1 Peter 3:15-17
But regard the Lord, the Christ, as holy in your hearts. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you. But speak with gentleness and respect, while maintaining a clear conscience, so that those who attack your good way of life in Christ may be put to shame because they slandered you as evildoers.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Living in this world, we are surrounded by its imperfections and the sin that has taken over all this world and our lives. Even our thoughts are tainted, and they keep us from fully understanding what it means that you are holy and perfect. So, while we cannot fully realize what that means, we get snippets of your perfect, holy love for us, like when a parent humbles themselves to take care of their child. You love your enemies – us – in this way.
Therefore, you tell us to be prepared to share the hope we have with others. Our hope is knowing that when we were your enemies, you established your plan of salvation to restore us to your favor. We were your adversaries because of our sins. You are a holy God and cannot be in the presence of sin, and our sins drive us away from you. So you sent your Son to live the perfect life we could not live and to suffer the punishment for sins he was separated from you while he hung on the cross – in our place. Jesus accomplished this and then rose from the dead; there, he defeated sin, death, and the devil. We now receive what is undeserved, the gift of salvation and eternal life, which are delivered and received by faith in Jesus.
Give us wisdom and understanding to share our hope with others so that it will not be confrontational but instead open the ears of their hearts to hear these words that bring salvation and eternal life to them. Give us also the strength to not retaliate against those who attack us for trusting You; let our reaction or lack of reaction be another way to share the good news of Jesus with them. Amen.
Written through Pastor Roger Emmons
This is the hope we share: We are all sinful and deserve eternal condemnation in hell, but Jesus paid our penalty in full so that by faith in Jesus, you have eternal life and salvation, to live with God forever into eternity.