3:1 and 3:7 begin the same way. To both wives and husbands God speaks through Peter to say that "in the same way" that Jesus entrusted Himself to God we are to entrust ourselves to God in the ways in which we interact with each other. We are to follow the example of Jesus instead of worrying about our own agenda or how our spouse will treat us. We follow the way of Jesus without concern for ourselves in faith that God will be concerned for us. There are so many of our marriages that are a mess because we don't trust God enough to do it God's way. We want to see proof from our spouse first, when God has said do it like Jesus did. Follow God's truth regardless of what you experience, see or fear.
3:1 - Wives --- submit yourselves to your husbands. Submission is a powerful witness and testimony to your unbelieving (and you believing) spouse.
3:2-4 - Godly wives' behavior is characterized by submission, purity, reverence and a quiet & gentle spirit. If you want to be godly, women, let these things be what people mention about you and not all of the other things.
3:6 - Women (and men) do not submit because of fear. We are afraid we will be taken advantage of, but the example that Jesus left is to entrust yourself to God. We should do what God calls us to do and not worry about the outcome.
3:7 - Husbands --- be considerate and respect your wives. When we are not considerate as husbands our prayers are hindered!!!
3:8 - All --- like-minded, sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
3:9 - Repay evil....with a blessing!!! This truly proves who your father is.
3:12 - For the eyes of the Lord ARE on the righteous and his ears ARE attentive to their prayers,... We need to be reminded of this. God sees and hears you and yes, you matter and what is happening in and to and through you matters to Him. Don't ever forget that He sees and hears and cares.
3:14 - Don't fear what the world fears.
3:15 - Set Christ apart in your life. The key word here might be the word apart. Many of us have tried to add Jesus to our lives. The call of the Bible is that we set Jesus apart; that we let Jesus be different from everything else in our lives. Jesus doesn't fit well with other things. It is Him or all the other stuff. If you have tried to have Jesus and...you know what it is to have a faith that doesn't work.
Always be prepared with your answer about your hope. Many of us are prepared with a million answers (like the commercial about search engine overload), but we can't give the one answer people are looking for. It is better to have an answer for your hope than all of the other right answers about the Bible you can think of. People want to know about YOUR HOPEi first. Take the time to figure out what brings you hope and why and be able to articulate it to others at the drop of a hat.
3:18 - Christ suffered to bring you to God. That was the whole reason He came.
3:21 - and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also - not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.
Love, Michael
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