Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
Read 2 Corinthians 13:11; 1 Peter 3:8–12
Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11)
Look at 1 Peter 3:8–12, and you’ll find a checklist for spiritual maturity. It helps us evaluate how we’re doing on this pilgrimage from earth to heaven.
Read 1 Peter 3:8–9
All of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. (1 Peter 3:8–9)
Read 1 Peter 2:24–25
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.Once you were like sheep who wandered away.But now you have turned to your Shepherd,The Guardian of your souls.(1 Peter 2:24–25)
Read 1 Peter 2:18–19, 20, 21
For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21)
You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. (1 Peter 2:18–19)
Read Romans 12:9
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. (Romans 12:9)
It’s been my observation that when we’re treated unfairly, we respond with three common, knee-jerk reactions.
Read 1 Peter 2:9, 10
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)
Read Colossians 1:13–14
For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. (Colossians 1:13–14)
Read Philippians 2:3–4; 1 Peter 1:1, 6–7, 22–23
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Philippians 2:3–4)
Read John 13:34–35
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. (John 13:34–35)
Read 1 John 2:15–17
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. (1 John 2:15–17)
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