The Electric Chair (1-6)
It's called capital punishment & only the worst offenders deserve it. Only the nastiest of the nasty should fry. Oh, & this punishment should only be reserved for the convicted-beyond-the-shadow-of-any-doubt criminal. If there's any doubt, we should not proceed.Given the evidence, we should definitely execute the Old Man. We should crucify him with Christ & move on with our new lives. If we could only be successful in doing this, we would provide an incredible shock to the world (4). We would be Christians who were Christ-like, & that would be different than anything else they have to offer.
It is the End (7-11)
Peter declares nonchalantly that we are in the end times. He then prescribes our behavior. Namely:- Be of sound judgement
- Be sober
- Pray (a lot)
- Love each other
- Use your gifts to...
- ...Serve each other
- Be a good steward of God's grace
- When speaking, keep God in mind
- Serve with the same attitude as God
- Remember to do everything to God's glory
When Bad Stuff Happens (12-19)
Don't be surprised. You're going to get push-back from anyone who is not on the same wave-length as you. Here's the deal, you have to figure out if your wave-length is God's wave-length. Don't be surprised if you are wrong--just be humble enough to make it right. Don't be surprised if you're right--be gracious enough to proceed by doing all things to God's glory.I've been on both sides of the fence, I've seen the effects of right & wrong decisions. Bad stuff will happen, watch your reactions.