideas of the word. Peter wants to talk more about the word like newborn infants. Verse two, long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation. This is a growing section. This is about growing in the Lord. This is about what it takes to be what you need to be as a disciple to withstand the persecution and everything that is going on in these people's lives. Notice verse one, malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. Peter talks a lot about speech because speech can destroy a congregation. Brotherly love doesn't happen when we're back biting, gossiping, talking about one another behind each other's back. And please notice here, newborn infants long for the pure spiritual milk. Verse two, that you may grow up under salvation. Please get both hands around that verse. People grow spiritually when they are exposed to the word of God when they're doing what you're doing right now. Reading the Bible, thinking about the Bible being taught the Bible. It is the word of God that causes growth not fun and games. And now Peter begins to talk about the stone or the rock. Please circle in your Bible from verses four to eight, how many times the word stone or cornerstone is used there. And you'll see this is the dominant note in today's reading. Stone or rock is used a lot in the Bible and it's used a lot to refer to the Messiah in classical Jewish thinking. Oftentimes this is the kind of teaching that was done. A key word was hit upon or used, and then various passages that make use of that make use of that key word would be brought together and woven together very much like Peter is doing here. Jesus is then the rejected rock who has become the cornerstone. Everybody else said, no, you are not who you say you are, but God overturns that verdict and exalts Jesus kind of makes you wonder as you read all this stone rock business. If Peter isn't thinking about Matthew 1616 here and that opens the door for us to be living stones, Jesus is not building a dead temple. He's building a living temple and you and I are the stones in that temple. We are a spiritual house, we're a holy priesthood. Thinking about that psalm as we read in the book of Exodus and our Sunday morning Bible class, sometimes we're not very interested in all the stuff that goes with being a priest and that's a little monotonous and a little tiresome, but you and I are priests. Shouldn't we be interested in what priest did in the Old Testament so that we have some understanding of what Peter means by that when he talks about you are a priest, be a priest. It's that stone verse seven that the builders rejected. That's become the cornerstone. That's so much a part of New Testament preaching. And Peter then says they stumble over this stone. Some people see him as the exalted Lord. Other people put him on the cross. They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do. That's not Calvinistic predestination. It is saying that the destiny of men is determined by their attitude to Jesus. The problem isn't predestination, the problem is disobedience. That's the issue that's going on here. And then we get this wonderful passage in verse nine and verse 10 that comes out of Hosea you once were not a people. Verse 10, now you are God's people. You're a chosen race, a royal priest at a holy nation. In many ways the church is the culmination of what Israel should have been and what God wanted Israel to be the people of God. Now the church stands as spiritual Israel and verses 11 and 12 in many ways begin to shift the focus. We're moving into the idea of how Christians will relate to non-Christians here. And Peter says this, keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. That is a huge theme. You're being persecuted so you need to live a certain way so that the persecutor have nothing to say, no real charge against Christians. So when they speak against you, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. What's the day of visitation? Visitation is a special drawing near of God to deal with men either in judgment or maybe even in mercy. And this may be a reference to the day of judgment. It's a little hard to imagine pagans glorifying God on the day of judgment when they find out how wrong they were and that the Christians they persecuted were so right. Others have thought that maybe this is a visitation of salvation when they come to their senses and they become Christians, they'll glorify God for the Christians who by their good influence led them to that place. Either way, whatever Peter means by that expression, he is saying to the Christians there you keep your eye on the Lord and you fulfill your responsibilities to him. Let the word grow you so that you'll be what you ought to be. What a powerful message this book contains for you and me today. Tomorrow we'll read further in one Peter chapter two. I'll see you on Wednesday. Here we go. It is Wednesday and today we're reading in one Peter the second chapter verses 13 to 25. Let me grab a little coffee here. Mm-hmm <affirmative> . And let's see if we can work in the text. Notice the expression, be subject in verse 13 and in verse 18. That's the break point . That's what this is organized around. Christians need to be extra careful during this time of persecution that they are doing what they're supposed to do as good citizens as servants. Verse 18. And if you'll cheat a little bit and look at three, one wise , be subject to your own husbands being in subjection. Here is the idea that Peter wants to work and the stress here is that this is a deliberate choice. We do this because to talk about government beginning verse 13, those governing institutions are divinely ordained. And we do this because Jesus was submissive, which is exactly where Peter is going with this in a moment. And because we cannot be a good example to others if we are not ourselves being in subjection to the Lord . So this is about submitting to governing authorities that's so important. And as a servant being subject to our masters. Notice verse 19. This is the gracious thing when mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly so much here about suffering. When you're suffering, what should you do? Be like Christ for to this verse 21, you have been called because Christ also suffered for you. Peter steps then into a major section of Isaiah 53 in verses 22, 23 and 24, he just keeps running out. Isaiah 53 53, 7 53, 12 53, 5 53 6. Go read Isaiah 53 and you'll have gotten a bunch of today's Bible reading already done in context. Verse 21 is specifically talking about suffering like Jesus suffered. But I have used this verse and will continue to use this verse to say that Jesus is the model. He's the pattern for what New Testament Christianity is all about. And so Peter inspires his readers by citing the great example of Christ. And notice verse 25, you were straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. There is one shepherd and there is no earthly shepherd being referenced here at all. There's nothing here about some earthly head of all congregations that everyone reports to makes you think, doesn't it? I hope so. Tomorrow we'll talk about one Peter, the third chapter and we'll read seven verses there. See you on Thursday. Welcome to Thursday. Today we read one Peter three verses one to seven. These verses get bandied about a lot and misused a lot, but we want to use them properly. We want to understand what Peter is saying. Want to keep this in the context. Remember chapter two verse 13, be subject chapter two verse 18. Be subject chapter three verse one wise , be subject to your own husbands. This is the divine order for the home and it is important to see as we keep all of this together, that we must live a certain way in the eyes of the world or there's going to be all kinds of difficulty with our ability to influence the world. And I love what Peter says here. He's making a word play so that your husband, these non-Christian husbands, they can be one without a word. The idea is those who aren't obedient to the word will be one without a word. No words for those who haven't obeyed the word. And he then says, don't let your adorning be external. Verse three, the braiding of hair and putting on of gold jewelry or the clothing that you wear. Some people of course have developed from that the idea that women can't wear makeup and jewelry and do anything with their hair, but consistency would demand then that they also go about naked because it says do not let you let your adorning be external, the clothing that you wear. Of course Peter's not forbidding clothing any more than he's forbidding jewelry or the braiding of hair. This is a construction called the not butt construction, not this. Don't put the emphasis on this, but that when you have that not but construction like that, it doesn't mean nothing at all in the first part, no, none of this at all. It just means that's not where the emphasis is. And verse four makes that very, very clear. It's not about clothes , it's about character. That's what matters. And the Christian woman will be interested in being a woman of godliness. She'll want to have the kind of spirit that God honors and has always honored. And Peter cites Sarah and Abraham and he cites some of the customs. She calls her husband's Lord called her husband Lord. He cites some of the custom of that day, the way that women in that time reassured their husbands that they were going to give deference to his leadership. And women today, while we certainly don't use the expression Lord in marriage, women today need to make sure their husband knows that they are submissive to him, that they are going to follow his leadership. And of course it's easy to mock this and announce it's chauvinistic and unfair to women, but this is God's divine order for the home. In any organization, there has to be leadership and there has to be followership. And things only work when everybody knows their roles. And can I emphatically say here, that doesn't mean women are inferior to men ? No, far from it. Notice what Peter says in verse seven. Likewise, likewise means be subject, be subject to the Lord. Men , a man must treat his wife as an equal and more, he treats her better than himself. She is a weaker vessel that is a reference to a woman's physical strength and size. But the husband is a vessel too. And the key expression here in the same way or likewise is applied to the husband and the wife. So both have to follow Jesus, the suffering servant. The husband doesn't fulfill the same role in relation to his wife as his wife does to him, but he has the same idea . I want to serve God. I want to honor God. This is not about how can I misuse my wife to get what I want all the time? It's all about me. There's none of that in verse seven. And if you look carefully, men often say, oh , women who can un oh , nobody can understand a woman. Well, you'd better understand your wife and live with her in an understanding way or you won't be able to pray. Think about that fellas. That's a powerful challenge, isn't it? Maybe less jokes about how we can't understand our wives and more prayer and working toward holding them up as the weaker vessel and honoring them so that we can live with them in an understanding way. We complete the week tomorrow with one Peter chapter three, verses eight to 12. Let's get ready to read that. I'll see you on Friday and we'll talk about it. So it is Friday and today we read one Peter chapter three verses eight to 12. This is the end of the section. Notice the word finally in verse eight and the word now in verse 13, that's Monday's reading. Peter is summing up and he's bringing all of this to a conclusion. He starts verse eight with talking about brotherly love and how we treat those who are on the inside, those who are brothers and sisters in Christ. And then he moves verse nine, to talk about how we treat those who will mistreat us. We will treat those who are ugly to us in exactly the opposite way that they would expect. And maybe verse nine has Peter, remembering the sermon on the mount. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Verse 10 is a begins a long quote from the Psalm. This is Psalm 34. Peter's already referenced that in chapter two and verse three and some wonder if there was maybe a hymn being sung out of this song, out of this psalm and Peter was familiar with it. What this does, Psalm 34 does is it describes the man who has the good life, who has a meaningful life. And if you're wondering how do you have the good life, even when you're being persecuted, the answer is you live God's way so that you get God's blessing. And please make a note. Verses 10, 11 and 12 were written by David during a time when he was being pursued by Saul, he was being persecuted, he was suffering even though he had done nothing wrong. What an appropriate place for Peter to go as he sums all of this up. And as you're reading verses eight to 12, think a little bit about your social media posting. Think about how you treat those who differ with us tremendously on key issues, political issues. For example, issues of what constitutes a marriage issue, of what constitutes gender issue, of what constitutes identity or who constitutes a human being. And if a baby in a mama's womb is even a human being. Yes, we have sharp differences with a lot of our culture and a lot of people about these very issues. Read verses eight to 12, think about how we should respond when we're put on the spot and even when we are attacked, Peter wants us to think a lot about that and we'll pick that thread up on Monday as he continues to drive the Christians that he's writing to, to consider seriously their conduct among unbelievers. That's the podcast for the week. Thanks for reading the Bible with me. If you wanna do something to help the show out, give it a rating or a review that helps more people find the show. And yes, it is Friday, which means Dean and I are finishing up our vacation. We'll get on a plane tomorrow and Heathrow airport and we'll be home Saturday night. I'll be at West Side Sunday morning, Lord willing, ready to see everybody tell tales of a big vacation and most importantly, worship the Lord with you. So until Monday, or maybe for some of you on Sunday, but especially the podcast audience, until Monday when we open our Bibles together again, I'm Mark Roberts and I wanna go to heaven and I want you to come too . I'll see you on Monday with a cup of coffee.

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