Day 63: 1 Peter 1:14

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,”



Are you obedient? I didn’t think so. We might obey in some things, but if you’re anything like me, our obedience isn’t real reliable or complete. This is sin.


Remember the verse “children, obey your parents?” It’s touched on in the ten commandments, and it’s repeated throughout the old and new testaments. Being mentioned so often, you might get the idea that it’s important, wouldn’t you?


It is. And here’s why. First, God put your parents over you to teach you and model a godly relationship for you.


Secondly, your parents represent your relationship to God. We are to obey our earthly parents just as we are to obey our heavenly father, loving and honoring them with our actions, words, and lives.


So, now that we’ve got the obedience thing out of the way, let’s look at the rest of what Peter wants to tell us today.


Peter is doing two things here. He wants to keep us on the path of obedience and he wants to remind us what disobedience looks like. He isn’t just talking here about a single incidence of disobedience, but an attitude of disobedience.


Before we had a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we were disobedient. Not just doing things wrong, but not even playing for the right team. We couldn’t be obedient to God, because sin was a part of who we were. Jesus took care of that on the cross. He died and took our wraith for us.


As Paul puts it, the old man died, and we were brought from the kingdom of sin and death to the kingdom of life and righteousness.


Peter is reminding us to be obedient, because when we aren’t obedient, we look just like we did before we came to know Christ. Remember what that was like? We were headed to hell. Our obedience to Christ further reinforces the message of the gospel for all to see: Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is the power over death and into life.


CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Before we were obedient to God, we were slaves to our passions and to sin. Jesus freed us from the domain of darkness. Our obedience to Him shows that and reinforces the gospel as we speak it.


Here’s a set of verses to meditate on today: Romans 5


Prayer: Father, thank you from rescuing me from the kingdom of sin and death. Help me to be obedient to you that I may be a witness for your Son’s death, burial, and resurrection. In Christ’s name, amen.

Day 45: Acts 4:19-20

“But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”



There are a lot of people who talk. Talk is cheap. There will be many people who will tell you things that are contrary to God. Get used to it; you live in the world. Unfortunately, there will also be many times when you will be asked to do something that is contrary to your belief. Worse, when this happens, there are usually bad consequences for you if you do the godly thing.


It is easier to do things the way of the world. It is more accepted, the rewards of the world are plentiful, and no one will usually think the worse of you.


God does not call us into the easy way. He calls us into His way. His way is not the world’s way, and often the two clash.


When Peter and John were ordered by the Jewish ruling counsel to stop talking about Jesus, they had a choice to make. This was the same council that had crucified Jesus. They were more than capable of killing Peter and John.


Peter and John, rather than carrying on their obedience to God in secret, let the Sanhedrin know right away what kind of behavior they could expect.


Many times you are going to be in a tight spot where there is a clear choice between God and the world. It is in these times that the world is watching you the closest. They are waiting to see what you decide, because they will deduce how much you truly believe God by your decision.


In these tough times, we have to take our stand and declare our allegiance. It is to none but God. Any other allegiance fails us; any other path leads us astray.


Tough times will come, and you will be forced to choose. Will you choose to speak of what you have “see n and heard?”


CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: Christian Leaders take their stand on Christ. When faced with obeying the world or following Christ, they follow Christ.


Here are some verses to meditate on Today: Luke 22:39-46


Prayer: Father, help me to choose Your way at all times. Help me to resist the temptation to take the easy way out. In Christ’s name, amen.

Day 31: Acts 9:15-16

“But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”



Imagine being poor Ananias. Maybe you have been in a situation similar to his. God was asking Ananias to go and talk to a guy who before his conversion would have taken one look at Ananias and hauled him off in chains to be executed because of his faith.


Ananias must have been seriously questioning God’s sense at that point. I would have been. It just goes to show that we wouldn’t act differently even when God just comes out and speaks directly to us.


But don’t miss the point. God had everything well in hand. Ananias didn’t know it, or except it, but God was brining a big puzzle together that was a long time in the making. If Ananias had remembered who God was, instead of worrying about his own skin, he may have reacted differently.


We point a finger at Ananias, but we’re probably the same way. Has God ever called you to something that you thought was ridiculous? Has He told you to talk with that really mean or aggressive person at school about Jesus, or maybe called you to work in a place that you would consider dangerous or at the very least unglamorous?


Remember, that even though it might seem crazy, God knows what He is doing. You may be the first in, or you may be the last piece of the puzzle. It’s really not for us to know, but it is for us to obey.


What would have happened if Ananias had blown God off that day? What would have happened to Paul. He’d had met Jesus, yes, but through Ananias Paul’s sight was restored and he was baptized. Incredible.


CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLE: God gives us divine appointments that we don’t always understand. Obey. Let God work out the details, no matter how dangerous.


Here’s a set of Verses to meditate on today: Jonah 4


Prayer: Father, help me to obey without worrying about what it will cost me. You gave Your Son to die for me. Thank you for working out everything before You even call me. In Christ’s name, amen.