“You are receiving THE SALVATION OF YOUR SOULS. It is the result of your faith. The prophets searched very hard and with great care to find out about that salvation. They wanted to find out WHEN that salvation would come. The Spirit of Christ in them was telling them about the SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST that were going to come. He was also telling them about THE GLORY THAT WOULD FOLLOW.” (1 Peter 1:9-11)
Peter was saying, “My dear brothers in Christ, you will experience the SUFFERINGS BY PERSECUTION, and you will SHARE IN CHRIST’S GLORY! “So, prepare your minds for action and EXERCISE SELF–CONTROL. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So, you must live as GOD’S OBEDIENT CHILDREN. Don’t SLIP BACK into your old ways of living to SATISFY YOUR OWN DESIRES. You didn’t know any better then. But now YOU MUST BE HOLY in EVERYTHING YOU DO, just as God who chose you IS HOLY.” (1 Peter 1:13-15)
“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, the SINLESS, SPOTLESS LAMB OF GOD.” (1 Peter 1:18-19) “You were cleansed from your sins when you OBEYED THE TRUTH, so now you must show SINCERE LOVE TO EACH OTHER as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For YOU HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will LAST FOREVER because it comes from the ETERNAL, LIVING WORD OF GOD.” (1 Peter 1:22-23)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham