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the righteous and the wicked

1 Peter 3:12 
"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."

CHANGE will keep coming. Change from within and change from without. It's all part of God's plan. Last week we started our series titled; Seasons of Life and focused on the Flavors of Fall and the way change keeps coming like the changing seasons of the years. This week we will study how we want to ANSWER change. 

Yesterday we visited an event in the Gospel record when CHANGE was happening suddenly and violently. Jesus and His core group of Disciples were in the Garden of Gethsemane. After praying there the group is surprised by the Chief Priests, Elders and Judas. The Disciples and Jesus feel like they are being ATTACKED! Just when everything is going HAYWIRE, Peter responded by CUTTING OFF the ear of a servant there with the High Priest. Peter was swept up in the moment and reacted out of fear and gets a mini sermon from our Lord and Savior. Peter is a great example of faith for us and we can be encouraged that he is all too human and makes mistakes along the way. 

The rest of this week we dig deeper into Peter's advice for us when faced with change. Peter experienced CHANGE on a level very few of us will. What can we learn from Peter? Years later after the Resurrection Peter went on mission trips through the northern areas of Asia Minor preaching the Gospel. And, years after that he wrote the people he visited letters with advice and guidance. Which is what we have in the Epistle First Peter. Just a few years after this letter Peter will be arrested and executed by the Romans around AD 66–68. 

So, Peter has some perspective and insight when he writes the words we will study this week. From First Peter chapter three, verse twelve; "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is AGAINST them that do EVIL." God watches over and cares for His faithful followers; the righteous. The words in the verse here echo Psalm 34:15. It's not something new that Peter is teaching. God is watching and rooting for us to choose good and right actions. This is not to say that God will make the righteous win and the wicked loose. Life is not that simple in natural disasters and pandemics alike the righteous and the wicked often perish together. Look for yourself at the lives of people of virtue and faith; do they have better health and well-being than people with wicked pursuits?

I don't want to get bogged down on this point on our way to studying ANSWERS to CHANGE. But, this is interesting findings in this research...
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/31/are-religious-people-happier-healthier-our-new-global-study-explores-this-question/
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