Chapter 1
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct 1 Peter 1:14-15 – In a couple verses it’s starts out by saying, “And if you call on him as Father.” So if we desire to carry the title of God’s children and want the blessings that come with God as our Father, then the command to us is to live holy. Scripture here tells us to no longer be connected and living in the sinful ways of your past before you became a child of God. Your title is different and your lifestyle should be as well. Just remember that while this may seem to at first take you away from some of the “fun” you’ve integrated into your life, the life you’re living was bought for you with the death of Jesus on the cross. If God was willing to give up that much for us, what are you willing to sacrifice for Him? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 741
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7 – In “this” you rejoice? What is the “this” scripture is speaking of? What is it that we rejoice in despite all the trials? For the trials they were facing in the time of this passage were severe, what could outweigh the pain of persecution they were experiencing? The promise of Heaven. Those who have placed their faith in Jesus have become sons and daughters of God. We have Heaven and the beauty within it to hope for once this earthly life is over. We have the hope of an eternity of peace, love, and joy with Jesus. If you hear this and begin to think that’s somewhat of a disappointment of a “reward” for all the trouble you’re going through, know I hear you, but you must not have yet a clear understanding of how good Heaven will be. Scripture shows us that Heaven is worth the pain of today. That even if in this life we don’t taste the relief, the beauty of what Heaven is will make the pain of today a forgotten memory. Rest in this hope in your pain of today. What God is promising us is worth it. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1855
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ… 1 Peter 1:1a – Peter. He was one of the twelve disciples called to follow Jesus. He was one of the close three that was allowed closer access to the work of Jesus than any other like getting to firsthand see the transfiguration. Peter was the only one to walk on the water with Jesus. This was Peter, and Peter was an apostle of Jesus Christ. What I love though about this short, seemingly insignificant phrase is when it came in Peter’s life. Peter wrote this sometime after the night of Jesus’ arrest. After denying Jesus three times, after making the biggest mistake of his life, Peter now as he writes still sees himself as he truly still is, an apostle of Jesus Christ. His mistakes didn’t change who he was in Jesus. Your mistakes today won’t change who you are in Jesus. If you’ve chosen to follow Jesus, you will always be loved by Him, you will always be allowed into His presence, and you will always be wanted by God. A mistake today won’t change the fact you’re a child of God. A mistake today won’t change the fact that you’re a disciple of Jesus. Pursue a life of holiness, just as our chapter speaks on, but don’t believe the lie that a slip up in your pursuit of Jesus will ruin your life with Jesus. Know who you are in Jesus. Know who you still are in Jesus even after your biggest mistake. Seen by God, loved by God, wanted by God, and still His. I love you, but Jesus loves you more. – Mac – Daily DEVO 2003
Chapter 2
For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 1 Peter2:25 – I just saw on Facebook this video of a lamb being rescued. It had somehow gone deeply into this underground pipe and the rescuers had to dig out the pipe and cut through the top of the pipe just to reach the lamb. Thankfully they saved it, but it reminded me, just like this passage today did, that we need a Shepherd. Sometimes we can find ourselves in a deep, dark place. We need someone to leave the ninety nine and come to our rescue. We also need a Shepherd to lead us and teach us how to stay away from those dark places. Think about how many times this past year you would have found yourself in one of those dark places if it wasn’t for the direction that God has given you in your life. We all need a Shepherd, thankfully God welcomes all to come into His flock. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 742
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 1 Peter 2:17 – This is how a citizen of Heaven should live on earth. If you are a follower of Jesus, God has given you these four ways you are to interact with others in a Christ-like way. First, honor everyone meaning God isn’t giving you permission to pick and choose who to respect. Every person that comes your way should receive your respect, whether they deserve it our not, because God said so. Second, to love the church body. I heard this in a podcast, if you say you love Jesus but hate the church, it’s like looking at me and saying you love my head but hate everything else about my body. The church is the body of Christ and Jesus is the head of the church. You can’t love one and not love the other. Third, to fear God which means never to forgot who He is in your story. He is this close friend who never leaves, but God is also the one whose vapor of His breath creates galaxies. Finally, honor the emperor. Don’t play naïve here saying you can skip this because we don’t have an emperor, you know exactly what this is saying. To show respect to your political and governing authorities. Do they all deserve it, for sure not, but that’s not the command. You are to show respect for them because God placed them where they are at. Some of you need to deeply check yourself here and the sin you are in concerning this fourth one. Remember, your life is so much more than this earthly one, don’t live as if this is all there is. You have been bought with a very high price, live holy. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1856
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 1 Peter 2:16-17 – You are free. Due to the grace, sacrifice, and love of Jesus you have been freed from your bonds. You now have a choice in the direction of your life and how you use the time given to you. Do not by the way you choose to live trash the sacrifice of Jesus. Yes, you have been granted freedom, but as our verse says, don’t use that freedom to live in sin knowing that it’s all good because you’ll still get to Heaven someday. As scripture says, yes certain things are permissible to you, but not all things are beneficial. You’ve been given this freedom for a purpose. Not to entertain your sinful desires, but to serve. You are free, so dedicate your whole life to the work of God because nothing is now holding you back from that. You are free, so now choose to lift up and honor every single person because you can now. You are free, so love your family in Christ passionately because you aren’t being held back by the chains of anger, envy, or pride anymore. You are free, so now choose to respect the leaders God has established because you are free to do so. Use the freedom that cost the blood of Jesus for the purpose it was given to you for…for Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2004
Chapter 3
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ 1 Peter 3:21 – Since this verse made me stop and look up what it meant, I figured you may have some questions to so let’s talk about it. Peter was not implying that the salvation of our souls and forgiveness of our sins comes from baptism now rather than from Jesus. We see Peter speak about Noah and the flood and how water was used to bring about the salvation for Noah and his family. He then here relates the water of baptism to the water of the flood, saying that the water of baptism is a symbol of the salvation that the flood brought for Noah. So is baptism for us, it’s a symbol of the salvation that Jesus has brought to us. We must always remember that salvation comes only through the blood of Jesus so if we come to a verse like this that makes you question something, pause, remember what all of scripture elsewhere says, and do some studying on it. Hope this helps with understanding of this verse. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 743
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 1 Peter3:1-2 – I’m a firm believer in that old saying, “We are always witnessing and sometimes we use words.” Whether we are at home, at church, or even at Walmart, how we act and how we treat people are giving off a representation of our Savior. We are always telling someone something about Jesus by how we live. That said, when the time comes to use words, we better be ready. We should be seeking opportunities to clearly use our words to share the gospel with someone. The way we live earns us the trust and relationship with people that allows us to have those conversations. Are you then ready to share the gospel with someone if the opportunity arose in the next 10 minutes? If not, then this isn’t me shaming you at all, just highlighting an important step to take today. I’d encourage not to even go to sleep tonight before you found a way to present the gospel to someone if the chance came. For who knows who might have been watching your life for these past years and tomorrow they are going to ask you, “Who is this Jesus you say you follow?” As verse 15 in this chapter says, “Always be prepared.” I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1857
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9 – This verse has some pretty special truths within it we all can take to heart. Seek to have a unity of mind with your church family. Brotherly love should exude from your life. When it comes to those who hurt you, handle them in such a different way than the world would. While we could go deeper on any of those points, what struck me this morning was who wrote those words…Peter. Peter in the gospels was the brash, bold one that always acted before he thought. Unity of mind and brotherly love wasn’t always his strong areas. Repaying evil for evil was easy for him and something he wasn’t foreign at doing. Yet now, we have that same Peter writing these words. What was the thing that came into his story that changed him from brash Peter to peace-writing-scripture Peter? Jesus. Jesus changed everything about Peter and He can change everything about you as well. He can take what’s broken and heal it. He can take your not so great parts and make them holy. Jesus can take your good parts and make them great. Jesus wants to take you and make you more like Himself. Know in Jesus you can find the change you’re looking for and the change you need. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2005
Chapter 4
So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 1 Peter4:2 – We need to change what we live for. Peter in the very next verse gives a list of sins people can easily fall into. He says this is the type of stuff people who don’t know Jesus get caught up in and the time has past for us to be caught in this stuff ourselves. No longer are we to be giving ourselves over to our sinful desires and lustful fantasies. We’ve been changed because of Jesus, now let’s change what we live for. Today as you look at your life, is there any worldly passions you find yourself still caught up in? Let this passage just remind you God is giving you something much better to live for. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 744
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 1 Peter 4:12 – A faithful walk won’t come without a fight. While it may not be something you invest much time thinking about, you have an enemy who hates you. He only wants you depleted, destroyed, discouraged, disconnected, and dead. This is why this verse is so key to remember. Don’t be surprised as you seek to follow God that you see a battle. You have an enemy that’s not sleeping on his mission. All that said, remember you have an ally, who is far stronger, that isn’t sleeping on you either. This ally is of course Jesus and He’s already defeated your enemy. What you’re feeling is the enemy’s last breath efforts to mess up your life, but Jesus has already won the victory. Don’t be surprised, but also don’t be afraid. Attacks are something we can anticipate and victory is something we can be assured of with Jesus. Just keep that last part in mind, with Jesus. When you try to fight the enemy by yourself, you’ll lose. You never have to battle the enemy alone, so don’t. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1858
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 1 Peter 4:10 – Often when I think about the spiritual gifts God has blessed each believer with I just automatically connect them with being used to serve God. Which yes, the end result is true serving Him, but let’s lean into that a little deeper. With the gift of leadership, are you leading God? With the gift of hospitality, are you taking care of God’s needs? With the gift of speaking, are you speaking to help God grow? No, you are using those gifts to serve others just as our verse reminds us to do. These are gifts that God has blessed us with and are designed to be committed to His purposes. Remember though they were given to be used to serve other people and point them to Jesus. Everything points back to our mission today, use every moment you have, every opportunity you’re given, every gift you’ve been blessed with to point people to Jesus. Serve God by serving others. To really settle this, know Jesus possessed every spiritual gift, and do you remember what He made His life about and how He spent His days? People and serving them so their eyes would be open to the God who loves them. Serve people today so they see Jesus through you. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2006
Chapter 5
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10 – Last night I shared with my students how we can have joy even in the darkest of times by remembering the goodness of God and the promises He gives. Right here is one of those promises that we all need to remember. That in our life we will suffer things due to the brokenness in our world, but God who loves you and is full of grace will make all things right. I love that list, restore, confirm, strengthen, establish. Here is where we need to rest in during the dark times of life. Those times will come, but God isn’t going to leave you that way. That’s something to find joy in. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 745
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:6-8 – Here’s something the church needs to talk about more…that mental health is real and it’s a favorite battlefield for our enemy. Notice the language Peter is using in his book. He leads us to be watchful in our relationships with others, seeking unity with spouses, authorities, and neighbors. He opens our eyes to the truth that the enemy is going to attacks us deeply and he’ll attack those relationships. Now he says to watch out for another attack, your mind. The word “anxieties” here come from the Greek word “merimna” which means to separate, to be drawn in different direction, to divide a person. The enemy is going to seek to divide your mind in all sorts of directions. He is seeking to burden your mind so deeply with the worries of life and then he plans to tear you apart. That’s where the remainder of this passage is such a blessing, we see how to handle this. Realize God is better at handling this than you and come under His strong hand that can hold you together. Be also clear minded and watchful for your enemy is prowling in the darkness seeking a way to divide you. Scripture is clear that the mind is something the enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. If you think the enemy doesn’t attack the mind and we shouldn’t care about mental health, I challenge you to look up the rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide in just our country over the past two years. We need to accept the truth that Satan is after our minds and we need to preach the truth God is strong enough to keep our minds and to hold us together. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1859
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 1 Peter 5:1-3 – This passage hits deeper for me this time of reading this passage due the changes happening at my church right now. It’s reminds those who are leaders to lead well. How verse three ends truly sums it up, lead by example. I know my heart never wants to point someone where I first am not going. Like tomorrow I’m my sermon we’ll be talking about how deeply important it is to have a habit of reading scripture. I’d sure feel funny pushing the congregation to do that if I first wasn’t setting the example or at least seeking to do it myself first. Today in your leaderships areas (as a parent, boss, spiritual mentor, older brother/sister in Christ), lead by example. Give them clear directions, but be following them deeply yourself first. Yes, tell them to lean into Jesus when life is heavy, point them to remove the sin in their life, remind them to be staying active in God’s Word, but be sure your are setting them an example of all this too. When we’ve first walked the path ourselves we can help those following us navigate that same path better. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2007
Daily DEVO 