1 Peter 1

1 Peter 1

 ¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

    To God's elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
       Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Jesus, You chose me, why I do not know, to be obedient to You.  Help me Lord to somehow do that.  It seems like I am so far from that.  It seems like I sin so much.  Soften me Lord.  Help me to love as I should so i can live as I should.  Help me to live in Your "grace and peace…in abundance."  I know that is Your will for me.  If I walk in Your love, grace and peace, I will be Your disciple.  Please help me Lord.  Please.  

Praise to God for a Living Hope

 ³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Yes indeed Father, praise be to You!  I cannot praise You enough.  Make my life a praising testimony to You Father.  Praise and glory to You forever and ever and ever amen!   

 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, ⁵ 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.

Jesus, everything of true value is with You.  In You is true life and You are my only source of hope.  All the things of this world, the stuff money buys and even the times and people around us, can fade and go away and lose their goodness.  But You are forever and with You, in heaven, in Your kingdom is the love and life that never grows old and never spoils.  Praise You Lord Jesus.  Praise You Father.  Praise You Holy Spirit.  

 ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ 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.

Jesus, sometimes I think the trials are too much.  I think it is more than I can bear.  But You have carried me through so far.  I see how after the trials, my faith is stronger.  I even can thank-you for the trials!  Lord, keep me and preserve me through all the trials ahead and use them to make me pure and bring me, and those I love, home to You.  

 ⁸ 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, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Jesus, You are alive!  Yes when I think even for an instant, that You are alive and I am saved, there is a fountain of joy within me the explodes like geyser.  

    ¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, ¹¹ trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

Jesus, thank-you so much for Your revealing Word.  I don't come close to understanding all of it, not even close.  But it is clear enough to reveal Your saving plan.  It is clear You died and suffered for my sins so I may live forever with You in Your love.  Why You did this, I do not know, but I know You did it.  Thank-you.  

Be Holy

 ¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.

Jesus, help me to grasp, as best I can, how awesome Your grace is.  Stir my mind and soul and heart go think of You and Your gifts at all times.  Help me to live today with all eternity in mind.  Please Lord, sharpen my mind and keep me from the drunkenness of sin so I can walk in Your grace forever.  Change me Lord, change me.  

 ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." ^[a]

Jesus, how can i be holy as you are holy?  Only through Your love and grace.  But I can leave the lust and sins of my life behind and live so much better than I have.  Please, don't let me ever go back to the person I use to be.  You have changed me so much Lord.  Keep me close and continue the work in me that You have started.  My only hope is You.  

    ¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

Jesus, I do know that I am a foreigner here.  I thank You so much for that.  Somehow, I simply do not feel at home here.  So if this is not home, then everything I have here is temporary.  Help me live that way.  Father, watch over me and guide me in this foreign land.  Keep me traveling, not settling down.  Keep me on the road home.  Help me to do whatever mission You have for me here.  Help me bring You glory, not shame.  Use me up, and then bring me home Father.  Keep me pure.  

 ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Jesus, You were perfect, and You died for me to save me from a life of emptiness and hopelessness.  You redeemed me with something so much more precious than money.  I have children I love.  I know they are priceless.  Yet that is what was paid by You to save me – life.  Lord, please help me to live the life You paid for to the fullest.  Help me to live only for You completely dedicated to You.  Burn in my heart Lord.  

 ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Jesus, Your resurrection is the foundation of my faith.  I don't know why You chose to give me this gift of faith and the knowledge of Your resurrection, but thank-you for it.  Make my faith grow and explode within me.  Help me to live it and show it, and speak it every day.  And, Lord, bless my family with it.  Choose them Lord, if You have not already.  I am sorry I don't know for sure where they are in their faith life.  I guess only You can really know.  Bring us all home to You Jesus.  

    ²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.

Jesus, please do help me to love deeply and completely.  Help me to open my heart and love with Your love.  Change me Lord so I am a complete servant, totally selfless.  Help me to give, and to give and give.  

 ^{[b] 23} For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For,
       "All people are like grass,
       and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
       the grass withers and the flowers fall,

    ²⁵ but the word of the Lord endures forever." ^[c]

    And this is the word that was preached to you.

Jesus, it is so good to be "born again", to be a new being, a new creation.  I know that You have made me a totally new person.  I still cling to some of my old faults, and my body still longs for sinful things, but somewhere inside, in the part of me I know will never die, I know I am different.  In there is a person that is bursting with joy over a forever with You.  In there, my heart is a heart for You.  Thank-you Lord.