For personal devotion + study:
Monday: Meditate upon 1 Peter 2:4-5
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Tuesday: rejected by humans but chosen by God…
Reflect upon the myriad of ways that Jesus experienced rejection. Isnt it comforting to know that if and when we experience rejection especially for being a follower of Christ or for choosing to make different choices than those around us because of our commitment to Christ that Jesus totally gets the experience of that.
Wednesday: precious to him…
We get the sense from scripture that one of the reasons as to why Jesus could endure such rejection was because He knew just how precious He was to the Father. It was the relationship that both anchored Him and gave Him the courage to undertake His mission. Do you understand how precious you are to God? How do you know that you are precious to Him?
Thursday: you also, like living stones…
There are two things interesting about this phrase. Firstly the ‘you also’ referring to us being like Christ. Jesus is our model for living. We are called to mimic Him. And secondly the verb “living” is an interesting way to describe stones. Living implies activity as opposed to inactive and animate as opposed to inanimate. We are to be active in our imitating of Christ. When do you think God might be calling you to be more active?
Friday: Being built into a spiritual house..
The reference that Peter is making here is to the old testament temple where God’s presence dwelt. The meaning is that christians together become a place where God’s presence is both manifest and worshipped. One stone on its own is not sufficient to build a house but rather the many stones work together to make God known in the world. How do you work with other believers to make Gods presence known in the world?
Saturday: Offering spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus…
There are a few places in the New Testament where the authors talk about us as believers offereing spiritual sacrifices. Read these verses and meditate upon what it means to offer spiritual sacrficies to God trhough Jesus. Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 13:15-17. |