Many people today talk about their faith, but it is often a faith separate from Jesus Christ. It is not Bible faith and is more like the idolatrous philosophy of the power of positive thinking. There is great power in a focused mind and a fixation of the positive, but it is not Bible faith. When we talk about faith, we are talking about a faith that is placed in a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11:6 provides a foundation for the life of faith.

The natural tendency for us is to allow trials and hard times to make us give up. Every child of God will endure difficult and trying times in life. Whether it be chastisement for sin or the trial of our faith, it is meant for our good. We must press on and not give up. Our text reminds us of God’s purpose in chastening and admonishes us with our responsibility to the Lord’s chastening.

There are those who hate Jesus and they hate Jesus’s followers, and sadly they persecute people for no other reason those because they love Jesus. It can be emotionally wearing and in situations of severe persecution in our world, harmfully painful physically and even imprisonment or death. Peter challenges the believer with eight ways we are to respond to persecution.