February 28 – Living Hope

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” -  1 Peter 1:3 (NASB)

When we hear the term “born again” we need to keep in mind that many have used it in ways to make it commonly misunderstood – especially from its original meaning in the Bible. In our verse today we have a promise of God’s great mercy. He has caused us (faith believers) to be reborn with a living hope. Again we consider the difference between the today’s usage of ‘hope for’ and the living hope that Christ has provided. Our hope in Jesus is a living hope. We have absolute assurance because what we hope for has already been done. We have already a living hope and all it promises in Jesus Christ. When Jesus died physically while hanging on the cross, He, the Son of Man, was absolutely dead. He had committed His spirit into the hands of God the Father. But Jesus did not remain dead. He was resurrected to a new life. That is what our living hope is about – we too have in Christ the benefits of His resurrection. He has already caused it to happen for us through our spiritual birth. It’s a hope that is alive and never will disappoint us.

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June 25 – Promised and Perfect Inheritance

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,”  1 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV)

We are sharing two verses from the first letter the Apostle Peter wrote and sent to the believers gathered and assembled in Asia Minor.  It became part of our bible and has great promises for us today.  The promise we are focused on today is in verse 4.  We have been promised an inheritance and that inheritance comes from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Jesus made it possible for us to receive new life and to be born again spiritually into God's family.  As family members we are promised this inheritance.  Let's take a moment to see the quality of this inheritance.  

• It is imperishable – it can never be destroyed or expire.  
• It is undefiled – it is perfect and pure, earned by the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. 
• It is unfading – it's permanence is promised.  

No matter what, we who have received Jesus by faith are promised this inheritance and it is being kept in heaven for each of us.  What a promise to live with today. 

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November 15 – God's Advance Planning

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

While we read and think on this verse let's be sure to notice that the emphasis is on God and His plans for us. It's not on what we do for God but on what He does for us. When the verse speaks of our being created by God it really means our being born again – our re-creation because of what Jesus did for us. It is God who makes that happen and makes us His child and give to us eternal life. That makes us the work of God – we are His workmanship. God has a purpose in this and it is that we will do what He gives us to do. We will tend to the work He gives us. Good works in our lives comes after His work in our lives. And all this was prepared and planned in advance. It is God's plan that comes together for our benefit. 

July 20 – Forever is Forever and Ever

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”  1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)

After God created human beings to inhabit the world He had made, He did not leave them alone. He began right away to communicate with them and he continues to do that today. So we learn about Him through the Bible as God communicants through the writing of His people like Apostle Peter. We learn about his love in giving His Son to die for us and by believing in Jesus we receive eternal life.  We are born again through God's Word. And this is for eternity because God's Word endures, it always remains effective.  His Word is His communication to  us and it is eternal. We can trust Him forever and live with Him forever. His Word will never perish or fade away – let's trust it today and every day.