Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Peter 1:10-12 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. As Peter is encouraging the early believers to stand firm in the midst of persecution, he reminds them of how precious their salvation is. He points to the prophets who so earnestly sought out the time and place Jesus the Messiah would suffer and be glorified. And the revelation to them was through the Spirit of Christ, the same Spirit that spoke through the apostles to the first believers. It was a

1 Peter 1:8-9 T Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. As Peter encourages these new believers amidst their difficult circumstances. He helps them to remember three things. 1. They love him. They have experienced a love they have never experienced before. This is the unconditional love the world could never offer. When we realize what love God has shown us through Jesus' death on the cross, we learn how to love someone we can't see. We can love because He first loved us. 2. They believe in Him. It was easier for Peter, who had spent three years with Jesus to have faith, but these believers had never seen him. They believed through the testimony of the apostles. And through believing in Him they discovered life in His name . They experience that He was is with them through

1 Peter 1:4-7 This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed As Peter continues to encourage the early believers, he reminds them of their future inheritance as God's sons and daughters. If he is speaking specifically to the Jewish believers, they have seen their temple for all intent and purpose destroyed. They have been taken from their land which was part of the promise of inheritance to the 12 tribes of Israel. And finally, they are suffering all kinds of grief in their trials. So Peter focuses on one major thing that cannot be ta

1 Peter 1:3-4 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. After a brief introduction, Peter sets the table for the rest of the letter by stating who we are through our new birth in Christ. This word is only used by Peter in the New Testament, but has the same meaning of John's "born again" used in John 3:5. He mentions this idea of re-birth and regeneration in two other places in this letter. As the believers faced persecution, as we talked about yesterday, knowing who they have become and where they were going some day is of great encouragement. Importantly this new birth is into a living hope. It is not a hope that is here one day and gone tomorrow, but living in us. Secondly, although of our possessions here on earth perish, spoil or fade, what we inherit as God'

1 Peter 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. As we start the letter of 1 Peter, the first two verses give us insight into who this letter is written to, and it's purpose. We see it starts, "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ". If we date this letter around 62-63 AD, most scholars agree that is indeed Peter, the disciple who denied Jesus three times, but was reinstated after Jesus' resurrection. Tradition has it that Peter was crucified upside down under Emperor Nero's brutal reign, because he did not consider himself worthy to be crucified as Jesus was. We also see who Peter is writing to. It says to the exiles scattered throughout Asi

James 5:19-20 19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. We have different words for somebody who has fallen away from the faith, "backslider", "lukewarm Christian", or "not walking with The Lord". The bottom line is that a lot of us have had times in our lives where we have wandered away from the Truth. Sometimes more obviously and dramatically, or sometimes in the form of the "the subtle sellout". As the passage says we have wandered away from the Truth. We have wandered away from Jesus who is the Truth. And we have believed the lie, the evil one is always throwing in our face. And what is this lie? The big lie is that we can have a better, easier way outside of Jesus' plan for our lives. Following Jesus is not the best alternative. So

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. As James gives all kinds of practical teaching on many aspects of the Christian life, he turns to prayer. To show the power we have in prayer, he gives the Old Testament example of Elijah. He prayed it wouldn't rain and it didn't. He prayed that it would rain and it did. Now someone might say he was a prophet and had special powers and a closer audience with God. But note James starts with the fact that Elijah was a mere man in every respect. I think this is a big deterrent for us in our prayer. We don't either consider ourselves good enough to pray, or we can't pray eloquently enough. Or, another thing we believe is that God doesn't have time to worry about my petty concerns. There are all kinds of reasons not to pray, and all kinds of

James 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. This is the second part to the passage yesterday, where James urges the early church to pray in all circumstances. And the last situation he mentions is that of being sick. Remember from yesterday this is not necessarily physically sick, but also mean "weakness". This is important when he says therefore confess your sins to each other and pray so that you may be healed. Some mistakenly make the connection that sickness is always related to sinning. Of course sin and it's destructive nature can lead to sickness, but it would be a mistake and potentially harmful to say if someone is sick they have sinned. This is why understanding the bible and how to interpret it properl

The Prayer of Faith 13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. Today James talks about the power of prayer for all that happens in the body of Christ. The upcoming verses talk about When to pray , How to pray , and Why we pray . This is perhaps driven by his commentary on swearing yesterday. Swearing by anything represents unbelief, while prayer is trusting God in all circumstances. There are 3 situations when we should pray. 1. If someone is in trouble. The word for "trouble" in the original language is a word linked to suffering. It can be related to suffering because we are not sure where God is at in our suffering. Trouble is the time to pray. 2. In times of happiness. Word for "happiness"is related to cheerfulness or encouragement. It is the opposite of trouble. Jam

James 5:12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. James strongly condemns swearing by members in the early church. Swearing as defined by Webster's dictionary is: "To affirm or utter a solemn declaration, with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed; to make a promise, threat, or resolve on oath; also, to affirm solemnly by some sacred object, or one regarded as sacred, as the Bible, the Koran, etc." So why is James so adamantly against it. First of all Jesus says something similar in the Sermon on the Mount, where he says, "But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne." When someone swears by something God or otherwise, they are trying to make someone think what they are saying is true. They don't trust enough in their yes or no, but want to add more weight to

10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. We have heard the term the "patience of Job" used quite often in our lives. But sometimes the connotation is as if Job were standing by passively, as he was afflicted in every possible way. But if we remember Job agonized in his suffering, and wrestled with God as to why he was undergoing such trials. Yet in faith, he held firm when he says, "I know that my Redeemer lives and at the end he will stand on the earth!" Job cursed his friends for giving him trite cliches to try and comfort him. All Job had left after all that had happened to him was his faith. As we are going through suffering it helps to know others have suffered before us and withs

Patience in Suffering 7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! As James begins to wind down his letter to these early Christians who are being persecuted, he gives them some encouragement. He realizes that suffering isn't easy, but urges them to be patient. For anyone who has undergone suffering, those words aren't always easy to hear. But then James gives them a reason to be patient. He tells them The Lord is coming, and His return is near. While the suffering won't last forever, when Jesus returns they will receive the reward for their patience, as a farmer receives his crops after patiently waiting. The question becomes, "how near is

James 5:1-3 5 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. Part of the oppression of the early Christians was not only by force but also through financial means. But James calls them to literally weep and wail, because their riches are only fleeting. Fancy clothes get eaten by moths and fancy cars eventually rust and end up in the scrap yard. And one day those who have lived wit

James 4:13-17 13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. Of course planning in life is not bad, but what I think what James is saying here, is don't let your planning get ahead of the Lord's planning. We often spend a lot of time planning and not as much time listening for God to show us what our plans should be. We worry about tomorrow, when as Jesus says, "Each day has enough worry in itself." What i believe James is getting at is that we develop our plans and then expect God to

James 4:11-12 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? As the early Christian community is growing, James is admonishing them about certain behaviors unbecoming to a believer. However he needs to be careful that this doesn't create a legalistic environment. When legalism hits a church, it is all about what we do and keeping a checklist of do's and don'ts. James teaches that the our behaviors flow out of a right relationship with God through Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit, not mere human effort. But our tendency as human beings is to create our own law, based on our own preferences. And our flesh is likely to judge by our own standards not God's. The e

James 4:7-9 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. As James has spent the first three chapters pointing out how the early church was not in alignment with Jesus' values, today he exhorts them to a process of being restored to a vital relationship with God. This includes: 1. Submitting to God. While submitting can be a loaded word, in this case it is appropriate. Simply put, submitting to God means realizing He is God and you are not. It is the first step in our coming back to a right relationship with God. 2. Resist the devil. James acknowledges that the devil is part of the problem. Yet, he can be resisted. Just knowing you can resist the devil is a huge step in defeatin