I Peter 2:1-3

I Peter 2:1-3

Vs. 1- "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2- Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3- now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

If you remember the end of chapter 1 stated that "And this is the word that was preached to you."
Peter was reminding us that because of what Jesus did for us on the cross we are to live holy lives. So in 2:1, Peter is giving us examples of what we are to rid out of our lives. I have often told ladies in Bible studies that we come to Christ like an uncut diamond. Christ knows what beauty is inside that diamond but we have to be rid of the parts that are not in order to shine the light of Christ brightly.

What are these things to be rid of- Malice- this is a characteristic that seeks to hurt others and live in opposition of God. Deceit- This speaks of a deliberate dishonesty. Hypocrisy- This speaks of living a life of insincerity, pretense, an outward show. Envy- This is an embittered awareness of another's advantage combined with the desire to possess the same.
Slander- evil speaking and defamation- this is speech that harms others.
( all above definitions taken from Womens Evangelical Commentary- Patterson and Kelley-2006)

All these traits hurt others and does not exemplify a life of love toward others.

Peter then tells us to crave the spiritual milk of the Word of God like a newborn baby craves for milk. This word crave means to fervently long for, pursue with love, yearn for - (Patterson & Kelley, 2006)

As believers we are told to crave, hunger, desire the Word of God. Recently, we had our Youth Evangelism Conference and our speaker David Nasser challenged us to crave after the Word of God because how will we draw a lost world to Christ if we do not seek after Christ and his Word before anything else. Perhaps part of the reason we do not reach more for Christ is because the world does not see God's Word making a difference in our lives.
This Sunday I was challenged by my pastor who reminded me to be busy following the command of our Lord to go and be a witness. This was a fresh challenge to me to be ready at all times to share the faith that I profess and to remember what Christ did for me and be ready to share at a moments notice.

Time is short ladies- Be ready to share your faith- Hunger for his Word and be rid of the things in your life that will cause your light to dim.

Let's be a shining diamond for Christ in all we do and say.