The Hope We Profess

I Peter 1:3-9 (split into paragraphs for easier viewing)

"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 – 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...

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed...

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."


A verse to remember today: Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

Rejoice!

Philippians 4:4-9

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: REJOICE!…"

God’s mercy is new every morning. Refresh your soul by reading these verses, every morning if you desire! How do you rejoice in the Lord? Especially when things are going down the drain, life is not a lovely, flowery walk in the park? We turn to Him. For peace, for comfort, strength, courage, wisdom, support, love…His Word says at the end of this section of Scripture, "And the God of peace will be with you." Paul wasn’t wasting his time just saying that to make people feel all fuzzy inside. God is speaking to us, through Paul, and saying that He will be with us, and give us peace, if we will turn to Him, talk to Him, spend time in a relationship with Him.

"Let your gentleness be evident to all."

Gentleness. We could all experience some of that every once and a while. The Lord is calling us to show each other gentleness. Why? Because as Christians, we are not only supposed to love, it’s the greatest commandment from our Lord, but the desire of our hearts should be to love and show God's love. Everything thing we do or say should reflect God’s love. So people will see that the Lord is good. In Galatians 5:22,23, the apostle Paul writes: "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (New Living Translation). This kind of fruit will be so obvious in our lives when we let the Holy Spirit live through us. The Holy Spirit is a gift from our Lord to US! And He will be with us until we see Jesus face to face!

"The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

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