Henry: Welcome To Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day 48
dear friends, I warn you as temporary residents and foreigners to keep
away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.
Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors.
Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable
behavior and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
For the Lord's sake, submit to all human authority.
Whether the king as head of state, or the officials he has appointed for the
king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.
It is God's will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who
make foolish accusations against you.
For you are free.
Yet you are God's slaves.
So don't use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.
Respect everyone and love the family of believers.
Fear God and respect the king.
You who are slaves must submit to your masters.
With all respect, do what they tell you.
Not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.
For God is pleased when conscious of his will you patiently
endure unjust treatment.
Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong.
But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently,
God is pleased with you.
For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering just
as Christ suffered for you.
He is your example and you must follow in his steps.
He never sinned nor ever deceived anyone.
He did not retaliate when he was insulted nor threaten revenge When
he suffered, he left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be
dead to sin and live for what is right.
By his wounds, you are healed once you were like sheep who wandered
away, but now you have turned to your shepherd, the guardian of your souls.
In the same way you wives must accept the authority of your husbands.
Then even if some refuse to obey the good news, your godly lives will
speak to them without any words.
They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives.
Don't be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive
jewelry, or beautiful clothes.
You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within the
unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
This is how the holy women of Old made themselves beautiful.
They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands.
For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband Abraham and called him her master.
You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what
your husbands might do, in the same way you husbands must give honor
to your wives, treat your wife with understanding as you live together.
She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner
in God's gift of new life.
Treat her as you should, so your prayers will not be hindered.
Finally, all of you should be of one mind, sympathize with
each other, love each other.
As brothers and sisters be tenderhearted and keep a humble attitude.
Don't repay evil for evil.
Don't retaliate within insults.
When people insult you, instead pay them back with a blessing.
That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his
blessing for the scriptures say.
If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking
evil and your lips from telling lies.
Turn away from evil and do good search for peace and work to maintain it.
The eyes of the Lord, watch over those who do right and his ears are open to
their prayers, but the Lord turns his face against those who do evil now.
Who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good, but even
if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it.
So don't worry or be afraid of their threats.
Instead, you must worship Christ as lorded of your life.
And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.
But do this in a gentle and respectful way.
Keep your conscience clear.
Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they
see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.
Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good if that is what God
wants than to suffer for doing wrong.
Christ suffered for our sins once for all time.
He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God.
He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the spirit, so he went
and preached to the spirits in prison, those who disobeyed God long ago, when God
waited patiently while Noah was building his boat, only eight people were saved
from drowning in that terrible flood.
And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you not by removing
dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience.
It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Now, Christ has gone to heaven.
He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities
and powers accept his authority.
So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm
yourselves with the same attitude he had and be ready to suffer too.
For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin.
You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you
will be anxious to do the will of God.
You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people in, enjoy
their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness, and wild parties,
and their terrible worship of idols.
Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge
into the flood of wild and destructive things they do, so they slander you.
But remember that they will have to face God who stands ready to judge
everyone, both the living and the dead.
That is why the good news was preached to those who are now dead.
So although they were destined to die, like all people, they now live
forever with God in the spirit.
The end of the world is coming soon.
Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other.
For love covers a multitude of sins.
Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.
Use them well to serve one another.
Do you have the gift of speaking?
Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.
Do you have the gift of helping others do it?
With all the strength and energy that God supplies, then everything
you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ, all glory
and power to him forever and ever.
Amen.
Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through as if
something strange were happening to you.
Instead, be very glad for these trials make you partners with Christ in his
suffering so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory
when it is revealed to all the world.
If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed for
the glorious spirit of God rests upon you.
If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making
trouble, or prying into other people's affairs, but it is no shame
to suffer for being a Christian.
Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name.
For the time has come for judgment and it must begin with God's household.
And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who
have never obeyed God's good news.
Also, if the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?
So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right
and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
And now a word to you who are elders in the churches.
I too am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ.
I too will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world.
As a fellow elder, I appeal to you care for the flock
that God has entrusted to you.
Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly, not for what you will get out of it,
but because you are eager to serve God.
Don't Lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own.
Good example.
When the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never ending
glory and honor in the same way.
You who are younger must accept the authority of the elders and all of you.
Dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another.
For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God.
And at the right time, he will lift you up in honor.
Give all your worries and cares to God for he cares about you.
Stay alert.
Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.
He p prowls around like a roaring lion.
Looking for someone to devour.
Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith.
Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through
the same kind of suffering you are.
In his kindness, God called you to share in his eternal
glory by means of Christ Jesus.
So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore support and strengthen
you, and he will place you on a firm foundation all power to him forever.
Amen.
I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I
commend to you as a faithful brother.
My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you
that what you are experiencing is truly part of God's grace for you.
Stand firm in this grace.
Your sister church here in Babylon sends you greetings and so does my son Mark,
greet each other with a kiss of love.
Peace be with all of you who are in Christ.
This concludes today's Immer Reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.