Look at verse 1. This is the tail end of what Jesus had been saying in the previous passage. For the first time he predicted his own rejection, suffering, death and resurrection (8:31), and taught that his disciples have to follow his example, denying themselves and taking up their cross (8:34). It’s not easy to really accept this. It goes against the grain of our desire to save ourselves and pursue the world. To help his disciples, now he promises that some standing there with him would not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power. It’s not easy to understand. But it connects his predictions of suffering to what’s about to happen.

When you suffer in some way, what do you do? Everybody suffers, but how we respond to it varies widely. When babies suffer, they cry loudly. There are people who are obsessed with removing any suffering whatsoever from their lives. When they suffer, some are totally paralyzed and feel utterly defeated. Throughout this letter Peter has been talking about suffering as a Christian, and in today’s passage he comes to a profound conclusion about it. He says we should rejoice to participate in the sufferings of Christ. Why does Peter say that? What does he mean? How can we really do that? May God open our hearts to accept his word personally today.

Do you ever hate your situation? It could be at school, at work, or at home. These should be places where we feel respected and nurtured, but sometimes they can be places of great suffering. We may want to lash out, demonstrate in the streets, rebel or escape. But today Peter tells us that wherever our suffering may be, we should submit to it. That’s not a popular message. Why do we have to submit? Peter says it’s because it’s what our Lord Jesus did. Jesus set us such an amazing example, and he calls us to follow him. Peter also says that how we live in real life situations can help the people around us to believe. May God open our hearts and help us really accept his living word today.

Who are you? It’s probably the most profound question in life. People can achieve many things but still not know who they really are. We try to find our identity in our race, our family, our job, talents or appearance. But none of these things really tell us who we are. Without knowing who we are, no matter how good life may seem, we’re lost. In today’s passage Peter tells Christians of our new identity in Christ. It’s a new identity we share with all other believers. In this study we want to think about Jesus the living Stone, and how he transforms our lives with this new identity. May God open our hearts and speak to us personally through his word today.

Have you ever had to make radical changes in your life? Like moving to a completely different place, changing your appearance, your language or your name? In today’s passage Peter challenges Christians to make the radical life changes that come with accepting the gospel of Jesus. What are these changes? And why and how should we make them? May God open our hearts and speak to us through his living word today.

Our hopes define who we are. So what are you hoping for? Be honest. We human beings have many hopes—hope to escape a bad situation, hope to have a happy family, hope to make a big success. But sadly, all our hopes in this life, even if we achieve them, eventually perish, spoil or fade. At the opening of this letter Peter reminds Christians of our new identity and our living hope. What is it? It’s our inheritance in heaven. But it can sound like a fairy tale. Is this hope real? How do we have it? Why do we need to be reminded of it? May God open our hearts and speak to us through his word today.

          What do you really care about? We human beings are intelligent, but we’re notoriously self-interested; what concerns us most is usually related to ourselves. In today’s passage the people of Nineveh repent. But Jonah, the prophet who preached to them, is unhappy. Jonah can’t see the situation from God’s point of view, but only from his own. This passage challenges us to learn God’s heart for people, even for those we personally don’t like. We need not only to experience God’s mercy personally but also to practice his mercy towards others, so that God can use us as his people in this world. May God open our hearts and speak to us through his living words today.

   Has anyone ever asked you to do something you really didn’t want to do? Did you ever just run away? Sometimes we react so emotionally that we don’t stop to think about why we don’t want to do whatever it is. The prophet Jonah was just like that. Though he’s a prophet of God, he runs away from what God asks him to do. What a strange prophet! What people mostly remember about this Bible story is that Jonah gets swallowed by a whale, then gets spit out. But why it happened most people don’t know. In chapters 1 and 2 we want to think about several questions. Why did Jonah try to run away from God’s assignment? Why did God stop him? Why did God save him? And what does it mean to us? May God open our hearts and speak to us personally through his word today.

In chapters 10–11 we’ve learned two amazing things about Jesus: Jesus our good shepherd came to lay down his life for us; and Jesus the resurrection and the life came to save us from death. Now in chapter 12 his beautiful public ministry comes to a close. This chapter depicts Jesus as our King whom we all should honor and welcome. Yet, though he’s our King, he came to be a kernel of wheat. His goal was not to survive as a single seed; he came to be a seed that falls to the ground and dies. It seems sad, but through his death he would produce many seeds. It’s a principle we see in nature, and Jesus applies it both to himself and to his followers. Nobody likes to die; everybody wants to live, for as long as possible. Even our Lord Jesus struggled with this. But his words in this passage show us how we can follow him practically and live very fruitful lives for God’s glory. As we meditate on his words may God speak to us today.

Have you ever really wanted something, but didn’t get it? Especially from somebody you thought cared about you? When such a thing happens, it can make us doubt, or even despair. In the opening of today’s passage we see this happening to some close friends of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t give them what they want but plans to give them something so much better. Chapter 11 has Jesus’ most amazing miraculous sign in John’s Gospel, and, one of his most powerful “I am” statements. At the same time, we see his humanity fully on display. His words here are some of the most precious promises in the whole Bible. May God open our hearts and speak to us personally through his word today.