“But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:5).

Everyone will stand before the Lord.  This is not only hope for the faithful, but for those who do wrong, it should also bring fear for those who sin with no repentance.  We all shall stand before the Lord.  Take care to not accuse your brother before looking at your own sin.  There has always been too much self-righteousness and not enough humility.  Learn how to be humble and treat others as you would want to be treated.

Lord, You have given me the principles to follow, now help me to follow them.  Guide me in your goodness to put the best possible construct on things, but never to deny the truth.  Lead me to be gracious to others, but not to their detriment.  Help me look inwardly so that I may be honest with myself and others.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way of everlasting life so that I may be like You.

Lord Jesus, without You the desire of my heart would be impossible.  You have come leading the way for all who will follow You in order that we may understand godliness.  Put in me Your righteousness and bless me with humility so that I may understand and know the way You have designed me to live.  Let me not live in fear, but in hope because of all that You have promised.  Amen.   

“They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you” (1 Peter 4:4).

Why are you so afraid of being rejected by those who reject the Lord?  This is a question the faithful need to ask themselves because this is one of our temptations.  We want others to like us.  When we choose to live in a godly way, we shall be ridiculed.  Do not join in reckless living, but live as the Lord teaches you to live.  Learn to expect others to revile you because you do not join in their sinfulness.

Lord, help me neither to be self-righteous, nor abandoned to the way of the world.  Teach me to walk in grace and mercy and to grant the same to others.  I need Your love to flow through me so that I would hold fast to what is right while also understanding that we all need grace.  Guide me Lord in the way of life that leads to eternity with You.  Help me through every temptation that comes my way.

Holy Spirit, You know the struggles that go on inside of me.  You know where I falter with temptation.  Help me to inwardly and outwardly look to You as the One who will guide me in how to live life and the attitude that I need to have.  Help me to not join in the way of the world, but to join with You in the way of eternity.  Guide me dear Lord and help me to always follow You.  Amen.

“For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry” (1 Peter 4:3).

Look at the world.  What are they doing?  They are reacting to things they are told.  Up, down, all around, it is crazy.  Yet people go on and on thinking that this is okay.  Why do you participate in these things?  Why do you act as thought this is okay?  Look to the Lord and seek what is right while it can be found.  Know that in the Lord there is goodness and mercy.  Do not do the detestable things.

Lord, You know where I am tempted and give in to that temptation.  Guide me dear Lord to move beyond these things so that I would focus upon what is right and good.  Help me, I pray, to know that in You is all hope and goodness.  The world shall fail, but You are forever.  The way of the world leads to destruction.  Guide me Lord in the way of life so that I may be uplifted with You.

Dear Jesus, You walked through this world seeing the sins and faults of those around You.  You loved us enough to go to the cross in spite of this behavior.  Help me die to these things in order that I may rise each day to do what is right and good.  Lead me Lord in the way of everlasting life.  Guide me to not condemn others, for the law already does that, but to love them as You love me.  Amen.

“As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:2).

This is a real dividing point and if one looks, can easily be seen.  What is the motivation of people?  Is it the Lord or something else?  The righteous of the Lord are seeking the will of the Father.  Others are seeking for themselves.  In this sense, the sins of the righteous do not count.  That is, although they may stumble, they are walking after the Lord who will rid them even of these sins which cause them to stumble.

What is the goal of your life and who is the one driving toward that goal.  Is it your self or some ideal, or is it the Lord?  We all are tempted to sin.  We all fall short.  But this goes beyond that to ask, “What is your goal?”  The Lord calls us to follow Him on the narrow path so that we would not falter, but live into the eternal life which is ours through Him.  Come then and seek the Lord while He may be found.

Lord Jesus, You have come in order that we may have life and have it abundantly.  Guide me in the way of everlasting life that You are the goal and the prize.  Help me to seek first Your righteousness knowing that then all else that is needed will be added.  Help me Lord so that I may walk the humble walk of a true disciple and set aside sinful ambitions.  Save me from myself in order to walk with You.  Amen.

“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin” (1 Peter 4:1).

How far will you go to follow Christ?  There are some who will fall away at the first sign of adversity.  There are some who will go a short distance.  But you, how far will you go?  The Lord gave His all and if we are to reach the prize, eventually we too will have to give our all.  Come then and live into the faith which has been given you through Christ our Savior.  He will lead you to become sinless.

Lord, this journey of faith is hard.  I am tempted to step off of the path and walk in a different way.  But Lord, You have given me the words of eternal life, where else can I go?  I need Your help to walk this life of faith which You have given me.  Guide me dear Lord so that I may now and always walk the narrow road that You have set before me.  Lead me in the upward way of righteousness.

Dear Lord Jesus, You gave Your life as a ransom for us all.  You suffered for us all.  Should I complain if I suffer a bit for you?  Guide me in the journey of faith so that I do not consider any cost, but the privilege that comes from a wicked world upon those who walk the way of righteousness.  Help me now and always to learn from You and walk the way You would have me walk.  Amen.

“[W]ho has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand – with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him” (1 Peter 3:22).

Only He who descends can ascend.  The Lord has come so that all who join in and through Him may join with Him in a resurrection like His.  All authority in heaven and upon earth belong to Jesus.  Do you see who it is that has come enabling you to have the abundant and eternal life?  This same Lord has called you by name in order that you may be where He is.  Join with Him and live true life.

Lord, You know the struggle of living in this age.  There are those all around me – and sometimes it is me – who fight against the godliness You have established.  Lead me, O Lord, to be grounded in You knowing that all authority is Yours.  You have descended that we may ascend.  You are the way to joining in eternity and live the life we were meant to live.

Lord Jesus, You have told us that You are the way, truth, and life.  Guide me always to see You more clearly each day and follow as You lead.  The world may tug at me, but Your promises are always before me.  Lead me in the promise of the salvation You have given in order that I may humbly walk with You, my Lord and Master, all the days of my life, living into the eternal life You have given me.  Amen.

“[A]nd this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.  It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21)

The pledge of a clear conscience: this is what we are striving for in the salvation which is ours in Christ.  Are you paying attention to what you are doing?  Do you have a clear conscience?  We all make mistakes and do things we later regret.  The cleansing we are receiving is from the inside out.  Are you in the promised cleansing of our Lord?  Are you walking with Him now and always? Do you hear and obey when He says, “go and sin no more”?

Lord, I do defend, refute, and pretend that all is well inside when it is not.  Guide me out of this darkness and into the light where I am truly working for all that is right and good.  You know me better than I know myself.  Help me come to the place where I have a clear conscience.  Help me live as You would have me live.  Guide me in Your goodness to be honest with myself and others.

Dear Lord Jesus, sometimes I think I am starting all over again in the faith.  You have led me thus far and I am still in Your promise.  Help me to see the benefit of doing good so that by bedtime I may have a clear conscience and sleep the sleep of the just.  In Your goodness, lift me up so that I do things that are good simply because they are good.  When I fail, help me to be quick to confess and repent.  In all things, keep my focus on You.  Amen.

“[T]o those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water” (1 Peter 3:20)

Always, the Lord has made a plan for those who were called beyond the wickedness of this age.  For Noah and for all the righteous throughout the ages, the Lord has given grace and mercy.  You think in terms of time, but God is beyond all time and regardless the time, sees you doing what you do.  He calls to all, that those who hear His voice might repent and turn to His grace and mercy and see true life.

Lord, I have chased after things that do not matter and have not paid attention to the things that do matter.  Guide me in the way of everlasting life so that I would now and forever look to You, the author and finisher of my faith.  Lead me in Your goodness and mercy in order that I, like Noah, would be kept on an ark through the rough waters of this age.  Do not drown me with the wicked but grant life in and through Christ my Savior.

Lord Jesus, in every generation, You have been there to call out those who have ears to hear and eyes to see.  You are the Savior of all who journey to the Father in hope.  Do not let me fall off the path You have set that through all that comes I may live into the life You have given me through grace.  Keep guiding me and help me to see on those cloudy days that dim my view.

Holy Spirit, You are in me and leading me always.  Do not let my ears grow dim, or my willingness grow slack.  Help me take each step that comes so that I may journey as You would have me journey in this way I call faith.  Help me to have the stamina and courage to face each day, that by Your leading, I may overcome all the obstacles that stand in the way of living this life of faith which You have breathed into me.  Amen.

“After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits” (1 Peter 3:19)

In the mystery, of which we can only speculate, Jesus died once for all in order that all who believe, even those who believed before His appearing, would live into the eternal life He promises.  The Holy Spirit did not just appear on the day of Pentecost, but is eternal as the Father and Son are eternal, one God, now and forever.  The Lord has always been calling to Himself those who would come in faith that His grace would save.

Lord, I have been imprisoned by sin and death.  You have answered the prayers of all who cried out to You.  You hear and have saved as many as believe.  That is a great mystery beyond my ability to comprehend.  Guide me, dear Lord, in the way of everlasting life so that I would forever look to You, my Lord and God, as the One who truly is leading me in the way of righteousness.

Whether I have known it or not, You have been with us from the beginning, Holy Spirit.  Guide me always in the way of life everlasting in order that I would walk whatever path You set before me.  Help me to see more clearly each day the life You have promised.  Thank You for making the mysteries known to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, that Your kingdom would be of every tribe, tongue, and nation.  Amen.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

All of what you experience, is it perhaps that you might have the opportunity to come to God?  We know just enough to think that we know.  The most intelligent humans know nothing compared to the omniscience of God.  But we know that He desires that you come to Him.  He desires that you abide with Him and become what He is making of you.  Come then in faith and live into the life which is yours in Christ.

Christ indeed has accomplished what we could not.  He gave us His righteousness and He took our unrighteousness.  All of this so that the sin in you might be put to death in order that His life in you could live eternally.  Come then and live into the life which is yours in Christ and know that in His goodness and mercy you are a part of His eternal and glorious plan.  He has made you alive in Christ.

Lord Jesus, In You and You alone do I have hope and a future.  Guide me in the goodness of Your mercy and grace so that I would forever hold fast to what You have made possible – life in and through You.  Now and always, Lord Jesus, may I look to You as the One who leads me on the righteous journey You have set before me.  Bring me into Your eternal realm to abide with You forever.  Amen.