Peter affirms to his original recipients and to us as modern day Christians that "those who follow Jesus submit to different way of living - we ought to be distinct, holy, set apart because of what Christ has done".

"LEAN IN" is Peter's exhortation for followers of Jesus to live everyday genuinely expressing their faith no matter the circumstances.

In the first three verses of this second chapter Peter offers encouragement to grow or mature in the God-Life:

WHAT DO WE DO WITH WHAT WE HAVE THROUGH JESUS?

- Get rid of things that are distractions to your growth.

- Consume the things that will contribute to your growth.

- How does a child grow? By consistently consuming that which builds up the body. We (Christians) are to consume that which builds our faith.

- After tasting how good it is to know God and to walk with God and experiencing the tremendous satisfaction that a God-life gives, you can't go back to the bad stuff that you consumed in the past.

= The superior taste that comes with consuming the things of God changes what we desire to consume in life.

Through Jesus, God is building us into His Spiritual Household and we are each a unique and significant living stone.

HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO LIVE A GROWING GOD-LIFE?

When we come to Jesus, we become like Jesus.

When we come to Jesus we share his life and we share his power.

God's spiritual house consists of a collection of misfits just like us and we are better together.

God's household is not made up of lone ranger Christians or isolated Christians, but community.

Words have no power if our lives don’t back them up.

We are called to a God-Life and it's a unique, set-apart life of worship everyday.

11 Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.

12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.