The Word of God brings the dead to life. If you are having a bad day, a bad week, or a bad year – and we all know that 2020 was a bad year! 2021 is a little better but we still have a way to go. Put your trust and faith in that there will be a better day ahead. Hold on to your promised outcome - our heavenly home where there are no tears, no pain, or sorrow. “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 – kept in heaven for you,” – 1 Peter 1:3-4
Peter calls Jesus, ‘Lord Jesus Christ’. ‘Lord’ means that He has complete authority and is head over everything. ‘Jesus’ is His human name and means ‘God is the one who saves’. ‘Christ’ means ‘the one whom God has anointed’. There are many who were suffering because they were Christians and Peter is reminding them why they should praise God. Many Christians suffer today, but we have hope in God to expect all He promised for our future. We don’t have to guess what He will do. We have to trust Him. This is a living hope because God raised Jesus from death and God will raise us too.
If you are a Christian, you are born again to a living hope because you have eternal life in a Savior who conquered death Himself. Our hope lives and can never fade away because it is reserved for us in heaven. It’s called a living hope because it is imperishable. Our inheritance is too great to describe, but we know it can never perish or fade away. We suffer through all kinds of trials so that our faith will be refined and prove it to be genuine faith.
There will be trials in your life as you wait for that promised day. How do you endure until that day? By knowing whose you are. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us we are chosen, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. He has called us out of darkness. We are built on an indestructible rock, Jesus. (1 Peter 2:6). All you have to do is trust in Him. He is the indestructible cornerstone. He is either your cornerstone or your stumbling stone. We stumble because we disobey His message. You believe or you don’t. What matters is who you think Jesus is.
Who do you think Jesus is? You say He is the Christ, but is He your Savior? The message of 1 Peter is there is a cornerstone, a living stone who is Jesus. We as Christians are part of a living religion in Jesus. The church is built on Jesus our living rock. We all worship something or someone whether we realize it or not. We should not worship material things which are not living. We should worship the living Jesus.
We have to make the choices daily. Do you bow down to things and choices that are not of Jesus? In Daniel 3 King Nebuchadnezzar tried to force Daniel and his friends to worship his image. They had to make a choice to worship him or be put into the fiery furnace. They didn’t know if they were going to die or not, but they for sure were not going to bow down to an idol. The three went into the fire, but four figures were seen in the fire. It was Jesus who was there with them in the fire. As you go through the fiery trials of this life, hold on the confidence that Jesus offers. Don’t worry He is standing there with you.
Are you bowing down to something other than Jesus?
What fiery furnace of life are you going through?
We were born in sin and we live with sin all around us. We’ve been influenced by our parents, grandparents, our friends, our environment and the sinful world we live in. Some are good influences and some are bad. We can break free from those bad influences. We can break free from bad attitudes and traditions that are passed down to us. We can be made free by being born again. By being born again we are freed of our past. We are all sinners, but have been made holy. We are saints of God, we are living stones. “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” – 1 Peter 15-16.
To be holy we need to put off all evil things listed in 1 Peter 1:13 – “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Are you holy? As a believer in Christ you are holy. He has made you holy, now act like it. Being holy doesn’t mean you are perfect or better than others, but it means you are set apart. You are different from all other stones. You are a living stone.
People notice how you act. Do you act different from others? The world needs to see you are different. God put you where you are for a reason. He put you in your family, your neighborhood, your office, your classroom so others can see you are different. So act different. Act like you are a child of God.
All Christians are living stones when we put our faith in Jesus. We’ve been bought. Jesus paid the price for us on the cross through His death. He paid to free us. “but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” – 1 Peter 1:19-21.
Jesus said Himself that the only way to God is through Him (John 14:6). Many religions say they believe in God, but if you don’t’ believe in Jesus you are not Christians. Christians have a sure living hope in a living God.
I love this song from Hillside Worship. - Christ Alone Cornerstone
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly trust in Jesus' name
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly trust in Jesus' name
Christ alone, Cornerstone
Weak made strong in the Savior's love
Through the storm
He is Lord
Lord of all
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
My anchor holds within the veil
Christ alone, Cornerstone
Weak made strong in the Savior's love
Through the storm
He is Lord
Lord of all
He is Lord
Lord of all, Christ alone
Christ alone, Cornerstone
Weak made strong in the Savior's love
Through the storm
He is Lord…
Join me here next time -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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