Unashamed Reading Plan
Check out all the previous Unashamed readings here.
Unashamed Reading Plan | Week 14 | Day 3
Prayer
Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Pray that God would open your eyes to wonderful things from His word today.
Bible Reading: 1 Peter 2:13-17
Read these verses three times slowly.
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
Reflection & Questions
Whether you are Democrat, Republican or I-couldn’t-care-less-ican, as we have seen this week, God has some clear words for us in Romans about our attitude to the earthly authorities over us. But it’s not just in Romans. Today’s verses from 1 Peter echo Paul’s words in Romans. Peter says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority.”
Submit is a strong word. One of the hardest things we do in life is submit to another. When we think they are wrong. When we feel justified in our reasoning. When we are treated unfairly. When we have lost respect. To submit takes humility and strength.
What would that submission look like? Peter says it should look like “doing good” and showing “proper respect.” Actions and attitude.
Why do we do it? It is God’s will. That is how God wants us to live. As Peter says, “Live as God’s slaves.” If you are a believer, you’ve already decided to submit to a higher authority, God Himself. And God says, submit to authorities. God wants us to do this because through doing good, we “silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.” What is this getting at? Through our good works and attitudes, people who reject God would be silenced. They would see our humility and strength and take a new look at our God.
You see our actions and attitudes will either point people to God or away, and this includes our respect for authority.
- Do you believe that the way you submit to authority is a way to witness to others about God? Why or why not?
- Are you living in submission to God in the area of submitting to earthly authorities?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Bible Reading: 1 Peter 2:13-17
Read these verses three times slowly.
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
Reflection & Questions
Today we are going to take a closer look at the word, “submit.” Paul used it when he wrote in Romans, telling them to “submit to the authorities,” and it is used again here in 1 Peter where Peter says, “submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority.”
The word “submit” means to accept the authority of another person. Peter tells us it should look like “doing good” and showing “proper respect.” It’s all about our actions and our attitudes.
Why does God want us to do this? It’s hard to do, especially when we don’t agree with the person who has authority over us. Maybe we think we are being treated unfairly or we simply don’t have any respect for the person who has authority. God wants us to live this way – doing good works and having good attitudes – because this is how we can be a good example for Him. Maybe someone will see our good attitudes, even when we don’t feel like having them, and want to know more about what makes us different. And you know what makes us different? Our God.
- Who is an authority figure that you have a difficult time showing respect to? What is something you can do differently this week to show that person respect?
Pray
Ask God to give you the opportunity to be respectful and to do good works this week at school, at home, and in your community.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
