Good morning,
The Apostle Peter was a very important part of God’s plan for the beginning of what we now call the Church. Jesus personally called him away from fishing for fish to become a fisher of men. He had special leadership skills, but he also had the habit of “tweeting” about whatever was going on at the time. Even though as a young man he said too much, he had a good heart and learned in time to value the grace of God in his ministry. God used Peter to lead the young church through many different stages of growth, but he also had to live with what Jesus told him about how his life would end. Jesus told him, But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don't want to go.”(John 21:18) Jesus gave him a heads up as to the kind of death that would bring glory to God. Then he said, "Follow me.”(v.19) When Peter wrote this letter the believers had been driven out of Jerusalem and scattered all over the Roman empire. In just a few years the nation of Israel would be destroyed.
When Peter wrote this letter, and the second one later on, God’s Spirit had laid on his heart that the church and the world were facing some very challenging days. With this in mind, he wrote The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.(1Pet.4:7) In the days ahead, the Church would be filled with all sorts of false teachers and the reality that God was changing how he was going to reach out to the lost world of their day. I think that we are facing that same challenge in our day and we certainly need to become earnest and disciplined as we pray for the church and the lost around us. God helps sharpens our focus when we hear him say, Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. (v.9) Right now the world around us is being flooded with hateful and even deadly accusations toward our political leaders, our religious communities and the people around us that aren’t doing things our way. God longs for us to show deep love for each other that requires God’s forgiveness and God’s mercy and grace for those around us no matter if they are a Christian friend or a hate filled enemy. But God’s love isn’t blind. God’s Spirit also told him to write, Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.(1Pet.5:8) We really are surrounded by a deadly battle for the eternal souls of the people of our generation. Hate and anger are easily caught, so he continued, 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.(v.9) God longs for his family to live for Him, to love like Him and to forgive like Him to show the world around us that the God of the Bible is the one God we can trust.
1 Peter 4:7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
Roy Wisner
