Author: Bridget Turner

As we wrap up this week, I wanted to share a family story that happened recently involving the church I grew up in. It is where I met Jesus, was baptized, and got married, along with many in my extended family. Some portion of our family had been a part of that church for over half a century until about 12 years ago. The details of the story are not mine to share, but collectively, those in the family still attending the church decided it was best for them to leave. God graciously gave them a new home church that welcomed them in and allowed them to heal. In fact, one of my cousins accepted the call to ministry shortly after making the change and has been their pastor for a few years now.

Several weeks ago, he was invited back to the original church to speak at their homecoming services. When my mom told me this, I thought I had misheard her. In addition, she and several family members were going to support him. This could only be by the grace of God because my mom was probably the most hurt and broken from all of it.

Here’s how my mom described their day: “We could not have felt more welcome and been treated any better. So many people hugged us and said how thankful they were to have us there.” They even stayed for lunch. I laughed because the original plan was to get in and get out (In case you’re not familiar with homecoming at small-town churches, there is always lunch after the service with the best food!). I have no idea what prompted the invitation, but what I do know is that God granted our family His blessing through it. Reconciliation is the sweetest gift. It is, after all, what Christ did for the church.

Obeying the words of 1 Peter 3 is not always easy. However, when we intentionally seek unity, sympathize with and love each other, and keep a tender heart and humble attitude, the desire to retaliate against someone is much less intense. Just as God was gracious to my family and brought them the blessing of healing and restoration, He will do the same for all of us as we surrender the outcome to Him. Be blessed, church.

When our children were young, we never had to teach them to defend themselves. They would argue loudly, hit, and sometimes bite to protect themselves from each other! What we did have to teach them was to be nice—to be kind no matter what. When our son was in elementary school, we signed him up to play soccer. It wasn’t very competitive but focused on teaching basic skills and teamwork. At that age, teamwork meant everyone running to wherever the ball was and kicking! During one game, my son ran off the field upset, and we told him he needed to go back and play. He replied, “Mom, they are all kicking, and it’s not very nice.” He had gotten the message but missed the context. Needless to say, soccer was not his thing.

Peter is putting into words what the church already knows is right. The constant threat of persecution had their emotions overloaded, and no doubt the flesh of every believer was battling for revenge. Nero, the emperor, seemed unstoppable as he made sport of persecuting and killing them. Given these conditions, it’s easy to understand how the church could get bogged down in misunderstandings and arguments. The Scripture is clear, though: they are not to repay evil for evil or insult for insult. Rather, they are to bless, as God has commanded them to do, and He will give them His blessing.

Blessing someone is God’s command. We should not consider whether we want to, or even if they deserve it. We talked about this very idea in my small group last week. The author Lisa Harper says, “Obedience is the fruit of gratitude.” We need to ask the Holy Spirit to tenderize our hearts so that obeying Him to bless others becomes the only option we consider. The benefit to us is receiving God’s blessing for ourselves. It truly is a win-win situation.

If you take just a few minutes to check the news, you will realize there is conflict everywhere. Story after story will pop up about wars in Israel and Ukraine, political upheaval not just in the United States but across the globe, and even disagreements on how best to handle hurricane relief efforts. While less important, let’s not forget the officiating disputes from every major sporting event that make the headlines! It can all be overwhelming and raise our anxiety levels if we spend too much time focusing on it.

As we continue in our passage this week, remember that Peter is trying to help the church stay united and focused in a very uncertain time. Today’s section, “be tenderhearted and keep a humble attitude,” appeals to what should already be part of their lives. Several commentaries describe “tenderhearted” as “pitiful, ready to show mercy.” The assumption is that if we are ready to show mercy and keep a humble attitude, we are already merciful and humble. Peter goes on to say, “Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you.”

Not sure about you, but mercy and humility are not usually how I find myself entering a disagreement. Too often, I have a mental list of counterpunches ready to justify my argument. Pride can take over quickly, and small differences become mountains that take longer to reconcile. When this happens, I know that I am trusting myself and not God. The good news is that, as a Christian, I also know I can ask God for help in prayer, through His Word, and through other believers who know my heart. More recently, while praying through a tough conversation, God led me to a new worship song called Shalom by Bridge Worship. Shalom is the Jewish word for peace, and this song reminded me that God not only wants us to live in peace but also to be at peace.

My prayer for us today is that we lean into the power of the Holy Spirit within us to be merciful and humble, living at peace with one another.

Peter’s second and third instructions are to sympathize with each other and to love each other as brothers and sisters. In the beginning, he addresses his letter to the chosen ones, living as exiles and foreigners in the land. It’s important to remember that this audience is made up of people who do not necessarily know each other or even have similar lifestyles. They are Jewish and Gentile believers, living together as outsiders, both equally fearful of what each day will bring.

A few years ago, I went on a mission trip to Haiti. The country was still recovering from a massive earthquake that had displaced many families. My role on this trip was to bring a message to the ladies in the church. I struggled with what I could possibly say to give hope to those living in this third-world country. Our missions director reminded me that these women—wives and mothers—wanted the same things I did. They wanted their families to know Jesus and to be safe. They wanted their husbands to be godly and their children to have a good education. Sadly, many of them needed and wanted the basics—food, clothing, and shelter. I quickly realized that although we had very different outward circumstances, our hearts were aligned by our love for God.

The modern church is no different from the early church. We all come together with different backgrounds, education, socio-economic statuses, and political views. All that diversity can cause friction and make it hard to remember that we are more alike than not. So how do we navigate the tension of our differences? Being sympathetic and loving each other as brothers and sisters is key.

Scripture teaches us that love is patient and kind. It is not envious, boastful, arrogant, rude, self-seeking, or irritable. It keeps no record of wrongs (1 Cor. 13:4-5). My prayer for all of us today is that we remember what love is and choose to obey the greatest commandment: to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Last week, our passage found Peter giving specific instructions to husbands and wives. This week, in 1 Peter 3:8-11, he returns to addressing the whole church. As we begin this week’s devotions, keep in mind what is currently happening to the church. Whether this letter was written just before or after Rome was burned is unclear. What is clear, though, is that animosity and hatred toward Christians are intensifying. They are literally living in fear for their lives, and many would suffer greatly for their beliefs.

Peter begins by encouraging them to live and make choices that could turn the hearts of their enemies to Jesus as their Savior. He says this will require them to be of one mind, to sympathize with each other, to love one another as brothers and sisters, to be tenderhearted, and to keep a humble attitude. Easy enough, right? But imagine if you were part of the early church, living in constant fear for your life. How would you act? Would the daily stress allow you to be kind and loving? Would concern for your family and friends allow you to be tender and humble?

For today, let’s focus on the charge “to be of one mind.” Some Bible translations say “like-minded” or “harmonious.” This does not mean that everyone agrees on everything, all the time. Rather, as author and Bible teacher Jen Wilkin says, “It is agreeing on the spine issues, the essentials of our faith.” For instance, this would include what we believe about the Bible, salvation, or the Trinity. Wilkin adds, “When we have division, it is often rooted more in our lack of humility in our thinking than in actually feeling stronger about a particular point of division.”

I believe Peter is encouraging all of us, as the church, to keep the main thing the main thing. Living in unity with our brothers and sisters will draw the lost to Christ—and that is our main calling as the church.

My small group just finished a study on the book of Numbers, where the Israelites constantly complain and bring their issues to Moses. Each time, Moses falls on his face and seeks God’s guidance and direction (see Numbers 14, 16, and 27). Bible teacher Jackie Hill Perry talked about this on social media recently. She pondered Moses’ consistent restraint to not respond first by asking, “Have you ever wondered how our responses to things would change if we just prayed quicker? We might pray eventually, but not immediately. How would that change the way we show up in the circumstance?” Perry adds, “I think it would give us a level of compassion, grace, and wisdom that a delayed prayer would not.”

We see this same posture in the servant found in Genesis 24. He asks God for very specific things to ensure he knows who Isaac’s wife will be. When God answers those prayers by bringing Rebekah to the well, verse 26 says, “The man bowed low and worshiped the Lord.” The posture of Moses and the servant is telling of their heart for God. Certainly, they would have thoughts and advice on the needs, but they bow in humility and surrender to seek God’s purpose and plan.

Asking others to pray for us is another posture of prayer. The vulnerability it requires may feel awkward, and it might be difficult to share our needs with others. However, it is very encouraging when you know someone else is praying specifically for you. We have an amazing online Prayer Wall at NorthStar Church, and our team would be honored to pray with you.

Here is how the process works:

• Leave your request on our Prayer Wall at www.northstarchurch.org/prayer.
• The team will be praying over the requests daily.
• You will get an email every time someone prays for your request.
• You can also pray for other requests on the page and send those folks an email too.

As we wrap up this week seeking God’s guidance, may we pray first, believe His promises, and trust His providence to lead us in the way that glorifies Him.

Notable pastor Charles H. Spurgeon said, “God’s providence is always on time! You and I make appointments and miss them by half an hour. But God has never missed an appointment yet. God is never early, though we often wish he were. But he is never late, no, not by one tick of the clock.” God’s providence is His divine hand in our lives. He lovingly guides and transacts all that happens to accomplish His purposes and fulfill His kingdom, and we see it throughout this story of Isaac and Rebekah.

Genesis 24:15 tells us that before the servant finished praying, Rebekah was coming to the well. The servant prayed that the daughters (plural) of the men would be coming to draw water, but God sends Rebekah alone. Then just as the servant prays, she gives him a drink of water and offers to water his camels—his ten camels! That may seem like an insignificant detail, but a search on Google says, “A camel can drink up to 30 gallons of water in less than 15 minutes.” That is a lot of extra work—quite the interruption to what would have been a routine chore for Rebekah. The servant silently watches, not interfering or trying to manipulate the situation, but waits patiently for God’s confirmation.

We also see this contemplative patience in Isaac at the end of our passage. The impact of his mother’s death was great and held more weight than just his personal grief. No doubt he understood the covenant God made with his father, Abraham—that his offspring would number the stars. Yet he is not married, and his father is very old. Instead of pursuing his own plan to keep the covenant, we find Isaac walking and meditating in the fields when he sees the servant returning. Once the servant tells him the story and who Rebekah is, he immediately takes her as his wife. Verse 68 wraps up the passage, saying, “Isaac loved her, and he was comforted after his mother’s death.”

Notably, no one involved in this story is forced to take part in it. Abraham asks the servant to go find a wife for Isaac. The servant asks Rebekah for a drink. Laban invites the servant to their home, and they ask Rebekah if she will go with him. When we trust in the providence of God and His work on our behalf, we can respond to His guidance with certainty. What can you do today to deepen your trust in who God is and confidently obey His direction?

My husband and I were spending some time on the lake recently and saw a momma duck and six little ducklings swimming along the shore in a straight line. Suddenly, the momma began to quack loudly and slowed down. In just a few seconds, we saw two more little ducklings (seven and eight) paddling to the back of the line. Abruptly, the momma stopped moving and began to quack louder again. The eight ducklings all slammed into a pile, and from across the cove, we saw another little duckling, number nine! It was trying so hard to move quickly that its little wings were carrying it over the water one second, and then it was tumbling the next, all while heading straight to its momma. Number nine finally made it, and the momma immediately turned around and began swimming back along the shore as each duckling lined up behind her. It was such a fascinating scene to watch.

Ironically, there are some interesting facts about ducks that remind me of our relationship with God. First, ducklings automatically imprint an image of their momma and siblings on their brains after being hatched. That is how they know who to follow. Secondly, they follow in a line behind the mother on land so that she can remove any obstacles in their path, and on water, she creates a wave that passes through the line, allowing the ducklings to move easily and with little effort. That is why the momma kept calling out to the ducklings to get in line. It is also why it seemed so very hard for the last one to get to her.

In John 10, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So, I sacrifice my life for the sheep” (vs. 14-15). He goes on to say, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (vs. 27). Our Good Shepherd longs to lead us. I pray that, like the ducklings, we will imprint Him on our hearts and minds, knowing that as we do, we can trust Him completely and our paths will be made clearer.

Do you remember playing the telephone game as a child? The one where everyone sits in a circle and a message is whispered from person to person until the last person gets it and says it out loud? It was always funny to hear how much the original message had changed. Genesis 24 has quite a bit of repetition as the oath, the prayers, and the responses are shared from person to person. However, the message remains consistent throughout the story.

In verses 37 and 38, the servant repeats the oath he swore with Abraham to Rebekah’s brother, Laban. He also shares the prayer he prayed, asking God to bring a girl to the well who would give him a drink of water and offer to water his camels too (verses 42-46). The servant wraps up the story by asking Laban if they will indeed show kindness and faithfulness to his master. If not, he will go elsewhere. Worth noting is that Laban addresses the servant as “you who are blessed by the Lord” (v. 31). His faith is obvious to Rebekah’s family right away.

The servant has such an unselfish attitude throughout this story. We learned yesterday that he managed all that Abraham owned. That is a huge responsibility. When he takes the oath, there is no thought expressed about who will take care of everything while he is away. His only question is about what to do for Isaac if the woman won’t come with him. Secondly, he prays on the way to the well, asking God to bless his master, just as he asked Laban to do. Third, when he meets Rebekah, he bows down and worships, thanking God for blessing his master. His focus and concern are always with others.

At NorthStar, one of our core values is “It’s not about us.” Abraham’s servant portrays this beautifully throughout the story. As we reflect on his role today, let us ask God for guidance on where we can change our thoughts and attitudes to be less about us and more about Him and others.

Genesis 24 has the makings of a great movie: honor, respect, intrigue, romance, love, mystery, and drama. Take a few minutes to read it and see for yourself. Certainly, there are historical and culturally appropriate practices in the passage that would most likely not occur today. However, do not let that keep you from seeing how God honors the faith and obedience of each person involved.

The story opens with Abraham asking his servant to place his hand under Abraham’s thigh and swear an oath. The servant is to swear by the Lord, God of heaven and earth, that he will go to Abraham’s family and find a wife for Isaac and not choose one from the Canaanites. The request may seem a bit odd, but it has similarities to how one would take an oath today. Last year, I watched as my daughter took the oath of office to be an attorney. She stood before a judge, raised her right hand, and repeated the oath of office. It begins with these words, “I solemnly swear to …,” and ends with “So help me God.” Law school was completed, the bar exam passed, but to officially operate as an attorney, she had to take the oath of office, swearing to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Georgia.

The servant had passed “initial tests” as well. Scripture describes him as “the elder of his household who managed all [Abraham] owned.” Abraham knew he was a trusted, loyal servant, but finding Isaac a wife required a next-level commitment. Isaac’s offspring will represent the continuation of God’s covenant with Abraham to be the father of many nations (Genesis 12). The Women’s Evangelical Commentary describes it as “maintaining the spiritual formation of the family.” Abraham trusted God to keep His covenant and knew Isaac’s wife would need to share that same faith.

How is your faith being challenged to a new level? Are you opening your Bible daily to learn more about who God is? Are you engaged with a small group that keeps you accountable? Do you regularly attend church? Are you praying with and for your family? My prayer this week is that those questions will help you find new ways to level up your faith and maintain the spiritual formation of your family.