Burunche’s Blog

1 Peter 3:14 – 17 “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.”But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have. But respond with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”

 Nobody could understand it and it really didn’t make sense! People outside the situation were sure that Joe had gone crazy! A few months ago, Joe and Patsy (not their real names) had gotten married in a very elaborate ceremony, but it rapidly became apparent that Patsy had a boyfriend. Making matters much worse, Joe, Patsy, and the boyfriend all worked in the same factory. Joe moved out of the house, filed for divorce, and went to live with his brother. But this was a terrible situation. One night, Joe nearly shot himself but changed his mind.

Then a miracle happened! Joe became a Christian. Suddenly Joe stopped swearing and stopped drinking and began reading his Bible. While at work, Joe was singing hymns and praise songs. Meanwhile, Joe’s former wife was eating fistfulls of tranquilizers and looking gloomy. Finally Joe’s foreman decided Joe must be crazy and sent Joe to see the company doctor. When the doctor asked Joe if he had any problems, Joe replied, “Well, yes, I did. But I gave them all to Jesus.” The doctor was speechless. When Joe went on to tell the doctor about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the doctor couldn’t make any comments.

There’s a whole lot about Christianity that makes no sense whatsoever! Just look at what Peter is advising here! For one thing, Christians are encouraged to suffer for what is right and not to complain. Peter says nothing about getting revenge or reparations, even if that person really has hurt you. Then to make things even harder, Peter advises that Christians who are slandered are to respond with “gentleness and respect.” “Gentleness? Respect? YOU ARE KIDDING??? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT @$#^%$&*()*^% DID TO ME? AND YOU WANT ME TO RESPECT HIM?” Well, yes, as a matter of fact, that is precisely what Peter is advising.

You see, Christians have a problem. We don’t get to copy all the stuff we see in movies or on television or on social media. Christians have only one Example: Jesus. Jesus was certainly no wimp; he was a muscular carpenter and stone mason who walked all over Galilee. But Jesus also refused to retaliate or to criticize or to hurt others. Think about it. Jesus was the Son of God. Even during Jesus’ earthly career, he could cast out demons and raise the dead and do other miracles. How difficult would it have been for Jesus to just arrange a small lightning bolt to strike some of those Pharisees and Saducees who were making things so difficult? We hear a lot about how Jesus was tempted by the Devil in the wilderness, but we never think about all the subsequent temptations that Jesus must have had as he proceeded through his ministry.

Jesus wasn’t stupid; he knew what was in people’s hearts. Jesus knew that Judas was stealing from the poor box. Jesus knew what the religious leaders thought of him. Jesus even knew how his earthly career was going to end; God had already laid it all out in the Scriptures. And yet, Jesus refused to take any shortcuts, or to dodge suffering, or to eliminate those he knew would betray him. It was this very example that caused one of the Roman soldiers who was crucifying Jesus to testify that Jesus was truly the Son of God.

What Joe did even as a brand new Christian was to give that doctor a defense for the hope that he had. And this is something that every believer needs to learn how to do. A testimony doesn’t have to be eloquent, but it must be clear and heart – felt. Several years ago, I heard a talk by a Christian lawyer from Atlanta. This man didn’t accept Christ until he was in his 40’s. What caused this man to accept Jesus as Savior was the testimony of a lay speaker in a church service. This lawyer said, “If someone had delivered a smooth prepared speech, it would have done nothing. I speak for a living. But when I listened to that man that morning, I knew two things: I knew he was NOT a polished public speaker, and I knew that I needed the power that had gotten hold of him!”

PRAYER: Father God, help us to always be ready to tell what Jesus has done in our lives. Thank you for the power to change and for working in our hearts so that we will become like Jesus. Please, Lord, help us to really follow Jesus’ example at all times. It’s in Jesus’ mighty Name that we pray. Amen.

1 Peter 3:8 – 12 “Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tender-hearted and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,

“Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Perhaps you might have never seen a boomerang in operation. This weapon was perfected by bushmen in Australia. If the boomerang hit its target, then obviously it stopped, but if it failed to hit its target, it would come back to the one throwing it. But the ability of the boomerang to come back also means that the one throwing it must pay close attention! Turn your head for a minute and you might find yourself knocked out by your own boomerang.

One of my older friends is a retired newspaper editor who started her career as the girl who fetched the coffee and did the filing. Throughout her long career, my friend had the opportunity to observe the cutthroate office politics prevalent in newspaper offices. Once I asked my friend how she managed to survive, particularly when others spread vicious rumors about her and tried to spoil her reputation. My friend answered, “I just kept reminding myself that what goes around comes around. And generally, it did. If I just remained patient, those who were playing politics would get their comeuppance.”

These days it is difficult to go on any social media platform without encountering all kinds of vicious statements. But are these attitudes scriptural? Peter would say “No.” There is a scriptural principal: the measure you give out is the measure you will receive. If you bless people, if you are careful in your speech and if you “seek peace and pursue it,” those blessings and that peace will come back to you.

Want blessings? Bless others! Want peace! Pursue peace. If you don’t, that spiritual boomerang may come back and hit you in the head!

PRAYER Father God, help us to be people of love and people of peace. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Peter 3:7 “Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

Imagine that you are sitting in the congregation when this letter was first read. Up to this point, the men in the group are elbowing one another and saying, “Boy! My wife had better listen up!” (Men generally sat to gether in one group while women sat together in another group, a hold – over from the practice at the synagogues.)

“In the same way…” In WHAT same way? Well, in verse 1 of chapter 3, Peter advises the wives to copy Jesus’ example of submission and willingness to suffer abuse, so that unbelieving husbands would be won without a word by pure and reverent behavior. Now Peter is advising husbands that they too should behave in purity and reverence, treating their wives with consideration.

THE TESTIMONY OF TREENA AND GRAHAM KERR

Years ago, Graham Kerr was a famous media celebrity known as “The Galloping Gourmet.” Kerr had his own radio and TV programs and a column that appeared in many newspapers. Treena produced Graham’s programs. The Kerrs were rich and famous…but Treena Kerr, Graham’s wife, was desperately unhappy. Addicted to drugs and alcohol, Treena Kerr was nearly at the point of being hospitalized for depression. And then Ruthie, their African American maid, asked Treena, “Mrs. Kerr, why don’t you give your life to God?” (Ruthie had been praying and fasting for Treena to receive Jesus.) Treena not only gave her life to God, but she also got baptized, both with water and with the Holy Spirit. During that last experience, Treena says that she saw the most incredible beautiful man that she had ever seen.this: “And I opened my eyes and I saw the most incredible, beautiful man you have ever seen. The most wonderful thing about this man was this glorious smile. It was a smile that seemed to be every relationship in my life which had gone wrong. It was a smile of pure love, a mother’s love, a father’s love, a husband’s love, a children’s love. The most beautiful smile and with that smile and encompassing love. Being loved by this extraordinary beautiful person. It was also amused. I am sure He was amused about what was going on. He moves forward and He puts his hand on my heart and He disappears.”

Before accepting Jesus, Treena would go into rages and swear profusely. The slightest problem would set Treena off. But after Treena accepted Jesus, He cleaned up her heart and her mind and her mouth. Treena was taking 60 mg of Valium a day. (Most people might take 10 mg at bedtime if they were having lots of problems sleeping. These days, we try not to prescribe Valium because it’s so addictive.) Treena flushed all her pills down the toilet, and her Roman Catholic doctor told Graham that this was a miracle and that he had never seen anybody quit Valium like that without problems. Treena says that God “put a golden zipper” over her mouth and refused to allow her to criticize Graham or to react. The very fact that Treena began to speak positively and refused to criticize grabbed Graham’s attention; he was used to unending criticism and verbal abuse.

Over the course of time, Graham Kerr came to realize that the changes in his wife’s life were both real and lasting, and he himself needed those same changes. Eventually, Graham Kerr also became a Christian and together Treena and he began witnessing extensively to the way God had changed their lives. (You can read the entire story on http://www.grahamtreenakerrstory.com)

 After years of arguments and disagreements, the Kerrs had to learn to value each other “as fellow heirs of the precious gift of life.” They became each other’s prayer partners and prayed thousands of prayers together.

The last part of verse 7 is highly significant. What does Peter mean when he advises men to treasure their wives so that their prayers will not be hindered? Remember the Biblical principal that the measure you give out is the measure you will receive. We are to treasure and respect our spouses because that relationship is second in importance only to our relationship with God. If we want to remain in right relationship with God, we must value our spouses as fellow believers and treat them with respect and gentleness. You can’t fool God; if you are feeling superior to your spouse, God already knows it. Your lousy attitude will block the flow of God’s power in your life, unless you accept your attitude as sin, confess it, and seek God’s forgiveness and grace.

In the Kerr’s situation, Treena was the first one to become a believer; however, frequently, the reverse might be the case. We are friends with a pastor in Illinois who accepted Jesus as a 35 year old farmer. At the time, our friend’s wife wanted nothing to do with Jesus and when our friend became a Christian, his wife gave him a very tough time – “What? no drinking? no partying? You’re no fun!” But our friend kept loving and cherishing his wife and that gentleness wooed her as nothing else could have done. This family has now pastored churches for nearly 25 years, demonstrating the love of Jesus to everyone who knows them.

Our prayer for today comes straight from Graham Kerr himself:

Father, here I am. I’ve wrestled with many things in my life. Many times I have wanted to change but it has been so difficult and I’ve failed myself and those that I love most of all. Now I come. This is who I am. Search my heart out now and bathe every part of me with a wonderful light so that I can see. I ask that you would forgive me for all the things that I have done that I know must have offended you. Forgive me, please. I do believe that forgiveness is absolute. That when Jesus died for me, He died for this very moment in time. When I could claim personal contact with You because You died for me. I am so grateful. And I now promise to listen for your direction in my life. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen

Several years ago, Robert Fulghum wrote a book entitled “All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” It was actually a very good book with a lot of pithy knowledge. My version of this might be entitled “All I Really Needed to Know I learned while working with my Grandma Delphia and my parents.”

I’ve written about my Grandma Delphia Bjorling before. Grandma was a wonderful lady with a very positive outlook on life. Raised on a farm by Swedish immigrant parents, Grandma was a worker, even when she was in her eighties and nineties. When Grandma was living out on the farm west of Galva, Illinois, she had a big maple tree in her back yard and Grandpa Edmund had hung a porch swing near that maple tree. In the summertime, Grandma and I would spend hours in that swing, but we were NOT merely swinging, thank you very much! In those days, if a housewife sat, she was DOING something – snapping green beans, removing the strings from string beans, hulling peas, shucking corn, and handling other vegetables. Grandma and I had a wonderful time in that swing and I remember it fondly! I think the swing finally got removed when the maple tree had to come down. Incidentally, that was a hard maple tree with smaller leaves than a soft maple, and the sound of the wind sooing through those leaves was incredibly comforting.

In the old days, it was a tradition for housewives to do their housework in the morning and then around 2 PM, they could change into clean dresses and aprons and do mending or sewing or fancy needle work. NOBODY wasted a pair of blue jeans or work socks! If the toes were wearing out on a pair of work socks, you used heavy cotton yarn to close the holes by darning them. Darning was best accomplished by slipping a “darning egg,” an egg – shaped piece of wood, inside the sock so that the tip of the needle would bounce off the wood and not pierce one’s finger. Work trousers were also patched, either by hand or on a sewing machine, using pieces of material from other trousers that had become so badly worn that they had to be recycled. In those days, it was very common to see little boys coming to grade school with patches on the knees of their jeans, and when iron – on patches became available, lots of boys showed up with iron – on patches. Some boys’ jeans even came with reinforced knees; everybody knew that little boys were going to scoot around on their knees doing things.

Fancy needle work was a skill all to itself. There was knitting, crocheting, tatting,quilting, and embroidery. Candle wicking wasn’t a big deal in my area. Some women did weaving and created rag rugs or even blankets and bedspreads. (Long before I became a surgeon, I knew how to do a running locked stitch; I learned that stitch from my mother as a “blanket stitch,” a stitch one did by hand at the edge of a blanket to keep it from raveling.) My mother knitted, crocheted, and sewed.

My Great Grandmother Minnie Mathis created beautiful embroidery, even though her eyesight was poor and she had to hold the material close to her face. It is probably no accident that two of her great grandchildren are surgeons! Many ladies created crocheted or tatted lace to apply to pillow cases, particularly for guest bedrooms. (Store – bought lace was expensive and considered poor taste.) A friend of my mother’s generation had a true story about entertaining the Ladies Aid Society from her church at her home east of Altona as a newlywed. In those days, cleanliness was not NEXT to Godliness, it WAS Godliness, and you had best remember that! Our friend had cleaned her home from top to bottom and had put her best bedspreads on the beds upstairs. The guest bedroom was being used as a repository for the ladies ’ coats. One of the older women came back downstairs and complimented our friend on the quality of the lace on the pillow cases in the guest bedroom. Now, you must realize that to inspect those pillows, this lady had to peel back the bedspread!

I spent quite a bit of time with my mother and grandmother as a small child. In the summertime, Grandma Delphia would do most of her cooking, canning, and baking either in her summer kitchen or on a stove in her basement. The summer kitchen was a small building with two main rooms. You entered into the room that held the stove. The back room was where Grandma kept her gardening equipment and her painting supplies. (I have previously told how Grandma would paint anything that didn’t move fast enough in bright primary colors.) In that summer kitchen, Grandma would turn out apple sauce, rhubarb sauce, pickles, jams, jellies, and a variety of canned vegetables. In those days, no housewife woth her salt would dream of BUYING jam or jelly; the home – made variety was far superior. The same thing held true for store – bought cookies; no proper housewife would offer somebody something that she hadn’t baked herself. That summer kitchen held a delicious combination of odors, and I remember them vividly to this day.

Both of my grandmothers and my mother sewed. Grandma Delphia generally stuck to mending and creating aprons; however, my mother sewed much of my clothing when I was a small child. I began sewing when I was about seven or eight years old and continued to sew as a 4 – H club member. I sewed clothes for myself while I was in college, and I remember being part of an all – night sewing bee at one point. Two of my college friends were marrying each other, and the bride couldn’t find bridesmaid dresses that she liked, so she airily announced that we would simply combine two different patterns and SEW our dresses. There were to be 6 bridesmaids, and only 3 of us sewed very well – all of us veterans of 4-H, of course. The wedding was taking place at the end of finals week and we were all supposed to have already completed our dresses. Right! The three of us who sewed well began sewing the morning of the day before the wedding, broke long enough for the wedding rehearsal, and then continued through the night. I completed the last hem on my dress twenty minutes before the wedding; fortunately, the wedding was held in the college chapel a 2 minute walk from our dorm.

One of the things I learned from my mother was gardening. Mom loved her garden, and she made it fun for us kids. When I read accounts of people complaining how they were forced to work in the garden, I can’t relate because working with Mom was fun.

My dad loved being outdoors on the farm and working with animals, and I loved being with my dad. Friends who remember Dad remember him as a wonderful guy with a great spirit. Those were the days when people whistled or sang as they worked, and both my parents were singers. We sang while milking cows. We sang in the pickup truck on the way to or from the hog pasture. We sang around the house while doing dishes. I used to sing while hanging out clothes. These days I still whistle, but not long ago, I learned that some groups in Ghana believe that if you are whistling, you are trying to steal people’s souls. Oh dear!

I’ve mentioned Grandma Delphia a lot. Grandma Delphia was married to Granda Edmund. Grandpa Edmund was a sweet man, but he was shy. On the other hand, Grandpa was kind and patient and good to work with. I spent quite a bit of time working on the farm with Grandpa when I was young. When I needed someone to drive me to weekly piano lessons, Grandpa was always there. Grandpa and Grandma faithfully attended band concerts, choir concerts, and school plays. When I graduated from college in Minnesota, Grandpa made sure that Grandma and he drove 500 miles to see me graduate.

COVID – 19 has created all kinds of problems for people and I don’t wish to belittle those challenges. But perhaps one good thing that might come from having to shelter in place is that children may get to spend more time learning things from their parents. It’s terrible that children have been kept from their grandparents, but there really is no substitute for working with someone if you are going to learn things.

Working alongside adults gives kids a sense of worth and self – esteem. We never had any doubts that our contributions to the family were necessary and of value. When kids are allowed to assume responsibility, they learn valuable life lessons. It is a mistake to refuse to give kids age – appropriate jobs, and most kids can do far more than you would suppose.

I am grateful for every moment I got to spend with my parents and grandparents. In my mind’s eye, it is late afternoon on a warm summer’s day. Grandma and I are sitting in her swing in the back yard and we are snapping green beans and chatting. I can smell the corn ripening in the field and the flowers that surround Grandma’s house. And wrapping us like an invisible blanket is the pure love of a grandparent for a grandchild and a grandchild for a grandparent. It’s a small taste of heaven.

1 Peter 3: 3 – 6 “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. For this is how the holy women of the past adorned themselves. They put their hope in God and were subject to their husbands, just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to quiver in fear.”

Everybody in Hollywood knew that Marilyn Monroe was a glamour girl! In an day when celebrity photos were circulated as pin – up girls, Monroe was one of the most popular. Scarcely a day went by when Marilyn’s photo wasn’t gracing the pages of some fan magazine. Marilyn Monroe was friends with all kinds of A – List people, including President John Kennedy. Yes, Marilyn Monroe appeared to have it all….the blond hair, the gorgeous figure, fantastic clothes and all the jewelry anybody could wish for. Marilyn Monroe was a S*T*A*R* and girls wanted to copy her… right up until she committed suicide by taking a drug overdose. Eventually it came out that Marilyn had been unhappy her entire life, and that all this wealth and fame had not helped her cope with her problems.

There were glamour girls in Peter’s day. Read Isaiah or Jeremiah and you will see descriptions of young ladies with gold earrings, nose rings, ankle bracelets and arm bracelets, not to mention silken veils and clothing spun of precious materials. Some young ladies even wore ankle bracelets that were chained together by a golden chain so that their steps would be small, forcing them to walk with a mincing gait. Some of these ankle bracelets also had little bells that would tinkle enticingly as the lady walked. And these young ladies had perfumes and cosmetics. It was very common to apply kohl around the eyes of small girls – a practice that continues in Africa today. There were other cosmetics as well. And when these glamour girls got saved, they came to church in all their finery with their hair carefully braided, perhaps with golden combs with jewels set in them adorning their hair.

Imagine trying to keep a prayer meeting going once one of these gorgeously arrayed young women would show up! Every man in the place would be checking this girl out while the women would also be checking her out and becoming furious at such effrontery! And the ladies who were not furious would be eating their hearts out because they couldn’t afford that finery.

In an earlier age, there was a saying “Handsome is as handsome does.” Appearances can be deceiving, just as they were in the case of Marilyn Monroe. We have a lady friend who is one of the most loving and joyful people I know. This lady and her husband belong to a religious group that encourages extreme modesty in dress for women, so our friend wears long skirts and a head covering at all times. But to spend a few minutes in our friend’s company is to feel love and encouragement and to feel safe in her presence. At that point, you don’t care about our friend’s clothing because you are so encouraged by her spirit.

When my husband was working for an ambulance service in Memphis, TN, he became friends with a lady who lived in a nursing home. Although this lady was only in her early thirties, her body was so twisted with rheumatoid arthritis that she needed skilled nursing care. She could not walk but had to get around in a wheel chair. But once you met this lady, you forgot the wheelchair and the twisted body! This lady had a buoyant spirit that was a constant encouragement to others. She spent her days acting as the self – appointed mail deliverer at the nursing home. She was a favorite with all the nurses, and the day she died, her funeral was crowded with relatives of those whom she had encouraged.

Here Peter is not demanding that women dress in the ugliest garments they can find. That would be ridiculous. But Peter is encouraging ladies to realize that true beauty comes from the heart.

“Fine!” you say. “But what’s this bit about Sarah and Abraham and Sarah calling Abraham her lord? Are you saying that I have to go home to my husband who is sitting in his recliner drinking a beer and call him ’lord?’ You must be nuts!”

No, that’s not the point. But look at these verses again: “They put their hope in God and were subject to their husbands, just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to quiver in fear.”

1. Wives are to put their hope in God. How many of us have long since realized that demanding that our spouses make us happy is ridiculous? If you put your hopes in any other human being, no matter how wonderful, eventually they will disappoint you. God is the only perfect Being and the only Being who never changes. Placing your hope in your spouse is only going to lead to disappointment and discouragement for you and for frustration for your spouse. Put your hope in God.

2. Wives are to be subject to their husbands, not subservient but acknowledging that there is a chain of command in the household. See yesterday’s discussion; only equals can subject themselves to other equals. But refusal to come under authority leads to rebellion, and before you realize it, your children will be rebelling against you. Spiritual decisions echo throughout entire familes. Sarah called Abraham “lord” because that was the social convention in that day and age. What’s important is a heart attitude of respect.

3. “Do what is right and refuse to quiver in fear” Nobody should have to live in fear, particularly in their own home. You are to follow the Lord and behave as His follower; at the same time, if you feel that you are being forced to “quiver in fear” in your own home, GET OUT NOW!!! Don’t wait! Don’t insist that your husband only tripped when he hit you in the face and that you were clumsy when he pushed you down the stairs and you broke your right arm. One time I sat as my uncle described watching his grandmother become so agitated when she saw her father – in – law coming that if she was holding a stack of plates, the plates would begin rattling because she was shaking so hard. Evidently that man was a rage – aholic who controlled people by his anger. Sadly, there was nobody to tell my great grandmother to get out of the situation to a safe place.

Want to be handsome or beautiful? Cultivate a loving gentle spirit. Soak your mind and heart in the Word of God. Refuse to obsess on ugliness. This does not mean you ignore terrible current events, but you need to ask God to give you His Mind about them.

PRAYER: Father God, help all who read this to be encouraged that true beauty is within the reach of all of us and that it is not a matter of being born with a beautiful face or body. Lord, comfort and encourage those who have been called horrible names and have been insulted that they were plain or ugly. You know that in your creation, nothing is plain or ugly unless sin makes it so. Help all who read this to come to you so that you can change their minds and hearts and make them beautiful right where they are. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Peter 3:1-2 “Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words the behavior of their wives when they see your pure and reverent demeanor.”

“If you think I am going to be a doormat, you are CRAZY!!!!” “Me? Submit to THAT GUY??? WHY???” “Doesn’t submission mean I am going to be abused?”

These days, submission has assumed terrible implications. Throughout the world, women are physically and sexually abused, many of them as little girls. No wonder many women are terrified of entering into any relationship in which they might suffer. And it was no different in Peter’s day. Then in many cultures, a man could do anything he wanted to with his wife and nobody could say anything. But this is absolutely NOT the kind of relationship that Peter is describing.

The Bible has a lot to say about submission, including the example Jesus gave us. Our verses yesterday from 1 Peter 2:21-25 showed that Jesus submitted himself to the Will of his heavenly Father. Only equals can submit to one another, and Jesus submitted himself, although he was co – equal with God the Father.

Peter is describing godly relationships between husbands and wives. One Biblical principal is “the measure you give out is the measure you will receive.” To put it differently, “what goes around, comes around.” If we want tenderness and gentleness in our relationships, we must first be tender and gentle ourselves.

My thinking about submission began to change when I entered surgery training many years ago. Most surgery residencies used to be as tough as U.S. Marine Corps training. There was a clearly defined hierarchy, and it was up to the junior staff to recognize that fact and to submit to the authority of those above them in training and experience. We were allowed to raise questions, but once those questions had been answered, we were expected to carry out orders. The lives of patients depended on our fulfilling assigned duties properly. When seconds counted, there wasn’t time for lots of debate. We were valued as doctors, but we had to bow to superior knowledge and experience.

There is a God – ordained hierarchy of authority in the family. Husbands are expected to serve as the high priests and spiritual leaders of their households. Wives are to be helpers, comforters, and edifiers. How does this work in practice?

Years ago, I was interviewing for a surgical residency when one male surgeon informed me, “Well, honey, Ah nevah known a woman suhgeon who was any damn good!” (He was from the Deep South, hence the accent.) My answer: “Sir, if I thought I was going to be no damned good, I wouldn’t be sitting here in your office!” I promise you that nobody has ever accused me of being a doormat! I have run a bush hospital in the midst of a tribal war. I have coped with all kinds of challenges as the head of that hospital. But when I leave the hospital and go home, I enter a situation in which I am the second in command, and I am happy to have it be so. (Incidentally, I handed over responsibilities as the clinical head of that hospital four years ago and I currently submit myself to a doctor much younger than I am. There is nothing wrong with submitting to authority.)

God has designed men and women differently, not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. This does not mean one sex is superior to the other; it means the two sexes have been created to complement each other. My husband is my spiritual covering; he prays for me and I pray for him. I am very sensitive spiritually, almost too sensitive at times. My husband helps serve as an anchor. If I sense something spiritually, I can bring it to my husband and ask him to pray about it. If my husband gets confirmation from the Lord, then we know that this perception is really of God and not merely a distraction. But notice that I was the first one to have the perception; my husband was not. Sometimes criticisms that devastate me leave my husband unmoved – and a good thing too!

One of the important parts of this equation is that girls looking for godly husbands must find someone to whom they can feel comfortable submitting. If your boyfriend or fiance is jealous or controlling, get out of the relationship now! At the same time, guys should be looking for a girl whom they can freely serve, love, and protect. Again, if there’s something wrong with the relationship, bail out quickly! Don’t wait in hopes that your girl/guy is going to change. What you are seeing is what you are going to get.

PRAYER: Father God, we are afraid! What if we submit to someone and they hurt us? What if we choose someone and they fight us every step of the way? Lord, please heal our relationships with our boyfriends/girlfriends/fiances/spouses. Help us to learn your ways of love. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

1 Peter 2:21 – 25 “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.” For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. Compare: Suffering (Isaiah 53:1-8)

How many of you like to suffer? Raise your hands high, now! Hmmmm, not seeing many hands out there, am I? Let’s face it! Nobody really wants to suffer; in fact, most of us do everything we can to avoid suffering. And it probably wasn’t much different in Peter’s day. So what is Peter getting at?

One of my favorite Christian comedians was the late Barbara Johnson. One of Barbara’s early books was entitled “Pain is Inevitable But Suffering is Optional, so Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and Be Happy!” Actually, that was not Barbara’s first book. Barbara’s first book was entitled “Where Does a Mother Go to Resign?” In the middle 1960’s, the Johnson family was living in suburban California and doing very well; in fact, they actually received an award as an outstanding family. Then several catastrophes overtook them at once. Barbara’s husband Bill, an engineer, suffered a terrible brain injury in an auto accident. Then not long after that, one of their sons was killed in Viet Nam. With Bill out of commission, Barbara had to go identify her son’s body after it had been soaking in a Vietnamese swamp for days before it was sent to the United States. Shortly after that, Bill began to spontaneously recover, but then their second son was killed in a tragic car accident. (Barbara had to return to the same funeral home to identify that son’s body as well!)

By 1976, things appeared to be going well for the Johnsons…until they learned that their brilliant son who had just graduated from a Christian college was gay and was already pursuing a gay lifestyle. The shockof this discovery nearly tore the Johnson family apart for awhile, but they learned to cope and to continue to reach out in love. (Eventually they were reconciled with their son.) It was at that point that Barbara wrote “Where Does a Mother Go to Resign?”

As a result of all these experiences, the Johnsons founded a ministery they called “Spatula Ministries.” The Johnsons felt that families suffering any kind of trauma might need a spatula to scrape them up or to scrape them off the ceiling! At the same time, Barbara found herself in demand as a Christian speaker who could find joy and humor in all kinds of problems and who could help others to do so as well. Ultimately, both Bill and Barbara succumbed to cancer of different types, but before they died, they had given hope and help to millions around the world. (Barbara battled cancer for 6 years, continuing her public speaking and encouragement all that time.)

No matter how much we suffer in this world, we can never suffer as much as Jesus has already suffered for us! Most of us suffer justly – we deserve what we get. But Jesus took the sins of the whole world upon himself and suffered the most shameful death possible, death on a cross. Even before that, Jesus allowed himself to be mocked and scorned and beaten, even though he could have stood up and called out all of those who were abusing him. No, we cannot suffer as much as Jesus has suffered for us.

Barbara was correct; all of us will endure pain, but we can look to Jesus, who has left us an example. Jesus ultimately triumphed over death and the grave. If we will truly follow Jesus, we will have joy even in the midst of our suffering.

What trials are you enduring today? Whatever your problems, Jesus already knows about them and can give you joy even in the midst of them. When we “die to sin and live to righteousness,” we exchange lives of sorrow for lives of hope.

PRAYER: Father God, we don’t want to suffer! We don’t even like the idea of suffering! But we also want to follow you. Help us to bear whatever suffering comes our way, knowing that you can give us joy in the midst of that suffering. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.

 Peter 2:18- 20 “Servants, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but even to those who are unreasonable. For if anyone endures the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God, this is to be commended. How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.”

Being a slave was horrible! Slaves had no rights. Slaves could be sold upon a whim of the master or mistress. Slaves could be beaten and nothing would be done about it. Slaves could be sexually abused or pimped as prostitutes. Slaves could not own property. No, there was nothing good about being a slave!

At the same time, slaves had ways of retaliating against bad masters. Everybody knew about cooks who claimed food cost more than it actually did or who sent food home to their families. Slaves who worked in stores might routinely pilfer. Slaves who handled money might “save” a little back for themselves. Yes, slaves had all kinds of ways of getting even with a bad master.

When slaves and other downtrodden groups heard the Gospel and realized that God loved them, it was exhilerating! Finally, someone was affirming that these people were human beings and their lives were precious. But what were these people to do now? They were still slaves, still serving at the whim of their masters or mistresses.

Peter is advising slaves and servants to submit with all respect and conduct themselves honorably, even when a master or mistress is “unreasonable,” and is beating them. Why? Throughout this letter, Peter was advising believers to remember that they were not living for themselves any more. Once a slave became a Christian, he or she was now an ambassador for Christ. Everyone knew that ambassadors did not act on their own, but carried out the wishes of those who had sent them. If these believing slaves and servants were beaten or otherwise abused and they responded with patience and respect, their masters and mistresses would probably be in shock! Reacting with patience and gentleness would cause these slave owners to ask themselves why these slaves were different. Slaves who were honest would also cause their owners to wonder what was going on. Once these questions were raised, the slaves and servants could then tell them that they were Christians, and that as Jesus followers, they had to maintain standards.

Today, many of us might feel that we are caught in no – win situations at work. Others are stealing and getting away with it; we are acting honestly and being abused. Others slack off and work as little as possible; we do our best and are criticized. The question is this: for whom are we working? If we are only working for our own interests, then we are likely to copy our friends who misbehave. If on the other hand, we are working as members of the Body of Christ, we are not working for ourselves but are ambassadors and representatives of the Kingdom of God.

The question each of us must face is this: for whom are you working? Are you working with eternity in mind or are you only going along to get along?

PRAYER: Father God, please help us to follow hard after you all the days of our lives! Help us to bear suffering patiently and continue to work well, even when we are physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually abused. Thank you that Jesus is our Example and that one day, You will commend us. In the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

1 Peter 2:13 – 17 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority, or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men. Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king (emperor, chief.)”

Today our news is full of descriptions of riots and demonstrations that have convulsed many American cities. Sadly, many of these demonstrators have no compassion for the citizens of the cities that have been destroyed. These extreme actions are being defended as acts of social justice against an unjust system. But are these expressions Biblical? No!

Consider the situation in Peter’s day. The Emperor Nero had assumed the throne of the Roman Empire and was behaving in an increasingly bizarre fashion. The persecution of Christians was ramping up. Eventually Christians would be used as living torches at parties in Nero’s garden. Talk about injustice!

It is in this setting that Peter is writing to the very people who may wind up as targets of persecution, advising them to submit to the civil authorities. This admonition must have had a bombshell effect among believers! Why is Peter giving such advice? Is he crazy?

The key to answering this question comes in the beginning of these verses. Christians are to submit themselves to every human institution for the Lord’s sake…For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men. Once a believer has dedicated his life to Christ, he or she no longer gets to choose when to obey and when not to obey. One of our pastor friends used to say that “God is in management while we are in advertising.” Christians are to be walking advertisements to the goodness and the love of God. We do not submit because a ruler is worthy, but for the Lord’s sake.

Does submitting to authority mean that we must turn into doormats? Absolutely not! Christians should be speaking out for the poor and disadvantaged and doing everything they can to help them. But we are to be instruments of God’s love and grace, not of anger and hatred. True movements for social justice help the poor and do not ignore them or make their situation even worse. Christians are to be people of peace and not of hatred.

Are there times when Christians might not submit? Yes. One question that is being faced by Christians throughout the U.S. is whether or not to worship in groups. It seems incongruous that huge numbers of people can be allowed at all kinds of social gatherings but not in churches. There are no easy answers and each church must be responsible to the Lord for its choices. But gathering in a worship service is a far different thing from destroying neighborhoods as part of an unruly mob.

To submit to authority means that we are people of free will who can freely choose to submit. “ Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Treat everyone with high regard..” When we submit to authority, we are choosing to exercise our freedom to demonstrate the goodness of God, his grace and his peace.

Ultimately, Peter submitted to being crucified for his faith. As a sign of humility, Peter requested to be crucified upside down, rather than occupying the same orientation as Jesus when he was crucified.

Who left their mark on history? Everyone remembers Nero for his cruelty. But people remember the early Christians for their love, their graciousness, and their willingness to submit and to die for their faith if necessary. And in the end, it was the Christians who triumphed and not Nero. The Roman Empire crumbled, but the church of Jesus Christ remained.

PRAYER: Father God, we beg you to hear us this morning! Give us the courage to submit, even when things are difficult and the grace and wisdom to know when we must quietly continue to follow you, even if it is at the cost of our very lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus, we pray with thanksgiving. Amen.

1 Peter 2:11 – 12 “Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul. Conduct yourselves with such honor among the Gentiles that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.”

This was the absolutely WORST part of my day as a surgical intern!!! I was working in a Veterans Administration Hospital, and one of our most difficult patients was J.M. Not only was J.M. a brittle diabetic and an alcoholic who could go off into rages, but he was also rotting off much of the sole of one foot. In some hospitals, they might already have amputated this foot, but J.M.’s relatives had begged the head of the hospital, also a general surgeon, to try to do everything they could to save the leg. As the junior member of the surgical team, it was my job to debride J.M.’s foot every morning. Due to diabetic neuropathy, J.M. didn’t have pain in the foot, but that also did not keep him from cursing me roundly every morning as I picked away at the dead tissue in his foot.

I had recently re-dedicated my life to Christ and I was trying as hard as I could to behave in a Christ – like manner, but J.M. was getting on my very last nerve!

 “Lord, do I REALLY have to love J.M.?” I whined one morning. Stupid question! Of course, the answer came back, “But I died for him too.” So I began to pray for J.M. Every morning I prayed before I went to work on that foot. I prayed while I was working on that foot. And I prayed after I finished working on that foot. (Dead tissue doesn’t smell very good, and the scent gets into your hair.) But as I continued to pray for J.M., he cursed less and less. Finally J.M. began attending chapel services. I transferred to another service in a different hospital and I never saw J.M. again. But I choose to believe that I will see J.M. in heaven.

Peter was writing this letter to people who had just gotten saved out of temple prostitution, out of fertility god worship, out of all kinds of moral messes. While they were engaged in promiscuity and idol worship, they weren’t making anybody uncomfortable; in fact, their neighbors probably felt morally superior. Now these same peopel were worshiping this new Christian Messiah and their whole behavior had changed. The neighbors were incensed! How dare these people change? When a family became Christians, the neighbors were probably ready to spread evil rumors.
“You know that they drink human blood and eat human flesh as part of their worship services, don’t you? Better watch your children! I hear they really like the flesh of little kids.” And that was probably one of the milder rumors!

When I was growing up and tried to tell my mother that she should allow me to do something “because everybody else was doing it,” my mother would tell me that I was her child and that her children didn’t do such things. Here Peter is encouraging the new believers not to pay attention to the rumors, the slander, the persecution because they refused to do business on Sundays, etc. “Don’t worry about what people are saying,” Peter might have remarked. “People are watching you and seeing all the good things you are doing in the community. Some day they will glorify the one true living God because of your conduct.”

None of us can do enough “good stuff” to earn our way into heaven. On the other hand, once we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we are already citizens of heaven and we must behave as such. If we only ask, God will give us the power to live righteous lives of loving service. Some day we are going to stand before Jesus and answer for the way we have lived. What will we say on that day?

PRAYER: Father God, help! We want to live righteously but we can’t. Only You can give us the power to change and only You can give us the power to live lives that will cause others to glorify you. Please let people see our behavior and desire to know you better. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.