1 Peter 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy, he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance that is undying, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. Through faith, you are being protected by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your plan of salvation which Jesus carried out for us; it was to restore us to your glory, not with money or precious stones, but with Jesus’ blood. Through his lifeblood, you washed away our sins. We must understand that sin is not a color where we like to see things in different shades. In nature, the color spectrum is beautiful. However, there are no shades of grey with sin; sin is darkness, and righteousness is light. If we do not love you above all other things, including ourselves and our families, that is a sin. We missed the mark of loving you; we are in sin’s darkness. If we fail to love others around us as we love ourselves and do not put their needs before our own, we also miss the mark—sin. We can try to convince others of how great we are with the facades we put up, but we all struggle with temptation and evil desires. But, as Christians—who should know better—we still suffer from sinful desires and the world’s effects on us; we sin.
We are blessed through you because of your forgiveness. This gift came for the entire world; Jesus came into this world to be like us, except he was without sin. He lived under your laws, then went to the cross to give up his life for us. We receive our inheritance of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life through faith. Jesus brought us the hope of heaven. It is through faith we remain in Christ and are protected by you. Lord, thank you for saving us. We bring nothing to the table, but it is all through your love and mercy we are rescued. Please grant us opportunities to share your love and grace with others today. Amen.
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
An inheritance comes to recipients only through death, and ours came through Jesus’ death. What did we receive? His forgiveness for our sins, being restored to the Father, salvation, and eternal life. All this is ours by believing in Jesus and trusting in God.