“For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17)

We tend to look out and conform to the world rather than to look inward and be conformed to the will of God.  Do not go to the lowest common denominator, but be lifted up by the One Lord and Savior of us all, Jesus Christ.  Do not think that we will escape judgement, for we confess that we believe in Jesus returning to judge the living and the dead.  Come then and live into the life to which you have been called.

Lord, You know where my heart tends to go.  Guide me in the way of everlasting life in order that I would not look to the world, but away from it and to You.  Teach me how to love.  Help me in those times where I am uncertain so that I may live in the freedom You have given me.  Through all things, continue to guide me in Your grace and mercy to be what You have called me to be.

Lord Jesus, in You alone is hope and an eternal future.  Guide me in the way of life which You have established in order that I may now and forever be guided by Your grace and mercy and live the Father’s will.  Not meritoriously, but recognizing that You hold us all accountable, help me to live knowing that You will ask me what I have done with the gifts You have given me.  Amen.

“However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (1 Peter 4:16).

It is no shame when you are hated for doing the right thing.  Our Lord was crucified and He did no wrong.  The world hates light and truth.  But there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.  Come into the light and know that in the Lord is goodness and truth.  Never be ashamed of the One who has come into the world so that You might leave the world to be with Him forever.

Lord, I do not know why I am ashamed when I should not be.  But the world does this to me and I do this to myself.  Help me to see things as they are. Guide me to not care, in this sense, what the world thinks.  Help me to do what is right even though the whole world were to try to shame me into doing wrong.  Only in You can I see what is right and true.  Only in You is there hope and a future.

Lord Jesus, You were constantly harassed by those in the world.  What did they gain?  They are dead and gone, but You have changed the course of the world.  Let me not live with my eye just upon the moment, but help me to see You, the One who is in eternity.  Guide me in the upward way of the call You have given me so that I may now and always be lead in the way You know I need to go.  Amen.

“If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler” (1 Peter 4:15).

Our Lord died for the sins of all, but not in order that we would go on sinning.  Leading lives of repentance is no easy task.  Many take the path of thinking they are just fine rather than the path of seeking to do the Lord’s will   Come onto the right path and live a life worthy of the calling you have received from Christ.  Know that in Him is all life and true liberty from the recompense of sin.

Lord, the world presses in on me to play games.  In my time, many denominations have been ravaged by this game of looking the other way to sin.  Help me to not play games, but realize that this is so serious that if I do live in the grace You give, I will pay a worldly price.  Yet, what price is that compared to what You give me by that same grace.  Lead me Lord in the right way to live.

Lord, Jesus, You know all about suffering.  You have also forgiven all of us criminals.  Help me to follow Your example which reached out to heal the sick and the suffering.  Help me to care for others whether or not they deserve it.  Guide me to adopt the right attitude in living.  Lord, you have come to save us and only through You is there salvation.  Guide me always in the way I should live life.  Amen.

“If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (1 Peter 4:14).

Holding fast to the truth will bring hostility from the world.  Those who hate God do not want to be reminded of the conflict between their hatred and the reality that God is the center of all things.  Do not be deceived, nor be led astray, but hold fast to what is true knowing that you will be ridiculed for believing not with wishful thinking, but the truth of the Lord God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

Lord, I do so worry about what others think when I should be focusing upon the reality You have revealed.  When I am insulted for Your name’s sake, help me stand firm and not be swayed by the wickedness of this world.  Guide me into the goodness of Your mercy and love so that I may know that You alone are Lord and scoff at the feeble attempts of all others to tempt me to believe otherwise.

Come Holy Spirit and lead me in truth.  You have spoken the words of truth and You have breathed on me.  Guide me now and forever to know that in You is all hope and the eternal future promised through grace.  Help me to hold fast and live according to Your never-failing promises.  Lord in You is all hope.  Help me to abide in that hope knowing that You are abiding in me.  Amen.

“But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:13).

Rejoice in Christ.  Rejoice in being considered worthy to suffer with and for Him.  Do not lament, but know that the Lord is growing in You, quite literally, the image of Christ.  Be led by Him into the life for which He is preparing you.  Be guided by the truth that He is always with You and knows all that you need.  Everything will make perfect sense when you come into perfection.

Lord, You have told me that now I am looking in a mirror dimly, but when that day comes, I will know even as I have always been fully known.  Lead me Lord in the way of everlasting life.  Guide me according to Your goodness to know that in You is hope and truth.  Let me not be led aside by what really are momentary distractions in this world, but instead, help me take joy in all that You are doing.

Lord Jesus, You walked the Via Delarosa, the way of sorrow and pain.  You went to the cross for us all.  Help me, I pray, to live through whatever may come knowing that in You is all hope and an eternal glory which is yours.  Keep my faith simple and pure.  Guide me in Your goodness to know that in every situation, You are there and when things are tough, You truly understand.  Help me keep my eyes upon You.  Amen.

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).

Do not be surprised.  If you are going to earnestly walk the path of salvation, you will be attacked.  The wicked one means it for your destruction.  The Lord will use it to grow in you that which He knows needs to be there.  The most important thing is to not be surprised when it happens.  This is also spoken of time and time again in Scripture.  You may not like it, but be encouraged, the Lord is with you.

Lord, You know the beginning from the end.  You know what is coming and You have prepared us.  Help me to enter the fiery ordeals of life as one prepared so that I may walk humbly in Your promise.  Help me to not waver, but walk boldly all the days of my life in the truth You have revealed through salvation.  Lord, good and bad times come, but You are forever.  Help me keep this in my mind always.

Dear Lord Jesus, Your ministry on earth was one continuous fiery ordeal.  I cannot look at You and say that You do not understand.  You do.  Help me dear Lord to live into the life You have given me, no matter what may come along the way.  You have said that if I endure, it will build character and the character will give me hope.  Lead me through every ordeal that my faith would be more sure.  Amen.

“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).

The principle is simple, do what you do as if you are serving the Lord.  You are.  Jesus said, “when you do it for the least, you do it for Me.”  We are to adopt an attitude of being a willing servant of others.  We are to reach out of ourselves and truly love others as we would like to be loved.  If one looks at it simply, it makes a whole lot of sense.  It is what the Lord has been telling us all along.

The Lord created us to worship Him.  We do worship.  It is in our nature.  That is why we tap our toe to music.  He is the direction of our worship.  We should live into the life for which we were created.  God has provided all that we need.  Learn how to let go of yourself in order to become who the Lord will make you to be.  The journey is set before you.  Walk in the way of the Lord.

Lord Jesus, You have modeled the attitude we are to have.  You have told us how to do things.  It really is not that difficult, but I make it so by resisting the person You have made me to be.  Guide me Lord into the way of everlasting life so that I may live into this life to which You are calling me.  Guide me according to Your goodness to see more clearly and follow You in the steps You would have me take.  Amen.

“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:9-10).

The call of stewardship is to serve others.  As the Lord served us, we are to serve one another.  Each according to the gifts the Lord has given them.  What then?  Only this, do not focus upon yourself, but look at what the Lord is asking you to do and then learn how to faithfully follow the Lord’s call.  We each have been given God’s grace and in that grace are called to serve one another.

Lord, this world encourages us to be selfish and think about ourselves before others.  You tell us to go outside of ourselves and do what is right according to the gifts we have been given.  Guide me Lord in the right way to live so that I may humbly do as You say.  Teach me how to be a faithful steward of the gifts You have given me in order that I may now and always walk according to Your call.

Lord Jesus, You who are God in the flesh, You have walked among us in ordinary guise.  You were humble and came to serve, even though You are worthy of all serving You.  In Your example, help me to live into the life for which You have redeemed me.  Guide me in Your grace to live faithfully as You impute Your righteousness into me.  Guide me dear Lord in the eternal way You have shown me.  Amen.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:5).

When we focus upon loving another, we begin to pay attention to who they are.  Ask others what they are thinking.  Do not assume that you know.  Who knows us but the Lord?  We do not even know ourselves truly, but the Lord knows us.  Come then and live into the life which trusts the Lord and learns humbly from Him how to love others.  God is love and He invites us into His love for all eternity.

Lord, there are many things about life that puzzle me, but I am able to understand the simplicity of loving my neighbor.  Guide me Lord in the way of love so that I would learn from You how to love more fully.  Teach me to go beyond myself and look to the other to see how I may help and serve them.  Lord, You know all that is needed for me to do these things.  Thank You for providing what is needed.

Dear Lord Jesus, You so loved us that You came down from heaven for all of those who would come through Your grace to be forever united in love with You.  Guide me dear Lord so that today I would pay attention to those around me and serve them.  Continue to teach me how to love as You love.  Guide me each step of the way to move in the upward calling of loving You and my neighbor.  Keep me in Your grace to enable me to move forward.  Amen.

“The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray” (1 Peter 4:7).

This is more true now than it was in Peter’s day.  Yes, from a worldly perspective that was long ago.  From the perspective of one who lives forever, it was not long at all.  At the end of this life, the next thing we will see is Jesus.  Let this keep you sober in your thinking and be on the alert knowing that this world is tossed about by the winds of constant and never changing unrealities.

Lord, open my eyes to see beyond the unclear ways of this world.  Guide me in Your goodness to know that in You alone is there all hope and an eternal future.  You have come so that I may have true life and have it abundantly.  In the truth, lead me so that I live life intentionally, with sobriety, and always alert.  Guard my heart and mind so that I may now and always abide humbly in You and the way You have set before me.

Guide me Lord Jesus in the way of everlasting life.  Help me to understand that in You alone is there hope and that without You, I will quickly fall back into the pattern of the old Adam.  The world screams for sensitivity and You call me into sensibility.  I cannot be all things to all people, but I can submit to You and become what You are making of me.  Lead me Lord to follow You now and always.  Amen.