1 Peter 1: 8-9 Memorizing and Meditating part 1

I am digging into 1 Peter 1:8 with some guys! I am just going to blog through my process of memorizing and meditating because the steps and writing out my response to those steps helps me memorize and go beyond that to meditating and understanding and hearing the Spirit bring up how this relates to my life.

I thought I had the verse memorized, but man it took a few minutes for it to come to me:
Though you have not seen him you love him, and even though you do not see him now you believe in him and you are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

Lets check: 1 Peter 1:8 NIV
 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 

Pretty close! I always was bad with commas and grammar. 

Memorization

1. Read context:
• Its been awesome to go through 1 peter verse by verse. Its amazing how fast I forget things. The context that really jumps out at me is what is this verse even about it kind of seems random. But knowing the context of the verse before talking about proven genuine of faith and the flow of the passage starting in verse 3 of a continuous thought about the life and promises we have in God even as we suffer in this life, but our suffering has meaning: the refining of our faith. So maybe this verse is a continuation of this topic. Maybe its about what this faith in verse 7 is. 
2. What does the verse mean?
• Going along that thinking this verse to me is a definition of genuine faith. It means it is hard to really love God when we don't see him tangibly in the way we see a friend or family or spouse. It is really hard to keep believing when we still don't see God. Especially in a season or challenge of suffering. That's real faith to me to believe even when we don't see God, to endure when we don't see God answering our questions and hardship. To hope when the times seem hopeless. To rejoice in the spiritual blessings of Christ even in emotional and physically painful situations. 
• Its amazing even though a few months ago we studied the chapters and whole book of 1 Peter, but I remember so little of it. It just baffles me how slow of a learner I am and how little I remember. I think its funny at Second Mile that Chad recognizes going slowly through 1 Corinthians. Because I have really come to love going verse by verse which takes years to get through a short book like 1 Peter. Even thinking back to the great studies in college and manuscripting and reading through a lot of the stories and parables in the gospels probably 6 times each I just remember them so little and some not at all. I feel like our culture and church loves learning so much and thinks that if we just know more we will be more spiritual or better off. But I really think going slowly and learning to obey is so much more fruitful. But anyways I am getting off on a tangent here. IN my own journey through 1 Peter: I want to review the whole book and look at the outline and key points to help me remember the bigger context here. 

Here was my outline for 1 Peter:

1.     It all starts for us with the hope of salvation:

a.     Praise him

b.     Remember the promises God made

c.     Endure Suffering – Rejoice in the hope of salvation

                                               i.     Suffering is a refining of our faith which has great value eternally

                                             ii.     Faith is to love him though we don’t see him, to believe in him and rejoice though we still do not see him even as we suffer

d.     This salvation is the greatest thing ever – the prophets and angels long to see it

e.     Its who you are – you have been born again

2.     Step 1: Living this new life. What it really means to be “born again”

a.     Set your hope on the grace to come again in Jesus Christ

b.     Be obedient children

c.     Be Holy as our Father is Holy

d.     Live as foreigners on earth but children of God

e.     Why live the new Life?

                                               i.     We were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ

                                             ii.     He was chosen at the beginning but revealed now

f.      It is through Christ that we believe in God who raised Christ from the dead

g.     Summary: Living this new life is to purify yourself by obeying the truth so that we have sincere love.

h.     We have been born again. We are a new person. Born of the living and enduring Word of God.

                                               i.     The Word of God is eternal and so we have been born again eternal!

                                             ii.     So now what: now that you started loving: Love one another deeply from the heart

3.     Step 2: Grow up in your salvation

a.     Rid yourselves of heart issues: all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander

b.     Crave pure spiritual milk from the Lord we now know is good

c.     As we come to him, rejected by the world: We will be built into a spiritual house

                                               i.     For Christ is the cornerstone

                                             ii.     He is precious to us and those who do not believe are rejected from the house

d.     Contrast between those who believe: obedience vs disobedience

                                               i.     Chosen people vs those that stumble and fall

                                             ii.     Foreigners in the world but accepted in the house of the Lord

e.     Continue to live as foreigners and exiles to the world: abstaining from the sinful desires that wage war against your soul.

                                               i.     We are now the people of God

f.      Live such good lives before the world: that though they oppose  and accuse:

4.     Practical instructions for living

a.     Wives

b.     Husbands

c.     Everyone

d.     In Suffering

5.     Suffering

a.     Living dead to sin

b.     Free to love

c.     Righteousness

d.     Enduring – receiving the blessing

6.     Roles

a.     Elders

b.     Younger - submit

1. 
   
2. Hmm that's cool I didn't even remember what came after chapter 1. In particular in relation to this verse 8 the context of all of 1 Peter repeating multiple times the language of chosen but exiles. Foreigners and exiles in the world, but accepted in the house of the Lord is so interesting. It really speaks to this crazy idea that this world is so temporary and not lasting. But eternal life is real and lasting. But in the face of this world and life and temptation and suffering we feel like the opposite is true, we feel God is far off, that heaven is a fairy tale. But the reality is we must live in faith that what we do not see is real and what we hope for is certain and that the world that seems so real around us is in fact perishable and uncertain and untrustworthy. That there are better and lasting riches in heaven and even gold will fade away. 
3. Read the verse several times
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4. Discuss the verse with God
1.  ask for God’s help
5. Say verse out loud a lot
1. Learn topic & reference first
2. Start with the first phrase
3. Add phrases
6. Think about how the verse applies to me and my daily circumstances
7. Make it the goal to know the topic, reference and verse word perfect
8. Write verse out
9. Review frequently over the next few days

Principles for Meditating on a verse of scripture

1 Pray 

2 Verse - memorization

3 Paraphrase verse in as few words as you can

4 Ask questions

5 Pray and ask God to help you understand his Word, that His Spirit would give you cross references and clarity so that you understand and can claim the promises and obey the commands

6 Emphasize parts of the verse or words focus. 

7 Context -  What is this book in the bible about? What is this paragraph about? What is the context of the topics in the verses? How does this fit in with the rest of the bible?

8 Cross references – that are relevant and help you understand

9 What truth is the Spirit speaking to me to help me understand and apply this to my life. 

10 Praise God!

11 Live it out! How is God calling you to live this out in tangible ways this week