1 Peter 1
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
(LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23)
Over the years many wonderful children in the library club helped with routine tasks. They enjoyed rewards for service and had fun working together - except for two boys who joined one school term. They quarreled every time they came, and I was ready to ask them to leave if they couldn't get along. I don't recall how we solved the problem, but I haven't forgotten the Holy Spirit revealing that I needed to thank the Lord that He didn't ask His children to stop coming around when we persist in disagreeing. Those two boys were a poignant reminder of the sin rooted deep within and of the mercy the Lord extends to us all.
Morning by morning, from one year to the next, the Lord's compassion is renewed to us. It stretches beyond the limits of human love, forgiving again and again. By God's grace instead of judging and condemning, a single act of mercy may be what is needed to secure a fellow traveler who might otherwise despair. After all, Jesus' great act of mercy at the cross is what saves you and me today.
INSIGHT
MORNING BY MORNING NEW MERCIES I SEE;/ ALL I HAVE NEEDED THY HAND HATH PROVIDED,/ GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS, LORD, UNTO ME!
(T. O. CHISHOLM, 1923)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Genesis 39-40
Psalm 20
Matthew 28
1 Peter 1
New International Version (NIV)
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.
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 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, 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. 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 the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 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.
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 the Messiah 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.
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. 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]
17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 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. 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.
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.[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.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Peter 1:16 Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2
b. 1 Peter 1:22 Some early manuscripts from a pure heart
c. 1 Peter 1:25 Isaiah 40:6-8 (see Septuagint)
THE BIBLE IN 90 DAYS
with Kristin Schell
It fails to make the lists - like losing weight or saving money. Yet it's a longing in every Christian, to read the Bible - all the way through. It is possible and it's not as hard as you may think.
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