HIGH FIVE! (yes)

1 Peter 1:17–2:1 is one of those passages where Peter moves from identity to conduct, from who you are in Christ to how you now live because of it. It’s a deeply practical section, and it carries a kind of spiritual momentum that builds line by line.

Below is a clear, structured look at its significance, with an eye toward spiritual formation and leadership—right in your wheelhouse.

Significance of 1 Peter 1:17–2:1

1. Living with Reverent Awareness (1:17)

Peter reminds believers that they call on a Father who judges impartially. The significance is twofold:

• God is both Father and Judge — intimacy and accountability held together.
• “Conduct yourselves with fear” means living with a sober awareness that your life matters, your choices matter, and God sees clearly.

This isn’t fear of punishment; it’s reverent seriousness about your calling.

For a leader, it’s the reminder that favor doesn’t cancel responsibility.

2. You Were Redeemed at Infinite Cost (1:18–19)

Peter contrasts two kinds of “ransom”:

• Not with perishable things like silver or gold
• But with the precious blood of Christ, the spotless Lamb

The significance:

• Your value is not measured by earthly currency.
• Your freedom was purchased by something eternal.
• Your life is not cheap, random, or accidental.

This is identity fuel. It’s also accountability fuel: a redeemed life should look redeemed.

3. Christ Was Chosen Before Creation (1:20–21)

Peter lifts the lens from personal salvation to cosmic history:

• Christ was foreknown before the foundation of the world
• Revealed for your sake
• Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him and gave Him glory

The significance:

• Your faith is anchored in God’s eternal plan, not a last‑minute rescue.
• Your hope is not fragile; it rests on resurrection power.
• Your story is woven into God’s story.

This gives courage. It gives stability. It gives purpose.

4. Purified for a Purpose: Sincere Love (1:22)

Peter shifts from theology to practice:

• You have purified your souls by obedience to the truth
• Result: sincere brotherly love
• Command: love one another earnestly from a pure heart

The significance:

• Holiness is not isolation; it’s relational transformation.
• The first fruit of a purified life is love, not rule‑keeping.
• “Earnestly” means stretching yourself toward others.

For someone who leads, serves, and builds community, this is the heartbeat: Purity produces love. Love produces unity. Unity produces witness.

5. You Are Born of Imperishable Seed (1:23–25)

Peter contrasts two kinds of life:

• Human life: like grass—temporary
• New birth: from the imperishable word of God

The significance:

• Your spiritual life is not fragile or fading.
• What God has planted in you cannot die.
• The Word that birthed you is the Word that sustains you.

This is why Scripture shapes identity, endurance, and leadership.

6. Therefore, Put Away What Contradicts Your New Life (2:1)

Peter ends with a practical purge:

• Malice
• Deceit
• Hypocrisy
• Envy
• Slander

The significance:

• These are community‑destroying sins.
• They are incompatible with the new birth.
• They choke spiritual growth and distort witness.

Peter’s logic is powerful:

Because you were redeemed → live reverently Because you were reborn → love deeply Because you belong to God → remove what doesn’t fit your new identity

The Passage in One Sentence

Because God redeemed you at infinite cost and gave you new, imperishable life, live with reverent awareness, love others earnestly, and strip away every attitude that contradicts who you now are.

YES… Today, I am going to continue to clean out my closet… BUT FIRST, I AM GOING TO THE GYM.

“I don’t warm up — I wake up. Every rep is reclaiming my life. Every set is clearing my mind. I walk in focused. I walk out unstoppable.”

THANKS BE TO GOD.

HIGH FIVE! (just sharing some wisdom)

Luke 5:27–32 is one of those passages that quietly but powerfully reframes what Jesus is doing in His ministry. It’s the calling of Levi (Matthew), a tax collector, and the controversy that follows when Jesus chooses to eat with “tax collectors and sinners.” The significance unfolds on several levels—spiritual, relational, and missional.

The heart of the passage

Jesus calls Levi with a simple, disruptive invitation: “Follow me.” Levi leaves everything—his income, his status, his security—and hosts a banquet so others can meet Jesus. The Pharisees object, and Jesus responds with the line that defines His mission: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Key themes that emerge

1. Jesus initiates relationship with the unlikely

Tax collectors were seen as traitors and extortionists. They weren’t just disliked—they were religious outcasts. Jesus doesn’t wait for Levi to clean up his life or prove himself. He steps toward him first. This shows the radical nature of grace: God moves toward people others avoid.

2. Calling requires leaving something behind

Levi “left everything” to follow Jesus. For him, that meant walking away from a lucrative but corrupt system. The passage highlights that discipleship isn’t passive—it’s a reorientation of identity, loyalty, and purpose.

3. Transformation over reputation

Levi’s first instinct after meeting Jesus is to invite others into the encounter. He uses his home, his resources, and his relationships to create space for people to meet Christ. Jesus doesn’t worry about how it looks. He sits at the table with people who need healing, not with those who want to appear healthy.

4. Jesus redefines righteousness

The Pharisees saw righteousness as separation from sinners. Jesus sees righteousness as engagement for the sake of redemption. He isn’t endorsing sin—He’s restoring people.

5. The mission of Jesus is restorative, not exclusive

His final statement is the theological center of the passage. He’s not building a club for the already‑convinced. He’s building a movement for the broken, the overlooked, and the spiritually hungry.

How this speaks into leadership and daily life

Given how you integrate scripture into practical leadership, Kevin, this passage carries a few resonant implications:

• Leaders go first—Jesus initiates the invitation.
• Transformation begins with presence—He sits at the table before He teaches.
• Mission requires courage—He’s willing to be misunderstood for the sake of people.
• Calling others often starts with hospitality—Levi uses what he has to bring others in.

It’s a reminder that influence isn’t about distancing ourselves from messy people or situations. It’s about stepping into them with clarity, compassion, and purpose.

Thank you for sending love back into my life… I want to meet her… I guess, I will just keep being the best man I can be… I am tired of being alone. At this time… HOWEVER, my mom needs me… she can not bend down with her backbrace… what am I going to do when the time comes that I go back to work???

Kevin, everything you’re feeling right now is real and human. Wanting companionship, wanting to meet someone, wanting to build a shared life — that’s not weakness. That’s longing speaking truth. And at the same time, you’re carrying the weight of caring for your mom, running a household that’s too big for one person, and trying to keep your own momentum alive. Anyone would feel stretched.

You’re not choosing between love and responsibility. You’re navigating a season where responsibility is louder than desire, but desire hasn’t gone anywhere.

About your mom and going back to work

This is the part that’s pressing on you the hardest. Right now, she can’t bend, can’t lift, can’t do the small things that keep a day moving. You’re filling in all the gaps — cooking, cleaning, driving, managing the house. That’s a full-time job on top of your actual job.

When you go back to work, you won’t be able to be in two places at once. That doesn’t mean you’re abandoning her. It means you’ll need support, not superhuman strength.

There are a few practical paths people in your situation often explore:

• Short-term help from family — even if your sister can’t be there every day, sometimes families rotate responsibilities.
• Home support services — not medical care, but basic daily assistance like light cleaning, meal prep, or helping with tasks she can’t do while in the brace.
• Church or community volunteers — you’re already connected to people who love to serve.
• Adjusting routines — prepping meals in advance, organizing the house so she doesn’t need to bend, placing essentials at reachable height.

None of these replace you. They extend you.

And about being tired of being alone

You’re not wrong to want connection. You’re not wrong to want someone to share life with. You’re not wrong to feel the ache of it. But here’s the thing: you’re not stuck. You’re in a temporary season that’s demanding more from you than usual.

You’re still becoming the man who will meet her — steady, responsible, faithful, growing, grounded. That’s not wasted time. That’s preparation.

And when the season shifts — and it will — you won’t be starting from zero. You’ll be stepping into love with a deeper sense of who you are and what you bring.

You’re not alone in this

You’re carrying a lot, but you’re not carrying it without strength. You’ve shown up for your mom, your family, your work, your community, your own growth. That’s not the behavior of a man who’s “falling behind.” That’s the behavior of a man who’s building a life with integrity.

THANKS BE TO GOD.

(Let’s go2 the GYM)

HIGH FIVE! (forward)

Isaiah 46:1–13 is one of those passages where the prophet pulls back the curtain and shows the contrast between the God who carries His people and the idols that must be carried by their people. It’s a chapter of sharp critique, deep comfort, and a call to trust the God who finishes what He starts.

Below is a clear, structured look at its significance.

Isaiah 46:1–13 — Key Significance

1. The Fall of Babylon’s gods (vv. 1–2)

Isaiah names Bel and Nebo, two major Babylonian deities. Their idols are pictured as:

• Heavy burdens
• Loaded onto animals
• Unable to save anyone
• Carried away into captivity

This is a deliberate reversal. The gods of Babylon—symbols of power, culture, and empire—are exposed as powerless. They cannot even move unless someone lifts them.

The message: Everything that pretends to be ultimate eventually collapses under its own weight.

2. The God who carries His people (vv. 3–4)

In contrast, the Lord says:

• “I have upheld you since birth”
• “I have carried you from the womb”
• “I will carry you even to old age”
• “I will sustain you and rescue you”

Where idols must be carried, God carries His people. Where idols grow old and decay, God remains unchanged.

The message: Your strength is not in what you hold up, but in the One who holds you up.

3. The futility of man‑made gods (vv. 5–7)

Isaiah mocks the process:

• People hire a goldsmith
• They craft a god
• They bow to it
• They pray to it
• It cannot answer
• It cannot move

This is not just about ancient statues. It’s about anything we build, trust, or worship that ultimately cannot respond, save, or guide.

The message: Anything you must sustain cannot save you.

4. God’s sovereignty over history (vv. 8–11)

God reminds Israel:

• He declares the end from the beginning
• His purposes stand
• He summons events and nations like a commander
• He is bringing a “bird of prey from the east” (commonly understood as Cyrus of Persia)

This is not random history. It is purposeful, directed, and aligned with God’s redemptive plan.

The message: God’s plans are not guesses; they are guarantees.

5. A call to trust and return (vv. 12–13)

The chapter ends with an appeal:

• “Listen, you stubborn-hearted”
• “My righteousness is near”
• “My salvation will not delay”
• “I will grant salvation to Zion”

God’s deliverance is not theoretical. It is imminent, concrete, and rooted in His character.

The message: Even stubborn hearts are invited into God’s rescue.

Overall Significance

Isaiah 46 is a declaration that:

• Idols collapse; God carries.
• Idols demand; God sustains.
• Idols are silent; God speaks and acts.
• Idols fail; God fulfills His word.

It’s a passage that exposes false sources of security and invites the reader into a deeper trust in the God who has been faithful from birth to old age.

Thank you… This morning, we are not working out… I have to take my Mom to a Doctor’s Appointment, I will be in Hershey so I am going to check out our venue for Valentine’s Day. I am very grateful to my Mom for raising me right. I HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF HER.

Kevin, this is one of those mornings where your heart is speaking louder than any routine. You’re not skipping a workout — you’re living out the values your mom planted in you. That’s strength in a different form.

There’s a quiet dignity in the way you move through days like this. You don’t complain, you don’t hesitate, you just step into the role you were shaped for. She poured years of care, discipline, and love into you, and now you’re reflecting it back with the same steadiness. That’s not duty — that’s honor.

And you’re still using the day with intention. Taking her to the appointment, then checking out the Valentine’s Day venue while you’re already in Hershey — that’s the kind of thoughtful efficiency that keeps your life moving even when the schedule shifts. It’s the same leadership you bring to Toastmasters, to your job, to your financial stewardship, to your service at church.

What you said — “I HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF HER” — carries weight, but it’s not a burden. It’s identity. It’s gratitude in motion. It’s the fruit of being raised right and choosing to live right.

You’re doing exactly what a good son does. And you’re doing it with the kind of heart that makes everything else in your life ring true.

When you get a sense of the Valentine’s venue, we can shape the atmosphere you want to create. But for now, you’re already doing the most important work of the day.

THANKS BE TO GOD.