READY - Die to Yourself

What’s the first thing you think about when you wake up?
I generally think, “I’m tired and wish my alarm wasn’t going off at the moment.” Then I start thinking about what I need to do to get ready for the day. It’s easy to go through the day just focused on yourself and what you need.

It is very easy to let everything in your life be about you. We pay attention to how many likes did our latest post got or how many people watched our Snapchat story. We wonder if our friends hang out without us or talk behind our back. We hesitate to sign up for ITM events because we think something more fun might come up. When we take group pictures we look for ourselves first before look at anyone else. We spend most of our day focused on ourselves!

This week our focus is on “Die to Self Daily.” What does that even mean?

If someone is really overweight and decides they want to lose weight, what do they need to do?
The most simple answer would be “eat healthy and exercise.” In order to do that, the person needs to give up their desires for eating Big Macs and laying on the beach all day. They would need to give up some foods that they enjoy and eat things they may not like or do some activities they don’t want to. Even though Big Macs and candy bars taste good, they are not healthy and won’t help the person lose weight. Even though exercising may be difficult, it is a necessary part of losing weight.

In the same way, if you want to live for Christ, we can give you simple suggestions like “Read your Bible and pray.” But it takes more than that, we need to give up sinful ways.

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

To die to self, you must offer yourself as a living sacrifice.

You need to give up certain things. What that is may look different for each of us. That’s part of examining yourself and seeing what God reveals to you. If it is sinful, you definitely need to give it up! Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. When the Bible talks about the flesh, it means our sinful nature, that part of us that doesn’t want to do what’s right.

Sometimes we also need to give up things that aren’t necessarily sinful. Going on Instagram or Snapchat isn’t wrong, but there may be better ways you can use your time. 1 Corinthians 10:23 "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. Think about the things you spend your time doing, are they helpful? Do they build others up? If the answer is no, maybe you should consider spending less time doing them or giving them up altogether.

This isn’t easy! The verses in Romans talk about how we need our minds to be transformed. We naturally think about ourselves. It takes our minds being transformed for us to begin to do what is right. Paul talks about this struggle in Romans 5-7, how we want to do what’s right, but we just end up doing what’s wrong anyway.

If we try to focus just on what we can’t do, we will fail. If we make a list of rules that we must do to live for Christ, we will fail. We need to also think about what we should do instead. A person who is trying to lose weight shouldn’t just stop eating, they need to change from Big Macs to salads. They need to replace the bad with the good.

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
As we deny ourselves what we want, we instead should be focusing on loving God and loving others.

What does all this look like in real life?

In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar makes a golden statue of himself and then makes a law saying that you must bow down and worship it every time the music is played or be thrown into a fiery furnace. There are a bunch of Israelites who are living in Babylon, they worship God, not idols and statues of kings.
When the music plays, everyone in the country bows down and worships the statue, except for three Israelites, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They choose to die to their sinful nature (which was probably saying “it’s no big deal, just bow down and pretend to worship the statue and live to see another day. Because if you obey God and don’t bow down, you’re going to die!).
They remain standing when everyone else (including other Israelites) bow down and worship the statue.
Of course King Nebuchadnezzar finds out what happens. Daniel 3:13-18 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s reply is pretty intense. “We know God can save us, but even if he doesn’t, we still choose to obey him.” That’s what our lives should look like. Choosing to obey God and do what he commands regardless of what it may cost us.

You and I aren’t in situations where we have to worry about being killed for what we believe. However, it may still cost us to truly die to ourselves and live for Christ. We may lose some IG followers if we start posting Bible verses. We may have some friends who stop hanging out with us. We may have people who even make fun of us. Regardless of what it may cost, it is worth it in the end.
Matthew 16:24-26 says Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

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This is the fourth lesson of a 5-part series I was asked to write for the middle school ministry at my Hawaiian Church, New Hope Leeward. The series is on the acronym READY.

READY - Ask for Forgiveness

Recap: David commits adultery with Bathsheba, tries to cover it up because she gets pregnant and ends up murdering her husband Uriah. David then marries Bathsheba and the baby is born. God sends Nathan the prophet who tells David a story that makes David realize what he has done. 

This is how David replies once he figures out Nathan is talking about him. 2 Sam 12:13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 

Romans 6:23 “the wages of sin is death…” There are many times in the Bible where someone sins and God strikes them dead because of it. Death was a realistic consequence since David had Uriah murdered. God did not have be merciful to David.

Nathan continues… 2 Sam 12:14-16,18a, 24 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the LORD, the son born to you will die.” After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground... On the seventh day the child died... Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 

There were consequences to David’s actions even though he asked for forgiveness. However God does not stop blessing David because of his sin. He eventually has another son with Bathsheba named Solomon (this is the son who will eventually take David’s place as king of Israel.)

There’s lots of emotion and feelings that David would have experienced. Many of the psalms were written by David. Psalm 51 was written by David after Nathan came to him. It records all those emotions & feelings David had. 

Psalm 51

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 

5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 

6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. 

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 

8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 

9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 

11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 

15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 

17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. 

18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 

19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Through this story and prayer that David wrote, we can see some Steps for Forgiveness:

1. Admitting you have sinned (2 Sam 12:13)

When confronted with his sin, David didn’t make excuses. He admitted his wrong without trying to justify why he did what he did nor did he try to put the blame on Bathsheba or anyone else.

2. Accepting the consequences (Ps 51:4)

There are often real consequences to decisions. Bathsheba got pregnant. Uriah lost his life. Sin makes an impact on us and possibly those around us.

Just because there are consequences, it doesn't mean you can’t ask God for mercy (which means asking for him not to give you the consequences you deserve) (Ps 51:1) In 2 Samuel 12, David 

3. Restore the joy of relationship (Ps 51:12)

When we sin, we break our relationship with Christ. 

4. Don’t dwell on what has happened. (remove the guilt) (Ps 51:14)

Even though we ask for forgiveness, sometimes we keep on thinking about what we did wrong. We don’t always forgive ourselves. Know that God isn’t looking at our sin when he looks at us. Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

5. Change your behavior (Romans 6:1-2a)

Romans 6:1-2a What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! 

If you have truly sought forgiveness, you should not continue to do that action. (But if you do, you can ask for forgiveness again.)

FAQ:

Why do we need to forgive?

Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

When do we need to ask for forgiveness?

Anytime we sin, we should ask God for forgiveness. If our sin has impacted someone else, we should ask them for forgiveness.

Matthew 6:11-12 Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 

Will God always forgive me?

Yes! 

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

2 Chronicles 7:14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

How many times should I forgive someone?

As many times as God has forgiven you… which means an infinite number!

Luke 17:3-4 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

**Note on Psalm 51:11 - We do not have to worry about the Holy Spirit leaving us. In the Old Testament, believers did not automatically have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. They would be anointed with the Holy Spirit for special purposes. David had been given the Holy Spirit when he was anointed by Samuel to be king (1 Sam 16:13). Because of his sin, David feared that the Holy Spirit would leave him (like he had done to Saul (1 Sam 16:14). In the New Testament, we receive the Holy Spirit when we are saved and he indwells us and we don’t have to fear him leaving us (John 14:16, Ephesians 1:13-14).

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This is the third lesson of a 5-part series I was asked to write for the middle school ministry at my Hawaiian Church, New Hope Leeward. The series is on the acronym READY.

READY - Examine Yourself

Last week we looked at Remember. This week we are going to look at Examine.

How to examine yourself:

1. Know and obey the truth. (This happens by reading our Bible and going to church, then putting the things we hear into practice.) (Psalm 119:9-12, 2 Tim. 3:16-17)

Spiritually we can be all over the place. We go through highs and lows. There are times we are close to God and times we are far from Him. There are so many stories in the Bible about King David and we see his writing in many of the Psalms that we can see highs and lows in his life and learn from him.

We’ve previously looked at stories about David to know that he was a lowly shepherd boy, the youngest in his family. He was not the likely choice to be king. But he has a heart for God and he faces public and private giants. Sometimes his decisions honored God and sometimes they did not.

Acts 13:22 - After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'

David starts off doing well. He is called a man after God’s own heart. In Psalm 119:9-12, we can see some of the ways David followed after God. It says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.  Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!“

David knew the Scriptures and obeyed them. The Bible is God’s Word and so important for us. It is our instruction book for life.  “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

2. Reflect on your actions, words, thoughts & motives and see if they are in line with God’s will. (Psalm 139:23-24, Prov. 4:23)

Unfortunately, something happens over time where David is no longer making wise choices. We all have the potential to fall into this same thing.

“The spiritual life will never come naturally. Left to what comes naturally, regrettably we will sin. If we are going to live as spiritual [men and] women, it will result from a deliberate, conscious surrender to the Holy Spirit.” (Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself, p48-49)

Let’s take a look at 2 Samuel 11:1 “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.” David should have gone to war with his men. He sets himself up for failure by not going with his men.

In the following verses, we read about David seeing Bathsheba bathing and he invites her to his house to sleep with her. She gets pregnant and to cover it up, David brings Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, back from the war so he sleep with her. Her husband refuses, so David gets him drunk and tries again. Uriah still refuses, so David has Joab, the captain of the army, get Uriah killed.

In 2 Samuel 11:26-27 it says “When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”

In order to follow God and live life deliberately, we need to be in the habit of examining ourselves. David wrote in Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Somewhere along the line David had stopped doing what he knew he was supposed to do. He was so wrapped up in his sin that he was committing sins trying to cover up other sins. Proverbs 4:23 says “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” What’s in your heart will show itself.

1. The Holy Spirit is with you to reveal things to you. (John 16:13-15)

2. There are people in your life who can also be used to help you examine yourself, when you don’t recognize issues in your life. (2 Samuel 12)

Luckily for David, he had people in his life who called him out on it. Read 2 Sam 12:1-7a,13 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity." Nathan said to David, "You are the man! … David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eho1_fkjiOA (Video recap of 2 Sam 11&12)

Nathan was a prophet that God used to help David examine himself. Sometimes we need others to point out an area of our life we need to examine. We need an outside perspective to help us see what we don’t see on our own. (Share a personal example of this??)

3. Continue doing the things that honor Him. (Col. 3:17)

Just because David sinned he wasn’t disqualified from being king. There were consequences to the decision he made, but he was still able to move forward and serve God.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

4. Stop doing the things that do not honor Him. (2 Timothy 2:22)

After Nathan helped David to see what he had done, David admitted to his wrong and sought forgiveness. He fasted and wept over what he had done and asked the Lord for grace.

“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Timothy 2:22

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Do you have healthy spiritual habits? Do you read your Bible? Pray? Listen to worship music? If so how frequently?
2. Do you have people in your life who question you about decisions you are making? Who?
3. Do you listen when you feel the Holy Spirit is prompting you?

Personal Reflection:

1. Is your faith authentic?
2. Do you live what you say you believe?
3. Is there unconfessed sin in your life?
4. Are your motives in the right place?

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This is the second of a 5-part series I was asked to write for the middle school ministry at my Hawaiian Church, New Hope Leeward. The series is on the acronym READY.

READY - Remember What Christ Has Done

In the Old Testament, God would sometimes tell His people to build a cairn (a mound of rough stones built as a memorial). He knew that people are forgetful and need reminders.

In Joshua 4, we see an example of this, but we need some background information before we can understand it.

So all the way back to the end of Genesis, the Israelites (God’s people) are living in the land of Egypt. In the beginning of Exodus, the King of Egypt enslaves the Israelites and treats them very harshly. In Exodus 1:14, it says the Egyptians “made their lives bitter with hard labor.” In the following verses, we find out that the king starts having their babies killed and increases their workload. The people can’t handle all that is being done to them and they cry out to God for deliverance.

Then God says, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” Exodus 3:7-8a

One day left to live...

1 Peter 4:7-9 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

If you knew that the world was going to end in 30 days or that you were going to die tomorrow, how would you spend your last month or day? Are there things you would start or stop doing? Are there people you’d be sure to talk to or others you’d no longer care about? I think each one of us would do things differently if we knew the end was near.

This part of the chapter Peter has a reached a point that he’s giving some instructions and these verses are just some bullet points of instruction. Why is he giving these instructions? The beginning of verse 7 he says the end is coming. Jesus could return at any moment. We don’t have any guarantee that we get to live to see tomorrow or next month or next year. Then again it could be another 50 or 100 years before Christ returns. We don’t know exactly when it happens, but Christ could return at any moment. How are we to live in light of that? Here are some of Peter’s suggestions:

First, “be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.” Don’t ramble on praying about things that don’t matter. Pray for your unsaved friends and family. Pray for boldness in reaching out to them. Pray that people from every nation would know Jesus is Lord. Be intentional in praying for things that matter in light of eternity. (I’m not saying that we aren’t to go to God in prayer with small things. We read all through the Psalms of David crying out to the Lord with all sorts of emotions he was dealing with. Just don’t be so focused on yourself that you forget to also pray for the big things.)

Next Peter tells us to love one another. He makes a big deal of this. He emphasizes this “above all” of the other things. Why? “Love covers a multitude of sins.” I think we can use that verse a bit flippantly at times. But don’t read it too quickly without paying attention to what Peter is saying. Love people- even when they sin (purposely or accidentally, knowingly or unknowingly). You are not God to judge them for the things they are doing. You are to love them! Loving them can look different for different people. It can be praying for them, lending a listening ear, disciplining them, teaching them, serving them, or as Peter mentions in verse 9, being hospitable.

Being hospitable is all about being generous and inviting to people—we often use it in reference to how we treat guests to our home. So you can see how that’s another way to love people.

So as suggested by Peter, keep in mind that Christ could return at any moment. Pay attention to the things that you are doing and think about whether they make an impact in light of that. Don’t be so focused on yourself that you miss out on opportunities to love others.

1) If you knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, what would you do? What if He returns next month? Next year? In ten years?

2) What do your prayers look like?

3) How do you show people you love them?

4) Take some time to pray and journal about this passage.

How Not to Win Survivor

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary,bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (1 Peter 3:8-12 ESV)

I love watching Survivor. I find the group dynamics so entertaining – seeing the way people act and interact with the group and how that helps or hurts them when it comes time for challenges and tribal councils. Each season can be drastically different. Sometimes the people who make it to the end win because they were everyone's friend or they had the best strategy or they just kept winning everything.

There are quite a variety of people who have won the game. There are also certain people who will never win the game one of the most notorious villains to play Survivor was Russell Hantz. He ruthlessly made it to the end but had no chance of winning because he manipulated and mistreated people so badly.

It was also extremely entertaining to watch CBC and GBC play Survivor. I had a lot of fun watching the challenges and seeing what went down tribal Council. Early on in Survivor Hawaii, it became obvious that Stephen had become this season's Russell Hantz. He was doing everything right as far as playing the game was concerned, but he took the blame for the decisions and liked to talk way too much. Bushy made a smart decision taking Stephen to the final two.

What does that have to do with this passage in 1 Peter though? In these verses, we read about characteristics that explain why Bushy won, not Stephen.

As the game was being played, Bushy, Spencer and Stephen had unity of mind – they had the same goal in mind, stick with their alliance and make it to the merge. At the merge, they stayed unified and they eliminated bigger, stronger players.

However, Bushy and Spencer made decisions with sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind. They were playing to win, but weren't cocky and boastful as they did so. They kept their tongues from evil and their lips away from speaking deceit.

Survivor relies on the people voted out to determine the winner. Natural human tendency is to repay evil with evil. When Stephen was cocky about those he voted out, he burned those bridges and in doing so, lost their votes at the end because they repaid evil for evil.

Moral of the story: when developing your Survivor strategy for next season, keep in mind that although you must vote people off, the way in which you do so makes a difference. More importantly, this is true in life outside of Survivor too. As you interact with others you need to do so with unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind. Peter tells us this is necessary if we desire to love life and see good days.

Answer This:

1) In what ways does your life show that you are sympathetic? Loving? Tender-hearted? Humble?

2) What can you do to overcome the tendency to want to repay evil with evil?

3) Do you seek peace and honor God with your life? If so, how? If not, what needs to change?

4) Take some time to pray and journal about this passage.

Anybody have a dollar?

"Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:13-17 ESV)

The Bible is one long story. We get in the habit of breaking it down into more manageable chunks to read. There is great benefit in doing that, but it can also cause us to miss certain connections.
So we're reading 1 Peter which was written by: _______________. We know this guy – he was one of Jesus's 12 disciples. He walked on water. He cut off the soldier's ear. He denied Christ three times. He preached on the day of Pentecost.
Don't forget who the guy is that's writing the book as you're reading it. Now why do I bring that up?
I enjoy studying Peter's life and seeing how he was very passionate about serving Christ, even if he didn't always get it right. We see character development throughout the Gospels and Acts and as we read his epistles– We see how he made mistakes but also how he learned from the experiences he had.

As I read this passage and Peter, it reminded me of a story about Jesus. Let's read it:
"Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away." (Matthew 22:15-22 ESV)

Jesus respects Caesar as an earthly authority and pays his taxes. Although Peter isn't specifically mentioned, he knew Jesus' stance (see Matt. 17:24-27) and very well may have seen this all go down to. This is a lesson Peter learned and is now teaching to others.

It is God's will for you to submit yourself to the authority of your parents, teachers, youth leaders, police officers, government officials, congress and the president.

Peter's comment in verse 15 is interesting considering the story we just read about Jesus – became asking about the tax looking for a way to accuse Jesus. Because He had paid it, there was no fault against Him and they left. His obedience "silenced the ignorance of foolish people."

So as Peter says, "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood [other believers]. Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2:17 ESV)

Answer This:
1) Do you have a difficult time submitting to and respecting authority? Why or why not?

2) Why is it important for us to respect our authority figures?

3) Can you think of a time where your obedience had a positive influence on others watching?

4) Take some time to journal about this passage.