A Servant’s Heart

The Path to Christ-Like Service

A Devotional Study of
1 Peter 4: 7 – 11

By Kara H. Duckworth

Week 2: Prepare
 Week 2: Prepare
{Day 1} Peter as Teacher

Read: 1 Peter 4: 7 – 11

In our first week together, we explored the concept of being a servant/leader as Jesus defined it. We’ll circle back
to pick up more from the gospels, but I want to turn attention to our focal scripture. It’s located in 1 Peter, so I
wanted us to really make the connection that the same Peter who intimately witnessed and was significantly
refined by the teachings of Jesus we’ve just highlighted, is the same Peter that compiled these thoughts on service.
Post-Resurrection Peter shows us that he finally came to grasp the beauty and simplicity of Jesus’ message. I love
hearing the heart of Jesus in Peter’s words, because we can be sure that the author doubted, denied, and failed,
but ultimately tried and proved every single word.

Today, I want you to read through these verses three times (it’s very short), then use this space to paraphrase each
verse. These verses will form the backbone of our meditations for the next few weeks, so take your time and really
get it in your heart. This will be your “pondering” for today.

Ponder: 1 Peter 4:7

4:8

4:9

4:10

4:11

Pray: Ask God to weave these thoughts into your heart as you prepare to start
your work week.
 Week 2: Prepare
{Day 2} Eternal Perspective

Read: 1 Peter 4: 7; 1 Thessalonians 4: 13- 18.

“Now the end of all things is near …”

“…encourage each other with these words.”

I confess to never having had interest in Doctor Who, until my youngest daughter convinced me to watch it with
her. For the uninitiated, Doctor Who is a long-running BBC science-fiction series featuring a succession of Doctors
(rather like the long string of leading men who have portrayed James Bond) that are aliens called Time Lords.
Traveling through space and time via a British police box called the TARDIS, The Doctor saves lives and tries to
generally fix things without upsetting the flow of history. Within a universe of dangerous and evil beings, The
Doctor quietly protects lives from forces unimagined by unsuspecting earthlings. The Doctor describes “time” as
not being “a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint – it’s
more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly … time-y wimey … stuff.” Well, it’s an interesting stab at a definition, coming
from a timeless creature.

From a flying DeLorean in Back to the Future to warp speed on the Enterprise in Star Trek, from the ghosts of
Christmases Past and Future in A Christmas Carol to a circle of standing stones in Outlander, we seem to have a
fascination with the ability to defy the progression of time.

Maybe it’s the fingerprint of God on our hearts. The architect of our bodies, our minds, and our souls is the Time
Lord, the transcendent one. Scripture relates that He is the same today as He ever was – He doesn’t age. Not only
that, but He transcends the space/time barrier – His existence is the same in every place, in every time. Epochs of
time in our way of reckoning it are like heartbeats to Him.

In our earth-bound, time-ravaged bodies, we long for an eternal existence in which we are neither. And God has
promised us that there will be an end to time.

Peter starts this passage about serving others by pointing us to the end. If we heed his prompting, the priority of
our days alters from earthly to eternal perspective. Scripture admonishes us to use the eternal perspective to
encourage one another. Our hope of eternal existence in the presence of the timeless God spurs us to use every
moment to affect others for the sake of the Kingdom.

Ponder: How can God’s perspective of time affect your daily life?

Dream a Little: How can you point others to an eternal perspective of time?

Pray: Ask God to help you consider each act of service in eternal perspective.
Ask Him to help you encourage others by reminding them of God’s eternal
perspective.
 Week 2: Prepare
{Day 3} The Last

Read: 1 Peter 4:7a; Revelation 21: 1- 6

“Now the end of all things is near …”

“There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain…”

The last time I had to carry a diaper bag as we rushed from the house and loaded our three squirrely girls into the
van. Looking back, I probably should’ve marked the occasion in some tangible way. A ritual diaper bag burning or
something.

The last day of school as a kid; even more so, as a teacher! The last day wearing braces. The last day as a waitress.
The last final exam. The last car payment.

Turning out the lights for the last time on an emptied house that has been home for the past ten years. Saying
goodbye to beloved roommates. Driving the carpool to your son’s last away basketball game. Seeing off the
daughter who’s moving across the country. Admitting Dad to a nursing home.

Some “lasts,” we appreciatively anticipate. Some pass without remark. Others are dreaded, some melancholy,
some heart-rending.

So quickly, the endless round of “all things” in our lives can choke out thoughts of what’s ultimately to come.
We’re just too busy to contemplate the eternal. But Peter redirects our attention.

The absolute hope of God’s kingdom is the anticipation of some “lasts” that eclipse every earthly experience.
There will come a time when the last shadow of sin passes over your heart. When the last darkness has to be
endured. When the last pain will torment you. When you shed your very last tear. And when the last death
separates you from anyone you love.

As a child of God, that hope is programmed somewhere deep within you. Prepare to share it with the
world.

Ponder: What are some “lasts” you’ve experienced recently? Is there a “last”
you’re looking forward to? One that you’re dreading?

Dream a Little: How might you use conversations with others about “lasts” they’ve
experienced to point them to hope?

Pray: Ask God to encourage your heart with hope of the “lasts” He promises in
Revelation 21:4. Ask Him to help you spread hope with His message of the end
of all things.
 Week 2: Prepare
{Day 4} Nearness

Read: Matthew 3: 1 – 12; 4: 12 – 17

“Now the end of all things is near …”

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Onto the scene where God’s revelation had lain dormant for several centuries, John the Baptist heralded the start
of a new chapter in God’s eternal plan. Ready your hearts. The universal kingdom of God is about to draw within
your reach. When Herod later imprisoned John, Jesus Himself picked up the thread of the message.

Imagine what great news this would have been to the Jewish nation that had been awaiting Messiah. Immanuel –
God with us. The nearness of God’s kingdom equaled the physical presence of God the Son. What an
encouragement to longing hearts!

With Jesus’ advent into the earthly realm, God unfolded the chapter that altered human history. Jesus’ birth, life
and ministry, death, burial, and resurrection ushered in the age of grace. As Jesus’ physical presence was replaced
by God the Spirit, the nearness of the kingdom could spread across the world.

Having lived through the crucial parts of the chapter as one of Jesus’ closest companions, Peter would later write
an encouragement to those longing hearts who await Messiah once again. Now, the encouragement is slightly
amended. Although we again await the physical nearness of Jesus Himself, Peter emphasizes that this next
“nearness” will be the final one. It’s the end of the book of God’s plan for mankind. But, just as in fairy tales, we
know that these closing words are really only the beginning of another story.

“…and they all lived happily ever after …”

Peter says, Don’t forget. It’s the final chapter. Ready your hearts. Prepare for the nearness! It’s not just soon; it’s
within reach.

Ponder: Is your heart ready for the whirlwind of the nearness of God’s kingdom?

Dream a Little: What might God’s nearness look like in your workplace? In your area
of ministry?

Pray: Ask God to prepare your heart for His nearness and to begin to prepare the
way in the hearts of people He will draw to Himself. Ask that He reveal His
nearness in ways that are more than you can ask or imagine.

Week 2: Prepare
 {Day 5} How You Live

Read: 1 Peter 4:7a; 2 Peter 3: 10 - 15

“Now the end of all things is near …”

“…since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him …”

November 2016: Unprecedented Wildfires Devastate Great Smoky Mountain Resort Towns

The headlines and newcasts alarmed and terrified us. After a period of rare drought, devastating wind gusts quickly
fueled and spread a wildfire at Chimney Tops in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the nearby towns of
Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. More than 10,000 acres burned inside the National Park, with an additional 6,000
acres burned in adjacent areas. Tourists and residents evacuated; but so many lost their homes, vacation homes,
businesses, and everything in them that they had worked so hard for. Some poor souls could not escape and so
tragically lost their lives. Many more were injured. Collectively, we mourned the loss of so much.

Six months later, new growth appeared in the forests. Business owners replaced buildings and smoke-saturated
stock. Vacation home owners received insurance checks and began to rebuild. Material things were replaced, but
the people who survived wouldn’t be the same. Their perspective was forever changed. How would this fire
change the way they lived?

In his second writing, Peter expounds the theme of “the end of all things.” First, he gives a graphic description of
what will happen to the world around us: there will be total destruction and devastation of the earth and skies and
everything in them. Any material possessions we have will be burned up. Because of this, …because of this, Peter
asks, how are you going to live right now?
There are several guidelines in this passage that help answer that question. Peter says that we ought to live holy
and godly lives, that we should be spotless, blameless, and at peace with God.

Live for the things that won’t burn up in the fire.

Ponder: How can you be spotless, blameless, and at peace with God? What are you
living for that will burn up? What are things that can’t burn up?

Dream a Little: How can you lead others to live this way?

Pray: Ask God to cleanse you (Psalm 51:7), keep you blameless (1 Thessalonians
5: 23 – 24), and to give you peace with Him (Ephesians 2: 14 – 18). Ask Him
to help you live for eternal things.