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. … 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 (1 Peter 1:3, 8 NIV)
If in faith we believe that the resurrection is real then ….
- We know we are sinners who have been forgiven;
- We know we are loved;
- We know we are God’s children;
- We know we have infinite worth because we are created in God’s image;
- We know the work we do has meaning because we are fulfilling our mandate as stewards of God’s creation;
- We know that the work we do is not wasted and will be renewed. “It will last all the way into God’s new world. In fact, it will be enhanced there.”*
- We can hear God’s wisdom calling out to us constantly where we work and live (Prov 1:20-21; 8:1-3);
- We can see God in his righteousness walk daily through the streets of our city (Zeph 3:5);
- We experience God’s grace resting on us;
- We can bring God’s grace into every situation where we work and live (Prov 11:11, 25);
- We have a personal relationship with the savior;
- We don’t need to look to our manager, leader,pastor or politician to be our savior. Instead we trust the prefect, sinless righteous son of God to be our Savior;
- We don’t need to look to systems, programs, or structures to be our savior for we know the risen Savior who gifted people with the talents and skills to design these;
- We know that God knows our hearts (Lk 16:15);
- We can come boldly to his throne of mercy to find grace to help us when we need it most (Heb 4:15);
- We all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory(2 Cor 3:18);
Prayer
Lord, we thank you that our old selves were crucified with you, so that our bodies are no longer slaves to sin. Thank you that because you live, we too will live. Help us through your spirit to live righteously and pleasing in your sight. Amen
Scripture
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. In all 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 the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—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 end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9 NIV)
No comments:
Post a Comment