Month: December 2022

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5 I grew up in church where those around me lived moral, upstanding lives as far as I knew. I simply knew that Christians didn’t struggle with things like drug and alcohol.…
Read more

I exhort the elders among you . . . shepherd the flock of God that is among you . . . Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another . . . 1 Peter 5:1-5 Early on in my recovery, I felt out…
Read more

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 1 Peter 4:13:13-14 I don’t drink alcohol. I’ve got a problem…
Read more

Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:12-13 When I first spent a few weeks…
Read more

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace . . . 1 Peter 4:9-10 As an adult, I’ve found that I’ll frequently revert to my childish ways when I’m able. When I was a child, I wanted…
Read more

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 When young and first in love, romantically involved couples will often overlook significant flaws in each other. They may even find these idiosyncrasies cute in their beloved. The young lovers are of course, infatuated with each other and…
Read more

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 1 Peter 4:7 (NIV) I took two weeks off work with my recent knee surgery and when I got back to one of my offices, there was a wheelchair at my desk where my usual chair should have been.…
Read more

With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you. 1 Peter 4:4 With my first couple of attempts at recovery, I was far more interested in my dignity, privacy, and reputation than my sobriety. So, I kept the struggle a secret,…
Read more

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 1 Peter 4:1-2 We all…
Read more

. . . Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.…
Read more