Skip to main content

The Time is Now

1 Peter 1:1-25

    I wanted to do something a little different today. This passage of scripture was laid upon my heart today, and I would like to look more deeply into it's meaning in the context of Christian living.

    What really jumped out at me was that we have been chosen by our Heavenly Father for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). He foreknew and chose us to be alive in this time of the world and to fulfill a specific purpose. He even set aside gifts especially for us. This passage says that he set aside the gift of our salvation! Before Jesus, this was only available to Jews who followed the law. When He revealed this gift to the prophets of old, they wanted to know all about it! And even the angels are jealous of us!

Verses 1-2
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (NIV)

Verses 10-12
The prophets who told us this was coming asked a lot of questions about this gift of life God was preparing. The Messiah’s Spirit let them in on some of it—that the Messiah would experience suffering, followed by glory. They clamored to know who and when. All they were told was that they were serving you, you who by orders from heaven have now heard for yourselves—through the Holy Spirit—the Message of those prophecies fulfilled. Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this! (The Message)


    In the meantime, we are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus remembering his great gift to us. We will endure suffering for His sake because we were chosen. We are to keep in mind that it is temporary compared to the eternal life with our Father we have coming! But while we are still here, there is work to be done. Jesus has entrusted us each with a purpose and saved us from the fate of our ancestors. Live with these things in mind today.


Verse 13
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (ESV)


Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 23, 2014 at 12:58 PM

    Wow. This message is inspiring on so many levels, Lauren. First, to think that heavenly beings, made perfect in their own way - but not in God's image, would want to know more of salvation makes me stop and consider the significance with which God regarded mankind. This is a reminder of how precious and priceless we all really are-AND that we have a new life waiting for us when this one concludes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LaurenApril 23, 2014 at 11:26 PM

      Yes! Thank you for commenting and making me think again about the incredible love God has for us. It is amazing to think that the angels want what we have. God really has made us all precious and priceless in His image. (:

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

He Time

     We have now gone over me time and we time, so today I want to address He time. It's a pretty simple concept-- that we have to spend time with Jesus to grow our faith. Just like anything else we want to get better at, you have to spend time doing it. In the case of Christianity, we are changed into the image of Jesus as we spend time with Him. 2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (ESV)     My message is as simple as this-- make sure that you are setting time aside for Christ. You will never change if you don't continually immerse yourself into His presence. We need to be spending time in His word so we know His promises and guidelines for our life, in prayer to speak to Him for individual direction in our circumstances, and worshipping Him for His goodness.     Do not le...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Path to Life

     Through this most recent season in life, God has been teaching me what it truly means to follow His plans for my life. Over the last year or so,  I have had to make some of the most ''adult" decisions in my life so far. Through that process, I have had to rely heavily on faith and the leading of the Holy Spirit to discern which is the right way to go. It has been a challenge for me, a planner to the core, to put my trust fully in God's plans and leading even when I am unable to see what's ahead and I am glad to say I have come out having learned a few things.      The main takeaway I would like to share is this: the right way is not the easiest way . That probably sounds very obvious if you have spent any time in church, but I never thought about that principle carrying over into walking out God's plans for my life. You see, there have been decisions that I have made over the last year that I was certain were what God was leading me to do. An...
Post a Comment
Read more

Think Twice

    When the Holy Spirit was sent to us on earth, it made Jesus readily available to all. Now He lives in us, not among us. When you are a born again Christian, you now have Jesus dwelling inside you. How does that affect your daily life? Do you realize that you are a reflection of the one you carry with you everywhere you go?    Sadly, that doesn't mean much to a lot of Christians. Instead of using Jesus as an instrument of love, hope, and salvation, they use His name as a weapon. They spend their time boycotting instead of praying for Jesus to change hearts. Telling others that the God who IS love, hates them. Letting others know that they will go to hell for their decisions, instead of lighting the way to heaven. Let me be clear: this is wrong! No one wants to believe in a hateful, unforgiving God. I certainly don't. That's why I follow Jesus.     Even if you aren't the one openly boycotting on street corners, be careful of the image of God you are g...
Post a Comment
Read more