Swept Away by Grace—A Study in I Peter (part 3)—In the Same Way, Husbands

In this letter of Peter, we noted that Peter has asked the wives to be gentle kind servants, who are vessels of grace in the lives of their husbands. Then, lest the men took this as a license to be abusive in anyway; he quickly tells the husbands of their responsibility as well. Let us read below:

I Peter 3: (EXB) ⁷ In the same way [2:18;3:1], you husbands should live with your wives in an ·understanding[considerate] way [Eph. 5:25–33; Col. 3:19], since they are ·weaker than you[the weaker sex; or the less empowered one;^L the weaker vessel;^C women are typically physically weaker, but in Greco-Roman and Jewish society, they also had less power and authority]. But ·show them respect [pay/give them honor], because ·God gives them the same blessing he gives you—[^L they are co-heirs of] ·the grace that gives true life [or God’s gift of life; ^L the grace of life]. Do this so that nothing will ·stop [hinder] your prayers.

A husband has the responsibility in the home to treat his wife in the same manner as Christ did  the church. He is to demonstrate understanding and kindness. He is to be her protector. He is to have the responsibility to also lead her in understanding the grace of God by example. He is to give her honor, respect and love

. Ephesians explains this one step further—

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Swept Away by Grace- A Study in I Peter (part 13)—Adorned in Humility, Love and Kindness by Grace

Once upon a time I met Pedro Barba (Arroyo), Jr and fell madly in love with this man.  I felt so blessed that God would so graciously bring him into my life—after all I was divorced twice by the age of 22 and knew that God must have seen me as a failure—his oops child.  At least that is what I had been taught.  I wondered how in the world I had gotten to that place as I had been the exemplary young student for Christ—oh, but that is another story for another time as we must move on here.  So, at 23 like a fairytale I met and fell in love with Pedro Barba, Jr.  I felt that God had shown forth His mercy and His grace by placing this man in my life.  After a somewhat rocky courtship we married and my fairytale continued—well not always a fairytale; but neither is any marriage.  There was the fact that he professed to be an atheist; but, I knew God had a plan and well, ok the scripture about not being unequaled yoked—I kind of ignored for a moment.  Throughout that marriage there were many trials, tribulations and even tempestuous storms; but the one thing that endured was love.  Many well meaning Christians would tell me that any trials were a result of my sin of having disobeyed God.  Don’t get me wrong here, I am not condoning my disobedience nor anyone else’s.  Yet, we do fail God on a regular basis with our doubts, worries and selfish desires. 

Truth is we should all be condemned; yet, His mercies are new every morning and it is because of His faithfulness that we are not consumed by our sins.  Christ covered it all on the cross.  It is not by works of these guilty hands that I have gained salvation. 

We must fight against sin; perhaps, I didn’t at that time know how.  I know that I wanted to please God; but, beyond prayer and reading my Bible—I didn’t know how.   Then also in my naivety I believed that with enough love and since God was so gracious to bring Pete into my life; God would save him and we would live happily ever after.  That road would take me down some of my greatest sorrows and my greatest joys.  It was on that part of my journey that I truly learned of God’s Unconditional Love for me and that I had been wonderfully made.  Finally, I began to learn that I wasn’t God’s “oops child”; I was chosen with all my failures, because God saw me as His Beloved Child and He saw the finished me that He could create by His transforming work in me.  God also gave me the gift of always seeing Pete’s heart.  I spent many hours in prayer and repentance.

All of this as the introduction, we will move on in the studies of I Peter before returning to tell you the rest of the story.

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Swept Away by Grace—A Study in I Peter 2 (Part 11)— For the Joy that is set Before Us

Chosen, redeemed and left on this pilgrimage journey here on earth that we might be transformed into the image of Christ as we are being prepared to fully enjoy Christ as our greatest treasure. We are commissioned to live our lives in such a manner that others will see us and desire Christ. We were not left here to go after and seek our own self-fulfilling desires. Has this not been the message that Peter is writing? Because of the magnitude of Grace we have been given, our hearts should be overflowing with Christ and a desire to please Him. We have been given the opportunity of an eternal relationship as Child of the creator and joint-heir with Christ of all things. As we near the end of Chapter 2 we see that Peter is urging us to live outwardly the life we have been so graciously given through humility, love and even enduring ridicule, rejection and suffering so that we might be like Christ.

So, what are we to do when storm clouds surround us and we feel oppressed? We are to look to Christ as our example for He is our light to show us the way out of darkness. As we cling to Him we recognize that He is truly our Joy in the midst of diverse tribulations. (James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3) That is why we can rejoice, knowing we are His dearly beloved.

Look what Peter wrote.

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Every Sunday morning I try to post a poem for you. Oftentimes it is a new poem; however, some weeks there are no new poems forming in my head.  Poetry for me is not something I can just sit down and write—the beginning words must appear in my mind and only then it can take shape.  This week I have nothing new; but, wish to share a poem from last year that many of you have not seen.  I wrote this poem as I was leaving Florida where I had lived for 10 years.  For me, I consider myself so blessed with all the directions and places God has led me.  So many people I have met in my travels and friends that will last a lifetime.  What a marvelous grace God has shown down upon me that I have such friends who have been there for me, graciously forgiven me when I have been wrong, encouraged me when I have been down, and played such a role in who I am today.  Thank you, all this is for you. I have felt Christ’s love displayed through each and every one of you.  I pray you see His hope, His love and His Joy through my life.

I’d Traveled Far
By Effie Darlene Barba

I’d traveled far across this land
Unto the eastern shore
Uncertain of what God had planned
Alone, I stood once more
I’d heard Him bid for me to go
Twas all I needed know

And then I saw, as time did pass
His plan begin unfold
I had been placed within His class
To learn His love untold
And as I saw His Glory Shine
His joy, His love now mine

I met dear friends along this way
That helped me as I grew
And others stumbling blocks did lay
God used to guide me too
That I might see His Grace His might
With Christ my guiding light

And Now I know that I must go
To leave these all behind
I wonder if my life did show
A Glimpse of God’s dear mind
And did my life His Glory shine
Within this mirror of mine

Oh, Lord I have this one request
When memories of me rise
That they might see how I was blessed
Your grace my greatest prize
You took this broken, selfish heart
To fill Your Love Impart

So, can you Lord, use all I’ve done
Though blend of good and bad
To point them Lord to your dear son
His Grace, His Love did clad
A simple person such as I
With righteousness on High

© 2014 Effie Darlene Barba

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to any brands, products or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides regarding the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Swept Away by Grace—A Study in I Peter (part 10)—A Life’s Testimony

Peter, the rough and rugged fisherman became an eloquent writer and teacher of the gospel. As we have noted in I Peter, he reminds us over and over again that it is by grace alone that we have been saved and called to be set apart in this pilgrimage journey. He tells us that in Christ we are set free from the chains and bonds of sin that surround us. Yet, as we noted in the previous verses; he does not want us to forget that God is righteous and God hates sin. God knows that our self-centered, pride-filled, pleasure seeking hearts draw us toward counterfeit joys that cannot fill the void within. He is the only one who can fill that void. Peter also knows the perils; after all, he was the one who after pride fully boasting to follow after Jesus had then denied Christ. Peter had also felt the grace of Christ’s forgiveness.

Artwork used by permission of Ronald Barba who owns the copyright—for further information on obtaining please click on the link

Peter’s heart had been broken of all the self-exaltation and had wondered if he would ever be “worthy” of being a teacher. Ahh, truth is: he knew he wasn’t worthy; but, was chosen anyway. Peter knew that it was Christ who could do the work through him and not himself.

That is the Peter who now writes:

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