1 Peter 3:13-22 (NRSV)
Read 1 Peter 3:13-22 on biblegateway.com
Verse 13Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? Verse 14But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, Verse 15but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;
Verse 16yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. Verse 17For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil.
Verse 18For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, Verse 19in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, Verse 20who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.
Verse 21And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you-not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Verse 22who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
Devotion
Are we ready? Ready to defend our hope? This command from God’s Word may seem insurmountable if we feel that we must master all the intricacies of formal apologetics, rhetoric or biblical studies before we can present the reason behind our faith, our trust, our hope. But when we have experienced an encounter with the risen Jesus, the reason for our hope springs out of our inner being, the soul of which is faith. The effects of our encounter with the living Lord are the fruits of life. Presenting the fruits, our testimonies, is our best defense.
Prayer
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, give us transformational encounters with you. Give us the ability to tell our stories of your great faithfulness, your surpassing grace and your miraculous power. Open our mouths at the right times, in the right places, with the right people. Make our testimonies compelling so that the multitudes may come to saving faith in you. Amen.