1 Peter: rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight.
The verse in 1 Peter spoke to me. As the youngest of four children and a bit of a caboose, I often felt well, out of place. I had unruly, curly hair that required almost an entire bottle of Johnson & Johnson's No More Tears detangler to put a comb or brush through it. They didn't.
They all have a slight more tint to their skin than my very pale, your-Irish-descent-is-showing skin. It still requires a healthy dose of sunscreen.
My sisters sunbathed on the roof of our house, slathered in baby oil, each held a double record cover, lined with tin foil beneath their chins. They asked me to join them once and I lasted maybe five minutes.
All this to say, I felt a bit like a misfit. They had the good grades and the good looks.
It's taken a while to understand that my adornment is more my inner self and that I'm just as precious in God's sight; that God loves us all equally.
March 4
Matthew: Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Mark: Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent.
Luke: as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
John: Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
Acts: Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.”
Romans: By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written, “So that you may be justified in your words, and prevail in your judging.”
1 Corinthians: For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?
2 Corinthians: Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.
Galatians: Did you experience so much for nothing?—if it really was for nothing.
Ephesians: a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ.
Philippians: even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more:
Colossians: When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
1 Thessalonians: In fact, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer persecution; so it turned out, as you know.
2 Thessalonians: And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will go on doing the things that we command.
1 Timothy: He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way—
2 Timothy: treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
Titus: But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
Hebrews: (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)
James: Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
1 Peter: rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight.
2 Peter: and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!”
1 John: Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
Revelation: Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.