READ: Ezekiel 45,46; Psalms 145; 1 Peter 1
SCRIPTURE: 1 Peter 1: 3 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,
4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance
is kept in heaven for you
OBSERVATION: We often hear
people say that “hope is life; without hope, nobody can live in this world.”
Without any assurance, people want and expect something to happen or be true. But, biblical hope is different from the meaning
or idea of hope that we hear from the world. While worldly hope is “an
uncertain good,” Biblical hope is, as John Blanchard says, “an unconditional
certainty.” John MacArthur writes, “Hope is synonymous with the Christian faith
because the motive for believers’ embracing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is
their anticipation of escaping hell and entering eternal glory.” In the first
epistle of Apostle Peter, hope is a significant theme that he reminds the
suffering Christians. Some scholars call 1 Peter is a letter of hope. Here, Peter
speaks about the living hope of every Christian who is born again. Our
salvation, new birth in Christ, is a gift of God. Peter says, “In his great
mercy,” God “has given us new birth into a living hope.” As Paul says, we were
dead in our “transgressions and sin” and “by nature deserving of wrath. But
because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ” (Eph.2:1-5). Once, we
were “without hope and without God in the world” (Eph.2:12). BUT NOW, we have a living hope in Christ
Jesus.
Our faith in
Jesus Christ is the foundation for our hope. As a hymn goes, we stand on
Christ, the solid rock, “all other ground is sinking sand.” Jesus Christ’s
resurrection is the foundation for our Christian faith. Our living hope and Christian
faith are inter-connected and inseparable. Worldly
inheritance is not permanent; it can be destroyed by moths and vermin and
stolen by others (Mt.6:19). But our new birth or born again experience leads us to
receive “an inheritance that can never perish,
spoil or fade.” Our inheritance in Christ is eternal, and God preserves it for
us. When we are born again, we become the children of God and heirs of God
(Rom.8:14-17). When we know that we are children of God, praising God will be
our natural response, for it is God’s unmerited favor, grace Peter does the same
when he says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”Jesus
is our hope (1 Tim.1:1); we have a living hope through him; Jesus’ second
coming is the blessed hope for all believers (Tit.2:13). Bill Bright, the
founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, says, “With God, life is an endless hope.
Without God, life is a hopeless end.” Do we have this blessed living hope in
our lives? It is God’s wonderful gift for humanity. The living hope helps us to
live victorious Christian living.
APPLICATION: I have a new life
in Christ. My faith in God enables me to hope against all hopes. The living
hope that God has given me helps me to live for his glory. I am called to receive
the eternal reward that God has kept safe for me in heaven. My hope is in Christ;
Christ in me is “the hope of glory” (Col.1:27).
PRAYER: Gracious and
compassionate God, thank you for the great mercy you have shown me. I praise
you for your gift of a new life, living hope, eternal inheritance. Lord, help
me to hold my faith and living hope firmly and stand firm in it till the end.
Amen.
- Arputharaj Samuel
+91 9538328573
Day – 328
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