Daily Reading: 1 Peter 1
To those who are elect ... according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Peter 1.1-2)
Devotional Thought: 1 Peter was written in the context of suffering and persecution. Peter begins the letter by reminding Christians that we have been chosen by God for citizenship in another world – an eternal one.
Think of that. You are chosen...
According to the foreknowledge of God. He loves us and chooses us with full knowledge of the trials and tribulations that we face. He chose to deliver us through these trials. He knows what we need before we ever enter into our sufferings.
Through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. To sanctify means to set apart for God’s purpose, to make holy. God the Spirit himself sets us apart for his holy will and kingdom. He operates on our hearts and in our lives to make us holy and effective in his service.
For obedience to Christ. God has not chosen us to live outside his purpose, rather to live within his will and commandments. Having chosen us and sanctified us, he enables us to live pure and holy lives, to love God supremely and our neighbors as ourselves.
For sprinkling by His blood. In the midst of suffering, this Old Testament analogy bears much significance. In Exodus 11 and 12, it was the sprinkling of the blood from the Passover Lamb that protected Israel’s firstborn sons on the night when God brought judgment upon Pharaoh and all of Egypt. When we are “sprinkled by the blood” of Christ, we are under divine protection – even in the midst of death and destruction, for Jesus is the resurrection and the life.
For grace and peace in abundance. Thanks be to God for this wonderful promise! May you live in that grace and peace today!
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for choosing me. I choose you, too! Sanctify me. Help me to obey you. Protect me by your mighty power. Grant that the grace and peace of Jesus would be multiplied to me and through me today. Amen.
Psalm of the Day: Psalm 56:1-6
1 Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me; all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they injure my cause; all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They stir up strife, they lurk; they watch my steps, as they have waited for my life.
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