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28 April 2008
Word on the Web
1 Peter 1 v 1-9
To God's chosen people who are away from their homes and are scattered all around Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. God the Father planned long ago to choose you by making you his holy people, which is the Spirit's work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace be yours more and more.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God's great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings, which cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty, are kept in heaven for you. God's power protects you through your faith until salvation is shown to you at the end of time. This makes you very happy, even though now for a short time different kinds of troubles may make you sad.
These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold, which can be proved to be pure by fire but will ruin. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honour when Jesus Christ is shown to you. You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. So you are filled with a joy that cannot be explained, a joy full of glory. And you are receiving the goal of your faith - the salvation of your souls.
What excites you?
Our sports team, our favourite band, a pay rise, or even a great date may excite us. Peter, who wrote this letter, is the same person who was Jesus' disciple in the Gospel stories. He witnessed everything Jesus did and became the first leader of the Church. By the time Peter came to write his letters he was an old man. Yet he was still as excited by being Jesus' disciples as he was on the day he first met Jesus on the shores of Lake Galilee.
The first verses of "1 Peter" are one long sentence in Greek. It is, as if Peter was so excited about all the great things that God has done that things like punctuation are not important. He wants his readers to know how God chose them and that his blessings can never be taken away. So he is writing his letter to encourage them to be excited too.
Sometimes being a Christian can be exciting. For example, if we have just been to a wonderful event. However, there are times when we need to be reminded why it is worth following Jesus. Take a moment today to remind yourself of the aspects that excite you about your faith, maybe tell someone else as well!
Lord Jesus, thank you that you chose me to be part of your church. Thank you that your love for me will never change. When things are tough, help me to still be excited about being a Christian. Amen
Written by David Wells
