For several years I lived with a houseful of pagans. They remorselessly raided the refrigerator, bathed irregularly and overran the furniture. But then my teenagers grew up and moved away, and now I miss them. I grew comfortable living among the pagans.

Peter encouraged followers of Jesus who lived among a pagan population to keep the faith. He wrote, live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

These church members embraced widows, took in orphans, and shared their food with the needy. As they lived their faith, neighbors noticed. It grew harder to accuse the Christians of misbehavior as they served the community.

The pagans didn’t all rush to Jesus. Most still considered these small communities of believers dangerous. But over years and years, the gospel soaked into society. Pagans took notice and many converted. Good lives pointed to a good God.

You and I live among a pagan culture, as people turn away from the church and orthodox Christianity. Some wounds are self-afflicted, like clergy abusing parishioners sexually and financially. But biblical teachings increasingly appear out-of-date and even dangerous, especially in the areas of sexuality and gender. A pagan wishes to do whatever he wants, while the Scriptures place walls around behaviors. Such conflicting beliefs don’t mesh.

Like this example from the early church, I need to attempt to live a good life among the pagans. Keep my commitment to God’s Word and love my neighbors as I love myself. Kill people with kindness and sincerity. As I live my life as an instrument of the Lord, perhaps the pagans will take notice again.

1 Peter 2 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Claudia Raya

At the front door of my gym sits a big rack of snack food. Not the usual candy or chips, but bars filled with protein and cookies packed with healthy ingredients. I always pass them by, but I appreciate the management’s offering of wholesome alternatives to high fats and loads of sugar. I need every encouragement to pursue healthful eating.

Peter reminded his audience of the value of consuming healthy spiritual food. He wrote: You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.

Then Peter quoted a line from Isaiah: All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

People fade and our accomplishments with us. Like the snack aisle, much of life offers only empty calories yielding no benefit. Peter counters with an eternal perspective—crave the pure nutrition of the Word of God.

Drink down God’s Word. Consume the Holy Scriptures. Graze daily in the Good Book. Enjoy the source of living and enduring spiritual health.

1 Peter 1 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Aaron Burden

Sometimes folks won’t listen to reason. Especially when a course is set and you come along messing with their plans. Jeremiah faced such an audience as he warned his nation again and again about an impending disaster:

Zedekiah son of Josiah was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Neither he nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the Lord had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.

Jeremiah preached to deaf ears. Not only did king and court ignore him, they beat and imprisoned Jeremiah. He faced a hostile audience whenever he opened his mouth to proclaim the truth burning in his bones.

We often speak with unwilling listeners as well. What recourse do we have in those situations when we know change is necessary but no one’s paying attention?

In the back pages of my Bible, James carves through spiritual indifference. He wrote, is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray…The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

When folks don’t listen, it’s time to pray. Of course, we should pray before we speak as well. Prayer surrounds conversations where godly wisdom ascends above human pride. I need to remember that prayer paves a better path than my argumentation.

James also points out the promise of prayer—whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Jeremiah preached and prayed and yet never turned Zedekiah from his error-filled ways. Despite our best attempts, people possess free will and sometimes choose to ignore the word of the Lord.

Let that reality redouble our efforts. The death those around us face is real. Speak up and go to the Lord again. Our prayers, joined by the Spirit of God, may indeed prove powerful and effective.

Jeremiah 37 & James 5 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Serhat Beyazkaya

As they sat despondent and miserable in a far off land, suffering due to their own poor judgment, the Lord delivered a remarkable promise to the Jewish exiles in Babylon:

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

The Lord also promised to prosper them, to answer their prayers, and to eventually return them to Jerusalem. But regardless of where they lived or what masters forced them to labor, God stood ready to be found.

The Jewish people lost their hold on the promised land due to their rejection of the Lord. Yet God provided a way back, which involved a wholehearted turn of contrition and repentance. Jesus voiced the same idea to the scribes when he said love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

It’s amazing that God can actually be found, discovered by mere mortals, blameworthy creatures like you and me. However, the route involves devotion, constancy and adherence to his ways. Dabbling with God as I enjoy the fruits of this world fails the all of your heart test.

Yet the promise of such a worthy quest remains. I pursue all sorts of treasure and riches and fame. But to find God? Nothing matches that potential discovery that comes only through relentless, wholehearted seeking.

Jeremiah 29 & Luke 10 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Warren