First Letter From Stands On The Rock 1 Peter

¹In the same way, you wives are to come under the guidance of your husbands. In this way, even husbands who do not follow Creator’s message might be won over without a word by the way their wives treat them. ²For they will see the honest and respectful way you live your life. ³Your beauty should not be only on the outside, with fancy braided hair, costly beaded jewelry, or dressing up in fine clothes. ⁴But let your beauty shine out from who you are deep within your heart—a gentle spirit filled with peace and harmony. That kind of beauty never fades and has great value in the eyes of the Great Spirit.

⁵For this was how the holy women in times past who put their hope in Creator made themselves beautiful. They followed the guidance of their husbands ⁶like Noble Woman (Sarah) did. She followed the guidance of her husband, Father of Many Nations (Abraham), and respectfully called him her honored chief. You are her daughters if you do not let fear keep you from doing what is right.

⁷In the same way, you husbands, live in an understanding way with your wife. She may be physically weaker, but she deserves honor as one who shares equally with you in the gift of great kindness as you walk together on the road of life. Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers.

⁸I have some last things to say to all of you. Walk side by side in harmony with each other. Try to feel what others feel. Love each other as family. Be tenderhearted and walk with a humble spirit. ⁹Never return evil for evil or insult for insult. Instead, speak words of blessing over each other, for you were chosen to share together in Creator’s blessings.

¹⁰Our Sacred Teachings tell us, “Let the ones who love life and long to see good days keep their tongue from evil and their lips from speaking lies. Let them turn away from doing evil and do what is good. ¹¹Let them seek peace and choose to walk in its good ways. ¹²For the eyes of our Honored Chief watch over the ones who do what is right. His ears are open to their prayers. But his face is against all who do what is evil.”10

¹³If you give yourselves fully to doing good, who would want to harm you? ¹⁴But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, remember that Creator’s blessing rests on you. So do not fear what they can do to you or be troubled by their threats. ¹⁵Instead, set your hearts on the Chosen One as your Honored Chief. Always be ready to give an answer to the ones who ask about the hope you carry inside you. ¹⁶Give your answer to them in a kind and respectful way. Do what you know deep inside to be right, so when outsiders accuse you, they will be put to shame as you walk in a good way following the Chosen One. ¹⁷For if it is what the Great Spirit wants, it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong.

¹⁸The Chosen One died once for the broken ways of all people. The one who always does right suffered for those who do wrong to make a way for us to come to the Great Spirit. In his weak human body he was put to death, but he was made alive in the Spirit.

¹⁹In the Spirit the Chosen One went and told his story to the spirits that had been held captive from long ago. ²⁰These were the spirits of human beings who refused to walk in the ways of the Great Spirit. This was before the great flood in the time of One Who Rests (Noah), when Creator waited patiently for the great wooden canoe to be built. A small number, only eight people, were brought safely through the waters of the flood.

This happened long ago in ancient times when the world was filled with violence and almost every human heart was taken over with violence and evil. Creator had to cleanse the earth with a great flood that drowned all living things. The only ones who survived were the family of One Who Rests (Noah), along with the animals he chose, who entered into the great wooden canoe Creator told him to build.11

²¹The story of what happened then is a way to understand our purification ceremony with water,12 a ceremony that is performed to set us free and make us whole. This ceremony does not just wash the dirt from our bodies. It shows that from deep inside we are crying out for Creator to set us free by what he did when he raised Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One from the dead.

²²The Chosen One now sits in his honored place at Creator’s right hand in the spirit-world above. From there the Chosen One rules over all spirit-messengers, authorities, and powers.

¹Since the Chosen One suffered for us while in his earthly body, we must also be ready to suffer and to think about it in the same way he did. The ones who are willing to suffer while still in their weak human bodies have chosen to stop walking in broken ways. ²They also have chosen to live out their remaining days in these weak human bodies doing what the Great Spirit wants and not following broken human desires. ³For in the past you walked long enough following the evil desires of the nations who have lost their way. Like them, you walked a path of selfish and uncontrolled desires. You became drunks who went to wild drinking parties. You even prayed to forbidden spirit-images.

⁴The ones who walk in this way think it strange that you no longer join them in their wild and reckless way of life, so they speak evil of you. ⁵But they will have to give an answer to the Great Spirit for what they have done. He stands ready, for both the living and the dead, to decide who has done right and who has done wrong. ⁶This is the reason the good story has been told to the dead. In this way, even though they were found guilty in their weak human bodies, they might still live spiritually before the Great Spirit.

⁷The end of all things is near, so think good thoughts and be single-minded in your prayers. ⁸Above all, never stop loving each other, for like a warm blanket love covers a great number of broken ways. ⁹Open your homes to each other and share your food without grumbling. ¹⁰Each one of you has been given a gift, so use it to serve one another, as a good manager of the many kinds of gifts Creator gives. ¹¹If your gift is speaking, then your words should come from the Great Spirit. If your gift is serving, then serve with the strength Creator gives you. In this way, the Great Spirit will be honored by everything you do through Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. To him belongs all power and shining-greatness to the time beyond the end of all days. Aho! May it be so!

¹²My much-loved ones, do not be caught off guard by the fiery trial that you now face, as if something strange were happening to you. ¹³Instead, be glad that you share in the sufferings of the Chosen One. The more you share in his sufferings, the more you will dance for joy when his shining-greatness is revealed. ¹⁴If you are treated with scorn and contempt because you follow the Chosen One, you are blessed. For this is a sign that the beauty of his Spirit and of Creator is resting on you. ¹⁵Make sure no one among you suffers as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a troublemaker. ¹⁶But if you suffer as a follower of the Chosen One, do not be ashamed. Represent his name well, and you will bring honor to the Great Spirit.

¹⁷The time has come for judgment to begin with Creator’s own family. If it begins with us, what will become of the ones who do not respect and follow Creator’s good story? ¹⁸If the ones in good standing come through with much difficulty, then what will be the end of the bad-hearted ones and those who walk in broken ways? ¹⁹So the ones who suffer for doing what is right, as the Great Spirit wants them to, should fully trust our faithful Creator with their lives and continue to do good.

¹Knowing the times we live in, I speak with strong words to the elders among you who serve as spiritual leaders. I am a fellow elder who saw the sufferings of the Chosen One with my own eyes and who will share in the beauty of his shining-greatness that will be revealed. ²I counsel you to watch over Creator’s family like a shepherd watching over a flock of sheep. Do this willingly, as Creator wants you to, not to gain more possessions but from an honest desire to serve. ³Do not use your authority to boss people around. Instead, show them the way by doing first what you are asking of them. ⁴Then, when the Chief Shepherd appears, he will honor you with a headdress of many feathers that will never lose its beauty.

⁵In the same way, those who are young should listen to their elders. All of you must wear the regalia of humility as you walk together. “The Great Spirit stands against the proud and arrogant, but he shows great kindness to the humble of heart.”13 ⁶So humble yourselves under Creator’s powerful hand, and when the time is right he will highly honor you. ⁷The Great Spirit cares deeply about you, so gather all your worries into a blanket and throw them on his shoulders. He will carry them for you.

⁸Stay alert and remain calm, for your opponent, the evil trickster,14 prowls about, roaring like a mountain lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹Take your stand against him, firm in your trust, knowing that all over the world other sacred family members are suffering in the same way. ¹⁰But you will not have to suffer for long, for the Great Spirit who gives us his gift of great kindness will restore you, set your feet on solid ground, and strengthen you. For he has called you into the bright-shining greatness of the Chosen One that will never fade away. ¹¹All power belongs to him to the time beyond all days. Aho! May it be so!

¹²I have written this short letter to you by the hand of Forest Walker (Silvanus). He is a spiritual brother whom I count as trustworthy. With a few strong words, I have told you the truth about the gift of Creator’s great kindness. So stand firm in this truth!

¹³The sacred family15 who gathers in Village of Confusion (Babylon) and who were chosen in the same way you were sends greetings to you. Also War Club (Mark), who is a son to me, sends his greetings.

¹⁴Greet each other in a loving way with a holy kiss. Peace be upon all of you who belong to the Chosen One.

Aho! May it be so!