Day 354 of Heart Dive 365. I'm your Bible study friend Kanoi. Welcome to the Heart Dive podcast.

Well, today we are hearing some words from Peter, who is known as the Apostle of Hope. Of course,

Paul being the Apostle of Faith, John being the Apostle of Love, at least that's what we have coined them. And if we Paul being the apostle of faith, John being the apostle of love, at least

that's what we have coined them. And if we didn't have the right perspective on these chapters,

we would think, gosh, I don't feel very hopeful in reading this because Peter, what he is doing

is he is warning the church, he is warning the people that they're about to face persecution. We are going to do our best to try to get our perspective to be heavenly focused so that we are able to see through the lenses of God. But before we get started, reading from the ESV by Crossway Translation, if you could please help us out by hitting your roll call button, the thumbs up button, letting us know you are here, you're with us, you're excited to be in God's Word. And if you're new to this Bible study, we're so excited that you're here. People are asking every single day, because people are joining every day, saying, should I continue and then start over at the beginning of the year, or should I just finish out what I've already started? Really, it's up to you. That's between you and the Lord. However, I'd always say that if you've never read and studied through the Old Testament, that is going to give you a better understanding of the New Testament. I know at face value, that seems kind of backwards. It seems like it's easier to understand the New Testament because that's kind of

what we are taught in church. But I assure you, you'll see what I mean. When you get that firm

foundation, it helps you to understand what Jesus preached and what Paul spoke of and what Peter

speaks of. So my advice is start over. And we're doing the same thing. We're starting again at the

beginning. We're going to focus in on certain things. We're not going to're doing the same thing. We're starting again at the beginning. We're going to

focus in on certain things. We're not going to be doing the magnifying glass word for word, but

we are going to continue to look for God in His Word so that we can then find Him in the world.

But for today, we're going to go ahead and do that in First Peter. But before we get started,

let's go ahead and pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this day. We thank you, Lord, for Peter and for his life.

Lord, we identify with him in the way that he was just so real and he was so raw. Your grace was

extended to him in such a beautiful way. And so I just pray, Lord, that we will be able to see

through your eyes today as we read this word. He's giving us a lot of truths, Lord. He's giving us some correction. He's giving us some encouragement. And he's giving us some practical truths to live by. It may feel a little bit overwhelming, but I just pray, Holy Spirit, that you will help us to zone in on the one thing that you are trying to speak to our hearts today. We thank you, Lord, for the warnings. I pray that it will not

discourage it. Holy Spirit that you will help us to zone in on the one thing that you are trying to speak to our hearts today.

We thank you, Lord, for the warnings. I pray that it will not discourage anybody, but will give us a hope

to continue to focus on heaven, to have that eternal perspective so that we can walk through this life

with such a bold confidence in you. Please forgive us for our sins now. We just ask that you clear out our hearts, Lord. Make them pure and right before you so that we have a clear conscience as we read this. And I just pray, Lord, that you'll be glorified in all things. Use me as your vessel. Speak through me, Lord. Let it be your words, not mine. Help us all to get out of the way so that you alone can be seen. We love you.

In Jesus' name, amen. So again, the hostility is growing toward the Christians. Some of the

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