God Speaks
From: Peter, Jesus Christ’s missionary.
To: The Jewish Christians driven out of Jerusalem and scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Minor, and Bithynia.
2 Dear friends, God the Father chose you long ago and knew you would become his children. And the Holy Spirit has been at work in your hearts, cleansing you with the blood of Jesus Christ and making you to please him. May God bless you richly and grant you increasing freedom from all anxiety and fear.
3 All honor to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family. Now we live in the hope of eternal life because Christ rose again from the dead. 4 And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And God, in his mighty power, will make sure that you get there safely to receive it because you are trusting him. It will be yours in that coming last day for all to see. 6 So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here.
7 These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of his return.
8 You love him even though you have never seen him; though not seeing him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with the inexpressible joy that comes from heaven itself. 9 And your further reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
10 This salvation was something the prophets did not fully understand. Though they wrote about it, they had many questions as to what it all could mean. 11 They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about, for he told them to write down the events which, since then, have happened to Christ: his suffering, and his great glory afterwards. And they wondered when and to whom all this would happen.
12 They were finally told that these things would not occur during their lifetime, but long years later, during yours. And now at last this Good News has been plainly announced to all of us. It was preached to us in the power of the same heaven-sent Holy Spirit who spoke to them; and it is all so strange and wonderful that even the angels in heaven would give a great deal to know more about it.
13 So now you can look forward soberly and intelligently to more of God’s kindness to you when Jesus Christ returns.
14 Obey God because you are his children; don’t slip back into your old ways—doing evil because you knew no better. 15 But be holy now in everything you do, just as the Lord is holy, who invited you to be his child. 16 He himself has said, “You must be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And remember that your heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge you with perfect justice for everything you do; so act in reverent fear of him from now on until you get to heaven. 18 God paid a ransom to save you from the impossible road to heaven which your fathers tried to take, and the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver as you very well know. 19 But he paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. 20 God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but only recently was he brought into public view, in these last days, as a blessing to you.
21 Because of this, your trust can be in God who raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. Now your faith and hope can rest in him alone. 22 Now you can have real love for everyone because your souls have been cleansed from selfishness and hatred when you trusted Christ to save you; so see to it that you really do love each other warmly, with all your hearts.
23 For you have a new life. It was not passed on to you from your parents, for the life they gave you will fade away. This new one will last forever, for it comes from Christ, God’s ever-living Message to men. 24 Yes, our natural lives will fade as grass does when it becomes all brown and dry. All our greatness is like a flower that droops and falls; 25 but the Word of the Lord will last forever. And his message is the Good News that was preached to you.
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: This letter was written by Peter to encourage believers who were trying to live out their faith in a hostile environment. It is so appropriate for what Christians everywhere are facing today. The enemies of God are using various strategies and weapons in many places, but God’s children must put on the armor He has provided and stand firm. It is interesting that the geographic area addressed in this letter is now part of the nation of Turkey. God’s people are once again in hostile territory. This letter should be a guide and encouragement to believers today who are facing any kind of difficulty or opposition. The fiery trials believers face in this life have a good purpose. When we acknowledge Christ as our Savior, we become like a lump of clay which the potter shapes and imprints with the image of Jesus. This likeness of Christ is obscured by our human tendencies, but the intense heat of the trials (the firing process) melts away this dross and reveals the true image of Christ in us. The Holy Spirit guided the prophets in writing down that the Messiah would come and what would happen to Him, but they didn’t really understand. Peter went on to summarize the gospel: God wants His lost children to obey Him, not their own desires or Satan’s. He is calling them to be holy because He is holy, and they need to rely on the Holy Spirit’s power to do so. Because Jesus will judge with perfect justice when He comes back, they are to act in reverent fear and love for God and other people. The blood of Jesus, the perfect sinless Lamb of God, that is far more precious than gold or silver, paid the ransom for all who will turn to Him in faith. God raised Christ from the dead and gave Him great glory. Now all those who trust Him by faith have been cleansed from selfishness and hatred and can love each other with pure hearts seeking what’s best for each other. Man’s laws and rules are fading away, but the Word of the Lord will last forever.
Prayer: Dear Gracious God, thank You that You are with us wherever we are and whatever we are experiencing. Thank You that the rewards reserved in Heaven for those who trust Christ far outweigh any suffering believers may experience here on earth. Thank You for the privilege of being born again and becoming part of the family of God. Thank You, Jesus, for dying for my sins and being raised from the dead to make me right with God. It is Your mighty power, Holy Spirit, that will see me through this life and take me safely home to Heaven where my reward is waiting. Thank You for the way the difficulties and trials in my life are purifying my faith and revealing Christ in me. Thank You for guiding the prophets of old in writing about the Messiah and what He would do. Now that I am Your child, I want to obey You, not my own desires or Satan’s. You call me to be holy because You are holy. I claim Holy Spirit’s power to do so. Because Jesus will judge with perfect justice when He comes back, I want to act in reverent fear and love for You and other people. The blood of Jesus, the perfect sinless Lamb of God, that is far more precious than gold or silver, paid the ransom for my soul (and for all who will turn to Him in faith). You raised Christ from the dead and gave Him great glory. Now all those who trust Him by faith have been cleansed from selfishness and hatred and can love each other with pure hearts seeking what’s best for each other. Man’s laws and rules are fading away, but the Word of the Lord will last forever. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will spend significant time today praising God for who He is and His loving plan of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
- I will bring all my sins to Jesus for Him to cleanse them with His blood, and His Holy Spirit will show me how to deal with the problems in my life.
- I will thank God amid trials and troubles because God is using them to reveal Christ in me.
- I will tell someone who doesn’t know God or Christ as their Savior what He has done for them.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with _________