A LIVING HOPE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in Heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:3-5

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we begin this second message from Peter’s first letter to his brother and sister Christians within the “provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia”, I love the opening sentence that follows his greeting:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! v.3

Frankly, all Christians should write this on their hearts and say it regularly, starting with the beginning of each day when we wake. For as soon as we come out of our slumber and awake into a new day, a day that the Lord has made, there is no better way to start rejoicing in it (Psalm 118:24) than to give God praise and then continue to do so every chance we get.

We should do this, not just because the Lord has blessed us with life in the here and now but because He has guaranteed us an eternal life with Him through our belief in His Son Jesus. This is what we find Peter reminding us as he continues in this passage. He writes:

In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in Heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Vv. 3-5

Note that this isn’t hope deferred. It is a living hope we have now, vibrant and active in our lives every second of every minute of every hour of every day. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans when he writes:

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 8:38-39

Indeed, it was by God’s love that we were chosen and given the opportunity to not perish but gain everlasting life through believing in His Son. Through “His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.”

Going back to Romans 8, we find the Word of God assuring us about our standing with God after believing in Jesus and gaining not only salvation but the gift of the Holy Spirit.

“...those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.” Vv. 14-17

Friends, we have been co-heirs to the Kingdom of God from the very moment we chose to believe in Jesus as Savior. “This inheritance” is being “kept in Heaven” for us and we, “through faith” are “shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

In other words, no matter what life brings, whether it’s today or any day after, we have the victory over Hell, death, the grave, and ultimately Satan, a living hope God has given us through Jesus His Son.

With this, how could we not express our gratitude by saying...

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

...with every chance we get.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.