Peter writes to Black Sea churches, persecuted for their faith and undermined by false teaching. Peter’s encouragement in ‘Wholesome thinking’ 3.1 urges them to be strong in the part that they can control: their thoughts and their trust in Jesus. Paul encourages us (2:Cor 10.5) to take every thought captive and give it to Christ. I need to be reminded to take charge of thoughts and fears in the name of Jesus and receive his rest and peace! Lay hold of it at times when you feel completely out of control in many areas of your life! Trusting in God’s goodness and Jesus’ good plans IS the work of the Cross. We can practice Peter’s wholesome thinking; you can ‘hold your minds in a state of undistracted attention’ (Message 3.1) on Jesus and resist those thought paths to anxiety and fear. Do NOT worry, Jesus says!

Epicurean philosophers valued the life of the mind above physical realities (to the extent that what you did with your body or to your body perhaps didn’t matter), Peter urges us to return to the reality of the work of the cross.

3:3 reminds us to expect opposition and mocking, those who violently oppose us see the world-changing, regime-changing power of our faith but maybe in our context our faith and values are brushed aside and we look silly like Evan Almighty. There’s a contrast between the many words of the scoffers and ‘The Word’ which brought everything into being at the beginning. He will ‘say the word’ when everything is completed: a time is coming when God will call ‘Time’. The ‘Day of the Lord’.

The ‘Day of the Lord’ is referred to often in the OT: Amos, Daniel and others as well as in Jewish scriptures, so no details here.  Jesus is coming and the old will pass away: the scoffers, the false teachers. His sureness, our sureness reminds me when my son aged 4 regularly began questions with ,”Mum, when there’s a New Heaven and a New Earth will there still be .....” he was sure and so is Peter. It’s not to be worried about but it is coming and it should influence our lives (like the door standing open in heaven in Revelation) and our decisions: let’s be careful how we build both within ourselves and in fulfilling what we’re called to.

***

God be in my head,

and in my understanding;

God be in mine eyes,

and in my looking;

God be in my mouth,

and in my speaking;

God be in my heart,

and in my thinking;

God be at mine end,

and at my departing.       

Sarum Missal used in 1500s before Book of Common Prayer.