OUR DAILY BREAD : THE PARABLE OF THE STING

[cimi]

August 14
Thursday


THE PARABLE
OF THE STING

READ:
1 Peter 2:9-12
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
They may, by your
good works which they
observe, glorify God in
the day of visitation.
__1 Peter 2:12
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

I can still see Jay Elliott's shocked face as I burst through his front door almost 50 years ago with a "gang" of bees swirling around me. As I raced out his back door, I realized the bees were gone. Well, sort of__I'd left them in Jay's house! Moments later, he came racing out his back door-chased by the bees I had brought to him.

I had more than a dozen stings, with little effect. Jay had a different experience. Though he'd been stung only once or twice by "my" bees, his eyes and throat swelled up in a painful allergic reaction. My actions had caused a lot of pain for my friend.

That's a picture of what's true in our interpersonal relationships too. We hurt others when our actions aren't Christlike. even after an apology, the "sting" sticks.

People would be right to expect an absence of harshness and an air of patience from those who follow Christ. We forget sometimes that people struggling with faith, or life, or both, watch Christians with expectation. They hope to see less anger and more mercy, less judgment and more compassion, less criticism and more encouragement. Jesus and Peter told us to live good lives so God is given the glory (Matt. 5:16); 1 Peter 2:12). May our actions and reactions point those around us to our loving Father. __Randy Kilgore

``````````````````````We have found that it's easy to hurt others with our``````````````````````
```````````````````````words or actions. Teach us, Father, to pause and````````````````````````
``````````````````````````````to think before we speak or act.``````````````````````````````
```````````````````````````````Fill us with kindness and care.```````````````````````````````
____________________________________________________________________________________________
May others see less of me and more of Jesus.

************************************Today's Bible Reading __ 1 Peter 2:9-12******************************
9 But you are a chosen
generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation,
His own special people, that
you may proclaim the
praises of Him who called
you out of darkness into
His marvelous light; 10 who
once were not a people but
are now the people of God,
who had not obtained
mercy but now have
obtained mercy.

11 Beloved, I beg you as
sojourners and pilgrims,
abstain from fleshly lusts
which war against the soul,

12 having your conduct
honorable among the
Gentiles, that when they
speak against you as
evildoers, they may, by
your good works which
they observe, glorify God in
the day of visitation.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Peter wrote to Christians who were going through fiery trials
of intense persecution (1 Peter 1:6; 4:12). He encouraged these
believers to persevere, to remain faithful, and to view these
difficult times as opportunities to strengthen their faith and bear
witness to Christ. In today's passage, Peter reminded them of their
special identity and spiritual status as God's chosen people (vv.9-
10). "A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" are
descriptions applied to the Jews in the Old Testament (Ex. 19:5-6;
Isa. 43:20-21), but here Peter applies them to believers. He reminds
them_and us__that we are chosen by God for the purpose of
witnessing and testifying to God's love (vv.9-10).