1 Peter 4:7-11 Revised Standard Version

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers. 8 Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. 10 As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified.

 

First Impression?

A:Its long, will go verse by verse in questions.

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore keep sane and sober for your prayers. 

• How does one keep sane?

A:In the end, we settled on focus on God and not the world is the only way to maintain sanity while living in the world.

• If our prayers are of utmost importance during these end times, how does keeping sane and sober impact our prayers?

A:After the gap from when we did this to know I may have lost a little, but I am left with the impression that we have to remember God will answer our prayers and that we can remember to pray for things that only He can do and not forget He is supernatural.

8 Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. 

• Hold unfailing. Our lives can be consumed by dealing with the sins of our loved ones. How can we continue to love when we are asked to cast our nets and are consumed with one on the line (so to speak)?

A:The answer I heard was that God tells us when to cast a net and when to focus on one person to the detriment of other opportunities. It is being in God’s will that we are successful in either case and we must continually seek His guidance and listen for His voice.

• Which sins does love not cover?

A:None.

9 Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. 

• How has hospitality changed and what does grudgingly look like?

A:Hospitality has almost been removed from our lives by the hotel and restaurant on every corner. Giving people a meal at our house or letting them stay with us over night are no longer for strangers, but for certain friends and particular family members. We no longer give people our stuff. We give them money or a kind word and move on. We should all be embarrassed.

10 As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 

• I like this one. In my opinion, too many people heap praise upon the “smart” and fail to build up the rest of us. How do we address the hierarchy people give to gifts?

A:This is akin to recognizing the service given by any, especially that that we do not want to do, as well as we do for the service we want to be given or wish that we could do.

11 whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified.

• Oracles of God and the strength which God supplies. Can I hammer this home as our only thrusts?

A:If all we ever did was talk about the word of God and use His power to do so, would we ever be missing the mark?

• Can someone build an app that lets me see the stuff I need to know without the stuff I do not?

A:I was told yes, but no one gave me a link.

Recently Albert Pujols was dumped by his team. I have a soft spot in my heart for Albert Pujols because I believe him to be a Christian who seeks to act it out. At the same time, I believe Josh Hamilton to be a Christian, and I have a hole in my heart for all the struggles he continues to have. Sports is full of idols who have the worst possible morals and relationship to God. I like baseball and I respect the challenges and success that people have found playing it. I do not think they are better or worse people than me. My favorite players are not idols. Even when my favorite players are strong Christians, I do not put them up on a pedestal. They are people who have sinned, been forgiven, and accepted Christ as their savior, just as I have. They say people who only fail 70% of the time are heroes in baseball. But in life, you only have to get it right time one time to be victorious.