Read 1 Peter 1:14-15 Throughout my life, I’ve learned that what I want to do isn’t always what I should do. I may want to binge watch the Walking Dead for two days straight and eat three bags of doritos in the process, but that’s not what is best for me or my family. I may not want to do things around the house, do that project at work, or spend time with that person who is hard to deal with, but, many times, those things are what’s best for me and those around me. The author of 1 Peter is none other that one of Jesus’ disciples named Peter. Not only was Peter one of the disciples, he was one of Jesus’ best friends. Peter was writing to a group of churches throughout the Roman Empire in what is modern day Turkey. These people had come to have a relationship with God without any sort of background. They had become followers of Jesus, but they really had no clue what that meant. Not only that, they had been facing persecution from those who didn’t believe in Jesus. Peter urged them to be “obedient children.” In other words, instead of continuing to do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted like they had before, they should be holy in all they did. This was because God is holy. Peter quotes God talking in the Old Testament, “Be holy, because I am holy.” Peter is saying that always following whatever desires we have isn’t the wisest way to live our lives. Just because I want to do something, doesn’t make it something I should do. Just because I think something might make me happy, doesn’t mean I should do it. God is holy and perfect, and we should be like Him. This doesn’t make God a buzzkill who wants to suck all the fun out of our life. It just means that God knows what the very best way for us to live is, and He wants that for us. Don’t just listen to your desires all the time and do whatever you want. Instead, live your life God’s way by being obedient to the Holy One who loves and cares for you more than you know. Reflect If you were to evaluate your life based on this verse saying we should be holy in ALL we do, how would you honestly rate yourself from 1 (very little of what I do is really holy) to 10 (pretty much everything I do, I do for the right reason)? Pray Talk to God about the things in your life that you desire that probably aren’t the best for you. Ask God to help you make some tough decisions in your life for what’s best for you and those around you. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:
- What was the best part of your day?
- What was the toughest part of your day?
- Where did you mess up today?
- Where did you see God today?
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