“For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people” (1 Peter 2:15).

What a powerful truth to put into effect.  This requires the understanding that through perseverance, God will do what is necessary both for you and for those who oppose His will.  Do not cease to do good and learn to endure.  The ignorant are always with us and they will continue to talk foolishly, but do not tire of looking to the Lord and seeking what would please Him.

Lord, help me to always look to You so that I may see what You would have me do.  Open my ears to hear when You speak in order that I may obey Your command.  Through all that happens in this world, may I be guided by Your goodness and mercy and not react to the wickedness of this world.  Keep foolish talk from my lips in order that I may not be unwise, but live as one in Your light.

Come Holy Spirit and lead me so that I may walk as You navigate the way before me through the difficult times of this age.  Help me when I stumble and help my focus to be upon You, for on my own I do not know what to do.  Lead me in the way of everlasting life.  Guide me according to Your goodness and mercy in order that I may now and always be found doing good.  Let others see my good works and turn to You.  Amen.

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right” (1 Peter 2:13-14).

The Christian life is not about feeling good.  Yes, we are to be in that struggle where we submit to authority and live our lives as peaceably as possible.  Do not be contentious, nor seek for your what is your own, but focus upon what is right in the sight of the Lord.  We are on the journey of being saved through the grace won by Christ on the cross.  In Him you have your hope and being.

Lord, I am often quite contentious.  Lead me, O Lord, to see that only in You is there hope and a future.  Guide me according to Your goodness to know that in Your love is where I will find the truth of life.  Lead me according to Your grace to see through the temptations to live as the evil do, but instead follow Your ways.  Guide me, dear Lord, now and forever in Your established way of salvation.

Lord Jesus, You have come so that we may have life, light, and liberty.  Lead me dear Lord Jesus so that I may now and always go where You lead me.  Help me to continue on the path You have set before me in order that I may grow each day to be a little more like You.  In Your grace, guide me this day so that I may humbly walk according to Your word.  Thank You for the salvation You have prepared for those who walk in Your light.  Amen.

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12).

This is perhaps one of the most overlooked passages in all of Scripture.  It is not to do good so that others think you are good.  It is to seek to be so in Christ that others wonder what it is that causes you to be thus.  You will be accused if you do good.  Do not let that hinder the seeking to do good in every situation.  He who is in you will lead in the way that you need to go in every circumstance.

Lord, You know the struggle better than any of us.  Help me see through the fog of this age to neither get caught up in its traps, nor do good for any other reason than to please You.  Do what you will through my life but help me see these things so that I may lead the kind of life You know I need to live to stay in the salvation You have given me by grace.  Guide me this day, Lord.

Dear Lord Jesus, You invited me to live into the life You give through grace.  Help me now and always to follow You first and above all things.  In the grace You have given me, keep me on the path of doing good for its own sake.  Help me to see what I need to see and thank You for every opportunity You give me to do good.  May I always do good for its own sake and for no other reason.  Amen. 

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11).  

We do not fight against flesh and blood, but against forces of darkness and principalities.  Yes, the journey of being Christian is difficult.  It is a battle.  Do not live as those tossed about by the whims of this age, but as those who know they are in the salvation of Christ.  Take seriously the call you have been given by Christ and walk humbly with the one who has saved you through the grace He gives.

Lord, You are the One who makes all these things possible.  In You is all hope and an eternal future.  Lead me, Lord, so that I would walk humbly with You knowing that only in You is there hope and an eternal future.  Guide me, Lord, to know that I am not, nor should I be, comfortable with or in this world.  In Your providence, help me know that You are preparing the way before me.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the salvation You have given me by grace.  Guide me this day to know that in You is all hope.  Prepare me to fight the battle I need to fight and to trust that You will lead me through all that needs to be done.  Guide me in the upward way in order that I may live as You would have me live.  Keep my soul firmly in Your hands now and forever.  Amen.

“Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:10).

The idea of the priesthood of all believers is not that anyone can do as they please, but that we, who were separated by sin, are now in relationship with the Lord.  We do not need rituals and sacrifices, but we do need to live in the goodness of the grace which is ours through Christ.  God has given us the power through Christ to become children of the Heavenly Father.  Come then and live in His grace.

Lord, You know where I am and all that I need.  You know the obstacles that are in the way.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way of life that reflects Your presence in me.  Guide me in living the Christian life so that I may indeed grow in the likeness of Christ.  You have given me the promise of being one of Your people by faith through grace.  Teach me how to live in that promise.

Lord Jesus, You gave Your life in order that all who come through You might have life, liberty, and true purpose and meaning.  Guide me, Lord Jesus, so that I may forever live into the hope and promise You give.  Guide me this day and in Your mercy keep me close to You.  Help me, Lord Jesus, so that I may now and always walk the narrow path unto which You have placed me.  Lead on, dear Savior, in the way You know I need to go.  Amen.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

A priest is one with the ability to draw near to God.  The royal priesthood are the ones given power to become like Christ.  You have been given this promise through Christ.  In Him you have hope and in Him is true being.  Come then into the royal priesthood and give thanks to the One who is always good.  Live in the truth of His light and countenance and worship the One true God in spirit and truth.

Lord, help me understand more clearly the truth You have revealed once for all through the Good News of the Gospel.  Grant that I may gain wisdom and understanding and live into the life You promise.  Help me today and every day to learn more about what it means to love You and my neighbor.  Guide me in Your goodness so that these things would be true in me as You lead me through grace and in the hope and promise You give.

Lord Jesus, You have made possible the grace I need to walk in the light of Your countenance and grow to be like You.  Help me now, and as that day approaches when I shall stand before You face to face, to live in the goodness of Your mercy.  Teach me all that I need to know and fill me with Your presence and purpose in order that I may now and always walk with You.  Amen.

“[A]nd, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.”  They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for” (1 Peter 2:8).

Many in this world do not like Jesus.  There are even those who attend a fellowship that seems to act as if they are the ones who are chiefly to be attended.  But then, we all sometimes have that problem.  The goal is to decrease that He may increase.  The Lord made us and we did not make Him.  The Lord is Lord of all.  Come then and follow the One who has saved you and keeps you.

Lord, it is so simple and I make it so complex.  You are the Savior.  You have come and You are the way of salvation.  You are the life.  It is You alone and not something to be figured out.  Guide me, dear Lord, in the way You know I need to go.  Lead me according to what You know needs to happen and help me to stop trying to take the lead.  In You Lord there is all hope.  Help me rest in the hope You give.

Lord, You send those who, in Your name, bring words of encouragement.  Guide me to hear what You would have me hear and shut my ears from listening to the noise of this world.  In the truth You have revealed once for all, lead me today as You know I need to be led.  Continue to build my life upon You and help me to not leave the place where You have placed me.  Amen.

“Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:7)

We live in a time where everyone is supposed to be included.  Anyone who dares to say there are differences in people are cursed.  The Lord says there are two kinds of people.  There are those who will come into His love and those who will not.  Our faith is built upon Jesus.  If it is built upon anything else, it will fail.  Do not be deceived and do not depend upon yourself.

Lord, You have created everything, and You know how it works.  Too many, and that sometimes (often?) includes me, we look the other way and think ourselves able to do what needs to be done.  But that idea is blown apart with the simple title which is yours: Savior.  We need to be saved and You are the Savior.  Lead me, Lord, in the salvation You have prepared from the foundation of the earth.

Lord Jesus, You came to this earth and gave Your life as a ransom that we who build our lives upon You might be with You forever.  Guide me, dear Lord, so that I may live into this life You give by grace.  In Your mercy, help me to learn how to rely upon You more and more so that I may become more like You each day.  Lead me according to the Father’s will in order that I may rejoice in Your salvation.  Amen.

“For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  (1 Peter 2:6)

Do you trust the Lord?  This is the real question for us all.  The true answer in this age is that some have begun to trust Him, but we all hold back a little.  Do not hold back, but come fully into the life He gives you in faith.  Do not drive this life of faith but live it in His goodness and mercy.  The Living corner stone invites you to build your life upon Him.  He must be the finisher of your faith.

Lord, You know how I tug against You and want You to do what I want You to do.  I cannot build my life with You in it.  You must take charge and build my life with You as the foundation.  Guide me dear Lord Jesus to see through the anxiety of this age and my own self-interest.  Guide me to abandon the ways of the world in order that I may live into the life You give through faith.  Lead me now and always, Lord Jesus.

Lord Jesus, my Savior, You know how much I need what only You can give.  Take me out of the driver’s seat so that I may humbly walk with You leading the way.  In Your grace, guide me this day to do what is right and fitting.  Lead me to look to You and obey Your commandments.  You know what the Father asks.  Help me to listen to You and do what is pleasing in the Father’s eyes.  Amen.

“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him –  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4-5).

We come into faith as neurotic self-centered beings and the Lord must unwrap who we are from the behaviors born of sin.  He is the living stone and upon Him and Him only is our faith built.  We are placed together, one at a time, for the sake of His goodness to become what He will make of us.  Look to Him.  Look out and not in.  He will design and build His church of which you are a part.

Lord, I do come to You with selfish motives.  Guide me away from myself and into You.  Lead me according to Your purpose, for You are and must be the author and finisher of my faith.  According to the Father’s will, lead my steps so that in following You I become what You intend and not what I want.  I do not know what I want, but You know what I need.  Lead me according to Your grace.

Lord Jesus, Your statement to each of us at the beginning is the same, “Come, follow Me.”  Help me to do this simple thing and follow You.  You are the One who has created all things.  I am a part of Your plan, and I did not come up with a plan of which You are a part.  Help to always keep this straight and follow You in order that I may live by Your grace and not by the lies of this age.  Amen.