Sunday Scripture

 

Time for another Sunday Scripture!  This is part of an ongoing series on my simple study of Rachel Wojo's Everything Beautiful.  You can read about the plan here if you are interested in it for yourself: Everything Beautiful Bible reading plan. My answers and input on this series are a combination of what I learned back in 2018, and what I found in looking over the Scriptures now, six years later.  I'm attempting to SOAP the passages too, though some of them are longer. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Today's study is from 1 Peter 2:1-9.  

S= Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
"As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that ye may grow by it,
"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious;
"To whom, coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men but chosen of God, and precious,
"Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
"Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.

"Unto you, therefore, who believe He is precious, but unto those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
"And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, even to them who stumble at the word,  being disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed.
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a people of His own, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."  (1 Peter 2:1-9)

O= Cross-reference for "tasted" (v.3) -- "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusteth in Him."  (Psalm 34:8)

Cross-reference for "stone" (v.4) -- "But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel)." (Genesis 49:24)

Cross-reference for "disallowed" or "rejected" (v.4)  -- "The stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner."  (Psalm 118:22)

In reference to "holy priesthood" (v.5) and "holy nation" (v.9) there is this note: "In the New Testament, one Greek word, hagios, in its various forms, is rendered 'holy', 'holiness', 'sanctify', 'sancified', 'sanctification'.  It signifies set apart."

Cross-reference for "Behold, I lay in Zion" (v.6)-- "Therefore, thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste."  (Isaiah 28:16) 

Cross-reference for "stone of stumbling" (v.8) -- "And He shall be for a sanctuary: but for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem."  (Isaiah 8:14)

Cross-reference for "whereunto also they were appointed" (v.8) -- "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another to dishonor?
"What if God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction,
"And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory,
"Even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?"  (Romans 9:21-24)

Cross-references for "chosen generation" (v.9) -- "For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God; the LORD thy God hath chosen you to be a special people unto Himself, above all people who are upon the face of the earth."  (Deuteronomy 7:6)

"I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen."  (Isaiah 43:20)

Note concerning "royal priesthood" (v.9) -- "In the exercise of his office the New Testament believer-priest is 1) a sacrificer who offers a fourfold sacrifice: 

 * his own living body (Romans 12:1)
* praise to God (Hebrews 13:15)
* his substance (Romans 12:13)
* his service (Hebrews 13:16)

2) an intercessor (Colossians 4:12)

Note concerning "holy nation" (v.9) -- "In both testaments the same Greek words are rendered by the English words 'sanctify' and 'holy' in their various grammatical forms.  The one uniform meaning is to set apart for God." -- Scofield

Cross-reference for "people of His own" (v.9) -- "Now therefore if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine.  And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation."  (Exodus 19:5-6a)

Scofield comments, "What under law was conditional is, under grace, freely given to every believer." 

"Praises" (v.9) literally means "excellencies".

Cross-references for "out of darkness" (v.9) -- "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in Me."  (Acts 26:18)

"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known.  I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.  These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them."  (Isaiah 42:16)

Cross-reference for "His marvelous light" (v.9) -- "For with Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light."  (Psalm 36:9)

A= Warren Wiersbe notes concerning verses 1-2: "Just as a baby has an appetite for the mother's milk, so the child of God has an appetite for the Father's Word.  If you lose that appetite and stop growing, check to see if any of the sins listed in verse 1 are infecting your life."  Food for thought, for sure!

For this Scripture, there were also a number of ways to apply it as prompted in the journal.  

"Remembering who I once was is important to realize who I am now." -- Rachel Wojo

This thought of course fits with verse 9, which reminds us that God has brought us out of spiritual darkness. 

 
Rachel also shares a "focus word" in each of the devotional pages.  For this lesson the focus word is "mercy". 

 
It's certainly God's mercy that brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light.  It's His mercy that has made us a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people of His own.

The question was asked: Which of my own words have blocked the beauty of God's Word?

My response in 2018: Again, probably words like "This is too hard!" when God's Word clearly states that there is nothing too hard for Him.

Answering this same question in 2024:  Words like "I can't do all this!" when God clearly tells me that I can do all things through Christ.  I know I absolutely can do all things that are His will for me to do.  

As Elisabeth Elliot wrote, "If we really have too much to do, there are some items on the agenda which God did not put there.  Let us submit the list to Him and ask Him to indicate which items we must delete. There is always time to do the will of God."

This prompt was given, along with a list: Today I will keep my eyes open for God's beauty in one or more of these places.

These are the places I circled: The words I read; the places I go; the music I hear; the people I encounter; the air I breathe; the weather I experience; the rest I receive.

In 2024 I can note that for the words I read, there are the beautiful words of the Bible as well as lovely poetry I have recently read.

For the places I go, I noted how we are surrounded with cool, refreshing shades of green at our little cottage in the woods.

 For the people I encounter, I spoke of a diverse and unexpectedly large group of ladies in my Sunday School class, all encouraging one another with their insights.

For the weather I experience, I mentioned a string of perfect summer days.

A journaling prompt was this:  List one or more ideas to remind myself to intentionally look for God's beauty throughout the day.

My response in 2018: Walk outdoors or on the porch if at all possible.  Soak up any available sunshine.  Breathe deeply while outdoors.  Listen for birdsong.

For my response in 2024, I added: Enjoy hummingbirds at the camp, and a large variety of colorful birds at our feeder at home.   Watch for perennial summer flowers and wildflowers.  Admire the color of my homemade chive blossom vinegar!

P= "Lord,  I praise You today that You have called me out of darkness into Your marvelous light!  Your expectation is that I will show forth Your praises in my life.  I need to be sure I'm doing that every day, not just on days when I'm feeling fine.  Help me to show forth Your praises every day, and I thank You for all You will do, in Jesus' name, Amen."

 And there is this week's Sunday Scripture!  I pray it's a blessing to someone.