Christ is Lord

Posted on by korgrocker

“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 Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”
1 Peter 3:14-15 NLT

Peter instructed His readers to “worship Christ as Lord of [their lives]”. But what does it mean to do this, as is it a relevance today?  We might bristle a little at the thought of a lord, who we might imagine as being the inhabitant of a large stately home who attends the upper house in the UK parliament. A person who speaks with a “posh” accent and seems divorced from the pressures and problems experienced by ordinary people. But that is not the sort of “lord” that Peter was writing about. A “lord” is someone with authority and control over others, a ruler and someone worthy of respect. In the days before Jesus’ death and resurrection, referring to Him as “Lord” was just being respectful, as we read in Matthew 8:25, “The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”” But we remember the exclamation from Thomas in John 20:28, after he at last accepted Jesus’ deity, ““My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.”

The recipients of Peter’s letter had never met Jesus and yet Peter instructed them to make Him Lord of their lives. This means that they were to submit to His authority, doing the things He asked them to do. Behaving in a way honouring to Him. Being in submission and obeying His every word. And the same applies to us pilgrims today. We too have the same opportunity to follow Jesus, making Him Lord of our lives. Jesus exemplified much of what this means as He made His way around Palestine, teaching the disciples and the people, and healing all who came to Him. And He even washed His disciples feet on one occasion, and we read in John 13:13-15, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you“.

We pilgrims today read the Scriptures and find there all we need to properly honour Jesus as our Lord. But it is an attitude of mind and deed that we have to work at, and always being aware of the warning that Jesus taught, “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). ‭‭It is indeed not good enough to go through the motions of religiosity, without sincerity in our hearts. Jesus can see right through us to the very inner workings of soul and mind.

One day everyone in Heaven and on earth will have to bend the knee before Jesus and acknowledge His Lordship. We read in Philippians 2:9-11, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father“. Much better to live a life devoted to Christ as Lord in this life, than wait for an hour full of regret when a missed opportunity becomes an eternity without Him.

Dear Lord and Father of all mankind. Forgive our foolish ways, we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Good-doers

Posted on by korgrocker

“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.”
1 Peter 3:13-14 NLT

It’s all about perception. Some people will view our good deeds as an intrusion or even downright harmful. For example, administering a dose of foul-tasting medicine to a young child might be perceived, by them, as doing them harm, and the accompanying “it will do you good” isn’t really believed. In the adult realm, refusing to serve one more drink to a drunk at the bar will not be considered, by them, as being good. Doing something to or for another person that goes against their wishes might be considered good by everyone but them. On a national scale, the current drive towards “net zero” is considered a “good” policy but there will be much pain and cost associated with it and many will rebel against something that is “good”. 

We do good deeds for other people out of the kindness of our hearts. We see a need in others and, often to personal cost to ourselves, we do our best to meet their need. In my own community, the old lady across the road is totally flummoxed by anything technical. So when her tv misbehaves and confuses her channel selection, or after a software update changes the interface, it is me she calls on to help her out. And I’m sure she does the same for others in her own way with the gifts she has. Her next door neighbour is a wonderful pastry cook and often supplies her with delicacies. These are all acts of kindness and common actions in our society. If these things happen in secular society, how much more they should happen in God’s family. We read in Galatians 6:9-10, “So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith”. Jesus taught about doing good for others – we read what He said in Matthew 6:1 and the following verses, “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven”. Note that His association with good deeds was preceded by an expectation of “when” rather than an “if”.

For pilgrims such as ourselves, doing good to others is expected to go beyond what society would normally expect, and this is what will ultimately cause us trouble. We believers can campaign for “good” causes and incur the wrath of both the authorities and our fellow members of society. For example, in the State of Victoria in Australia there is a law that makes praying for, or counselling, someone going through some form of gender dysphoria a crime. A good deed involving genuine caring criminalised. In the same way, a lady in the UK was recently taken to court, charged with an “offence” involving her silently praying on her own outside an abortion clinic. A good deed or a crime? But God knows the right from wrong in the abortion issue and she will be rewarded by Him, I’m sure. Some years ago a man once asked me for money to buy a cup of tea. I gave him some loose change from my pocket but was immediately afterwards challenged by another man, irate because he was convinced the first man would just use it to buy alcohol. A good deed for one was considered a bad deed by the other.

We don’t know what was in Peter’s mind when he wrote the verses that we are considering today, but we believers are counter-cultural and receive our guidance about what is “good” from our Father in Heaven. Inevitably there will be a clash with society’s values perhaps followed by contemptuous  accusations of just being “do-gooders”. Society will choose the “what’s in it for me” road while Christians will look to the good of others.

Paul encouraged his readers to do good to everyone, and particularly to those we know who are in the family of believers. Let us look around us today and seek out opportunities to do good. It may involve our time and money, or skills we possess, but we know we are doing God’s work, following His desires. Any good deed, no matter how small or seemingly trivial, will be rewarded by Him one day.

Dear Father. You are our good God, our lovingly Heavenly Father. We praise and worship You today. Amen.

The Lord Watches

Posted on by korgrocker

“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.””
1 Peter 3:10-12 NLT

This passage of Scripture from 1 Peter 3 includes a quotation from Psalm 34. In this Psalm we read, “The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth” (Psalm 34:15-16). This is not the only Scripture that records God’s watchful gaze. We read in Psalm 121:5, “The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade”. Proverbs 15:3, “The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.” Jesus Himself warned about the outcome of God’s watchful presence, “The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear” (Luke 12:2-3). We may object to many security cameras and other devices intruding into our privacy, but nothing we do or even think escapes God’s scrutiny. 

Is such a thought a scary one? It may be for some, and of course we remember that God is recording it all in books to be opened on the final day of judgement. But more positively for us pilgrims it brings into play the picture of a loving Heavenly Father, who cares for us. He wants us to become more like His Son Jesus and through His Spirit He gently cleanses us, both in thought and deed. It won’t happen overnight and will take a lifetime to bring about any change for the better. But thankfully, as we confess our sins, God then forgets them. They are blotted out of His records. Through the prophet Isaiah, God said, “I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offences like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free” (Isaiah 44:22). He will never reject a repentant person, sincerely approaching His throne of grace.

We pilgrims should note as well that God is attentive to our prayers. The NLT translation calls them “cries for help”. Either way, because God is always present and approachable, He listens to what we are saying. A prayer need not be formatted in ecclesiastical fonts and riddled with phrases from a bygone era. “Thees” and “thous” are not obligatory. As we share our thoughts and words with God, He understands not only the words but the stuttering and perhaps confused thoughts behind them. He listens, and He answers, in one of three ways – “Yes”, “No” and “Not yet”. But sometimes we just need to share our difficulties and challenges, assured that he is there listening. We may not need or appreciate an answer. We just relax in His caring arms, feeling His warmth and presence. Feeling the breath of His Spirit bringing the assurance that we are not alone. And we remember that every time we pray there are three others apart from ourselves involved – God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Peter didn’t include the last stanza of Psalm 34:16. About those that do evil, we know that “[God] will erase their memory from the earth”. And that is of course so very true. Evildoers are soon forgotten but those who do good are remembered and honoured. And there will come a day when the wicked will be briefly remembered, to be confronted by their evil before they are cast away for good into a place where there are no memories. The good will hear those precious words, “Well done …”. Those who do right enjoy the watching presence of God. As we pilgrims follow the right paths, He will care for us and protect us from evil.

Dear Lord. We pray “Deliver us from evil” every time we pray Your prayer. Thank You. Amen.

Maintaining Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“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.””
1 Peter 3:10-12 NLT

Peter didn’t just say be at peace or accept peace in a passive way. His advice was to “search for peace“, with the implication that it must be something we actively pursue. But in this world it seems peace is an elusive commodity. The war in Ukraine is still with us and the repercussions hurt everyone in Europe and beyond. The constant tension between different world ideologies occasionally bubbles up into a limited confrontation between nations. Even in our communities, a lack of peace is always with us – just read the local news. People yearn for peace but seem powerless to make it happen, because within us are desires and emotions that displace even the personal peace, an inner peace, that God has designed for us. Perhaps we can all echo Paul’s wail of frustration in Romans 7:24, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” A lack of peace is often the fruit of wickedness and a popular verse is found in Isaiah 48:22, ““But there is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.” But we know that of course – the world is under the jurisdiction of a person, the devil, intent in propagating wickedness and evil wherever he can.

There are many causes of a lack of peace in the lives of people. Even we pilgrims often find ourselves debilitated by internal strife. Thankfully, Jesus came to give us peace with God, and that is the most precious of all types of peace. In fact, in Isaiah 9:6 we read, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Jesus had the title “Prince of Peace” in Isaiah’s prophecy and He truly demonstrated that in His time here on earth. At the time of Jesus’ birth the angels announced, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased” (Luke 2:14).

We pilgrims discover peace with God through Jesus. Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us”. When we find peace through God we have a foundation on which we can build a peaceful society. We may feel our own contribution is too small to make much of a difference, but Jesus asked us to be salt and light in our communities, amongst our neighbours and friends. Peace can be infectious, and a Godly influence can make a difference in the lives of many people. And when we find peace with God we find peace indeed that ripples through every facet of our lives.

Dear Father. You wish the world to experience Your peace. We have our part to play – please help us. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Tongues and Lips

Posted on by korgrocker

“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.””
1 Peter 3:10-12 NLT

In today’s verses, Peter included a quotation from Psalm 34, a psalm written by David during a difficult time spent with the heathen king Abimelech. This is an acrostic psalm, where each verse started with a different letter in the Hebrew alphabet. But in all that, it contains some good advice, particularly with regard to what we say, hence the reference to tongues that speak evil and lips that tell lies. Of course, we know that these organs in our bodies are just the messengers. The real problem lies with our thoughts, and so often we can get into trouble when, or if, we speak them out. 

The Apostle Paul knew the problem with a mind that seems to drift so naturally into the realms of evil thinking. To combat that he suggested, “ …. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8). The Apostle James went a bit further and devoted a large section of his epistle’s third chapter to advise on the importance of controlling our tongues. He wrote, “Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way” (James 3:2). Almost in desperation it seems, he finished, “but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right” (James 3:8-10). But he had a point. On a Sunday we might be in church singing wonderful songs about Jesus, or speaking our prayers of love and thanksgiving to God, but on a Monday sharing gossip or making up lies about a colleague. James wrote, “ … you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring” (James 3:12b).

It’s all about taking control of our thought life, and discerning what is right and wrong. We may be tempted to create an effect by speaking out untruths. We may be driven to an improper reaction when in a place of stress or tempted to tell lies to get ourselves out of trouble. I’m sure we can all remember times when we have been in such a place, remembering occasions that bring a flush of shame to our cheeks. But we bring our sins before God and receive His wonderful grace and forgiveness. 

Jesus went through much abuse at His trial and the events leading up to it. On reading an account of His responses, we very quickly develop a picture of a Man totally in control of His tongue. No lies came from His lips. No evil from His tongue. Instead He gave measured and truthful statements when He had to, and at other times He remained silent. Isaiah prophesied, “He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).

And so it should be with us pilgrims. We train our thought life to focus on things that are true and righteous, following Paul’s advice. And we will find that the temptation to lapse into evil and lying thinking reduces more and more. One day we will be perfect, like Jesus, as we join Him in our future Heavenly home. But in the meantime we follow in His footsteps, becoming more like Him.

Father God. We pray for more of You in our lives, because we know that when we are filled with Your Spirit there is no room for anything else. Thank You. Amen.

Evil for Evil

Posted on by korgrocker

“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with 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.”
1 Peter 3:9

There is an old saying – “two wrongs don’t make a right”. In a situation where someone has been wronged, a natural reaction is for them to lash out in some way. Verbally or perhaps even physically. If someone makes a rude comment about you then the immediate response would be an insult in return. Such behaviour has also been a feature in the adversarial nature of British politics, with the front benches in the House of Commons, the UK lower house of lawmakers, being set apart by two sword lengths plus one inch, a relic from those days when men did indeed carry swords. The best response to insults is to just walk away, preventing the escalation of what could turn into an ugly and offensive situation. Just one wrong remains, not two. The recipient of the abuse can take the moral high ground and move on to get on with the rest of their life.

In these days of social media channels, a generation of keyboard warriors has emerged. Men and women who lack the courage to say what they think to your face but instead have no such scruples with a keyboard in front of them. So people in the public eye can suffer huge volumes of abusive responses to their public messages, just because they perhaps had the courage to stand up and say something that others disagree with. A common response is for those receiving such abuse to close down their own social media apps, because any attempt to explain just pours more fuel into the fire. We do seem to live in a very sad world.

Peter encouraged his readers with an appeal for God’s blessing to be on those who respond to their tormentors in a better way. Perhaps Peter remembered that day when Jesus was teaching on the Mount and when He said, “Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you” (Luke 6:28). This instruction went further than a simple act of ignoring the offender. Not to repay evil for evil is just the start. A passive walking away isn’t quite what Peter had in mind in his advice. Jesus and Peter both advised that there is a better way. To bless and pray for those who curse or insult you.

So the next time another car driver undertakes a manoeuvre that nearly causes you to have an accident, call down a blessing from Heaven on the culprit, and pray that he (or she) sees the error of their ways and not be in such a hurry. The next time someone says something about you in the office that you are perhaps not supposed to hear, bless them with a kind word, or even something practical like a cup of coffee. And for all those who are unkind or insulting in their contact with us, we offer up a prayer to the God who sees what is going on and who wants to bless everyone.

Father God. We thank You for Your words of blessing. Even now we pause and reflect on anyone who has harmed us in some way. And we call down a Heavenly blessing on them, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

One Mind(2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathise with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tender-hearted, and keep a humble attitude.”
1 Peter 3:8 NLT

In a previous blog post we considered the analogy of the human body, and how it is made up of many individual parts and how they all need to be functioning correctly and together to ensure that the body functions as it should. We see the impact of a body part that shouldn’t be there, and working against the rest of the body, in the ravages of cancer. Sadly, many churches fall apart, or split, or even disappear, because of cancerous growths in their midst caused by selfish people with their own agendas, agendas that are at variance with the rest of the body. And today I know of some Christians living near me who no longer attend a church because they are unable to reconcile their beliefs with the church they left behind. Perhaps they have claimed what they consider to be the moral or theological high ground, but have missed the thing that pleases God the most – being kind and caring, in submission to one another. Or perhaps their unrepentant pride and selfish behaviour is the problem. One-mindedness involves self-sacrifice, and we pilgrims should never leave a church lightly, and even then only with God’s blessing.

Being of one mind, particularly with God, pleases Him immensely. A divided church is a sad and pitiable entity, and one that grieves God deeply. Sometimes we spend too long arguing about what divides us, rather than celebrating what we agree on. Jesus taught about the dangers of division. He was once accused of casting out demons by the power of satan. In response he told a parable about a divided kingdom. We read in Matthew 12:25, “Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart“”. And a few verses further on Jesus ominously said, “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me” (Matthew 12:30). We pilgrims don’t want to find ourselves in a place where we are working against Jesus. 

Peter continued with the theme of one-mindedness using words such as “sympathise”, “love”, “tender-hearted” and “humble”. These are all words that describe our attitude to one another. We pilgrims, of course, work hard at being at one with one another. And we look out for ways in which we can humbly implement many of the “one another’s” we find in the Bible. The natural tendency of human beings is to congregate with others of similar race, education and employment. But as believers we have the privilege of making friends with wonderful people from different nations and backgrounds. Being of one mind with fellow believers is God-ordained – we will all one day be worshipping God together, in one mind of course.

Dear Father God. You ordained unity amongst Your children, not strife and division. Please help us to put others first. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

One Mind (1)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathise with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.”
1 Peter 3:8 NLT

“One-mindedness” in any group of people is an elusive quality very much in short supply. It seems in these days that everyone has an opinion about themselves and others, and they expect that opinion to be ratified and supported by everyone else. Those who don’t agree with their opinions find out that they are accused of being some sort of “-phobe” and cancelled from whatever forum or meeting place they frequent. And that often applies to Christians who adhere to Biblical views of morality and ethics. But Peter wasn’t writing to disparate groups of people, struggling in their own secular fogs. He was writing to those early Christians located in the Five Provinces in what is now modern Turkey. 

Being of “one mind” is important for a Christian fellowship. Imagine a football team that lacked a sense of unity, with each player intent on following their own strategy and game play. Chaos and ridicule would result and their future together would be in doubt. Just as in any team, sporting or otherwise, unity, one-mindedness, is an essential quality in Christian fellowships. The members must be of one mind when it comes to strategic fellowship decisions. One church I was in had a vision statement stencilled in big letters on the church wall. It was derived from a Bible verse, and there was no doubt as to why that particular fellowship of believers were there. In Romans 15:5-6, the Apostle Paul wrote, “May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ“. Unity between believers leads to corporate praise and worship of God. And Paul emphasised that this is what believers must do. Of course, it goes without saying, that an act of corporate worship genuinely and lovingly focused on God will override any internal strife and discord.

Paul also used the analogy of the composition of a human being when he described the importance of unity in a church. In 1 Corinthians 12:12 he wrote, “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ“. Referring to our own bodies he continued, “But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body” (1 Corinthians 12:18-20). So the picture emerges of a fellowship of believers made up of different people with different giftings, but all heading in the same direction and functioning together as they are united by their relationship with each other. They are of “one mind”. So we pilgrims must ask ourselves if we are one-minded with our fellow believers. If we find ourselves out of step and disagreeing with them then we need to sort out the issues with “a humble attitude”. A disfunctioning believer is a toxic influence in a church and something to be avoided at all costs, for Jesus’ sake.

Dear Father God. We know that through Jesus we are united. His saving grace brought us together, and we are truly thankful. Amen.

Husbands

Posted on by korgrocker

“In the same way, you husbands must give honour 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.”
1 Peter 3:7 NLT

In this very important verse giving advice to Christian husbands, Peter starts with “In the same way”.The same way as what? To answer that we must read again the previous verses and review the intent behind Peter’s words. We read about “godly lives”, “a gentle and quiet spirit”, “trust in God”, and obedience. I’m not sure why Peter felt he had to write to wives over six verses but use just one for husbands. But the picture emerges of a relationship, seasoned by love, sacrifice and commitment. The message to the wives also has some important elements within it for the husbands.

A Christian husband, Peter wrote, must treat his wife with honour and understanding, the more so because Peter thinks she is the weaker member of the dual relationship. And he warns that if the husband doesn’t treat his wife properly, his prayer life will be hindered.

But the key message is around the word “equal”. So often in society, we hear about situations where the wife is very much the weaker, or less significant, or even mistreated member of the partnership, but Peter made clear that this should not be the case. In Galatians 3:28, Paul also made the case for equality. “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” We are indeed all equal in God’s sight. In this age of confusion over issues such as gender and feminism, Peter’s age-old advice paints a picture of marriage and life, built and implemented God’s way. 

Biblical marriage is between a man and a woman. There is no other option, in spite of the strident demands of the society in which we live, a stridency that has even persuaded many established churches to abandon what God has decreed and promote a different way. Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, populated the Garden of Eden. And following God’s way in marriage I’m sure brings a smile to His face, as He watches His dear children behave in accordance with His created model for mankind. As we read in Ecclesiastes 4:12, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

Dear Father God. A marriage rooted and founded in You can never fail. Thank You. Amen.

Holy Women

Posted on by korgrocker

“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.”
1 Peter 3:5-6 NLT

An American footballer once said, “They say behind every great man there’s a woman. While I’m not a great man, there’s a great woman behind me“. That could be a comment based on our Bible verses today from 1 Peter 3. A woman who trusts God and accepts the authority of her husband is in a unique position. She can bring God’s perspective into a marriage relationship that would otherwise founder and be in danger of terminal decline. A wife’s influence also gives her the opportunity to correct the potential for error that a man can otherwise get caught up in. In the Old Testament there is the story of a man called Nabal, a rich man who had a reputation for being rather coarse and mean. David in his pre-king-of-Israel days was running from Saul and needed food for his band of 400 men. He sent messengers to Nabal to ask for provisions but got a mean and insulting response. But fortunately for him, Nabal had a wife called Abigail, who was apparently a “sensible and beautiful woman” (1 Samuel 25:3). David was about to send his warriors to take what he needed by force and redeem the insults, when Abigail acted to resolve the situation with a gift of food. Her diplomacy defused an otherwise ugly situation. Her reasoned appeal to David ended with, “When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, don’t let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won’t have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant” (1 Samuel 25:30-31). David’s response to Abigail included the following, “Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands” (1 Samuel 25:33). Perhaps it was such a story that Peter had in mind when he wrote about women who “put their trust in God”. To finish the story, when Nabal found out how his wife had averted a disaster that would have probably ended with his death, he had a stroke, and died ten days later anyway.

In Genesis 12, we find the story of Abram and Sarai, faced with a situation that forced them to go to Egypt to find food. Abram forced Sarai to lie for him, by saying she was his sister. Her obedience propagated the lie and they nearly came to grief, instead being ejected from Egypt because of their deception. Sarai behaved in a way that honoured her part in the marriage, and her trust in God bought them through the crisis. Perhaps this was another story that was in Peter’s mind when he wrote about the women who firstly put their trust in God.

A husband and wife, who function in a God-ordained way, form a partnership that can withstand most of the shocks that can come against a marriage and that are stacked against us in life. In Proverbs 18:22, we read, “The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favour from the Lord“. We married men can testify to this I’m sure. Do I hear an “Amen”?

Dear God. You created men and women and intended them to be married in a Godly union. Thank You for Peter’s words of Holy-Spirit-inspired wisdom. Amen.