Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

1 Peter 1: 1-2 - God’s Chosen

 

1 Peter 1: 1-2 - God’s Chosen

Peter was one fo the twelve disciples Jesus appointed and taught during his time on earth. After Jesus was crucified and rose, Peter spent the rest of his life as a church leader. This letter, 1 Peter, was written to churches in the Roman provinces who were experiencing persecution, and he sincerely urged them to remain faithful to Jesus. 

If you have been with me and my morning journals for a while, then you know I have been studying the Apostle Paul since Jan 1. Every day I read a chapter in one of Paul’s epistles, and when I finished those, I jumped into Acts. Now finishing those, I figured a perfect transition was moving to Peter. This topic will be susceptible, and challenging since 1 Peter is all about persecution and a large group of people being exiled and scattered. In light of our current surroundings and unrest due to racism in our county, I enter this chapter with great prayer and seeking God’s wisdom and clarity. The few opening words do give us hope, and a lot of insight that I want to start with. Peter opens this letter, To God’s elect...in the TPT it begins like this;

“From Peter, an apostle of Jesus the Anointed One, to the chosen ones who have been scattered abroad like “seed” into the nations living as refugees...” - ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:1a‬ ‭TPT‬‬

This does set the ground rules and tone for us. I am getting a full picture of a refugee. An alien, a foreigner in a land, someone who has little to no rights, not loved or cared for, and I could go on and on about what a refugee unfortunately is. And Peter shows us, and reminds us that these refugees, the people were God’s elect, they were the chosen ones. 

So, if I lose you after this, or you get nothing out of anything else a critical point we all must absorb and process is God’s elect, His chosen ones regularly have and often been refugees, and navigated persecution. This is not right, this is not fair, and I am not saying this is ok and we should just deal with it. I am only bringing light to the unfortunate reality that comes with living this side of heaven. I also loved how Peter finished that opening through the with v2;

“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.” - ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

These people, God’s elect, His chosen were exiled and at that same time chosen by God. They were exiles, persecuted, treated like refugees, and the blood of Christ sanctified them. This bipolar situation is hard to comprehend honestly for me, and then Peter extends and abundance of grace and peace. 

“From Peter, an apostle of Jesus the Anointed One, to the chosen ones who have been scattered abroad like “seed” into the nations living as refugees, to those living in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and throughout the Roman provinces of Asia and Bithynia. You are not forgotten, for you have been chosen and destined by Father God. The Holy Spirit has set you apart to be God’s holy ones, obedient followers of Jesus Christ who have been gloriously sprinkled with his blood. May God’s delightful grace and peace cascade over you many times over!” - ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:1-2‬ ‭TPT‬‬

I am going to rest and stop here. I need to sit in this for some time, taking in the fullness of these two verses. Breath in the fact that we have God’s chosen, scattered, and living like refugees. They are not forgotten, destined by Father God. Set apart, and gloriously sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. 

Today it’s my prayer and my processing to listen and pray. I am praying for all those who are refugees, living in exile, and scattered in any way. Lord God bring grace and peace, may it cascade over our lands and in the hearts of those who are hurting. Father, may you be glorified, Lord may those who do not know you find peace and live in you, Jesus. Father those of us who are Christ-followers, who are pastors and leaders, may we bring this type of message, a message of Jesus a message of grace and peace in the abundance of Jesus. Amen.

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch