Two women, both in Intensive Care with life-threatening medical problems. One, a young pregnant mother, in a coma from a routine medical procedure…the other, a woman who had gone to the hospital with the flu, but was spiraling downwards rapidly. That week I dedicated my Devotionals to their families…writing about hope and miracles, and God’s grace. After being in a coma for almost 2 months, the young pregnant Mother began to wake up, and went on to deliver a healthy baby boy. The other woman passed on to glory surrounded by her loved ones. Two families…one rejoicing, the other grieving, but both changed forever by the circumstances. What can we then take from this? Life is very fragile…love intensely…appreciate immensely…praise Him regardless.
Tag: God
I Peter 2:24 “…by His wounds you have been healed.”
The walking wounded are all around us. They may not have open, bleeding cuts you can see, but they are hurting terribly all the same. Emotional pain can be concealed, stuffed inside, and ignored…but like a nagging headache, it’s always there. Jesus died on that Cross to heal us not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually…He wants to restore us back to perfect health in all areas of our life.
I Peter 3:15 ” Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
If you died tonight, would you go to Heaven? How do you know? Two simple questions – one potentially complex answer…but it doesn’t need to be. It’s sometimes hard to verbalize that cause for our inner confidence, but if you know that Jesus died on the cross for you, your hope is rooted in Him and nothing else. Simply put… Jesus is the reason, the only reason, for the hope you have.
I Peter 2:17 ” Show proper respect to everyone: love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.”
Only Simon Peter uses this term “brotherhood of Believers” in a unique way. He likens our natural birth into our family to the family we become part of when we’re born again. Suddenly we have brothers and sisters all over the World…our new birth in Christ making us all family.
I Peter 2:12 ” Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.”
Simon Peter spells it out very clearly…you will be insulted, slandered, maligned, and just plain bad mouthed by the world…there’s no way around it…and being a Christian doesn’t exempt you from it. But what we do need to bear in mind, is that the unbeliever is watching very closely to see our reactions…will we repay evil with evil, or will they see Jesus in us? The final words of this verse are also very important, for we may never see the influence of our doing good in this lifetime…but it never should detract us from continuing to do what is right.
I Peter 2:9 ” But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
You are a beloved possession of the Lord, having been called out of Spiritual darkness with all its misery and damnation. God has summoned you from that darkness and the power of Satan into the brilliant illumination of His truth and gift of eternal life.
I Peter 1:23 ” For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”
To be born again…the Greek word utilized here was only penned by Simon Peter, speaking of Spiritual rebirth or new birth. We have traded our deteriorating bodies for ones that will never wear out. We have exchanged our mortal beings for immortal ones. We have move from this temporal world to eternal life when we are born again.
Acts 13:32 ” We tell you the good news…”
Today I proclaim to you the Kingdom of God is at hand. It’s not far away, it’s not impossible to understand…it’s right here, right now. Your search can end to fill that unfillable void in your life…it’s here…His name is Jesus. That’s how Christians all over the world are bound together… by the good news of our Savior.
I Peter 1:15 ” 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’ “
For many of us, when we read this verse, we see the almost impossible task of holiness. Well aware of God’s call to live a holy life, our path deviates far from His desire for us. But if the Holy Spirit is residing within, all is not lost to feelings of guilt and shame, for with the call also comes the ability to live that holy life. It happens by allowing the Holy Spirit to rule and reign within and not our flesh. Holiness is a way of life…an attitude and focus, not an unreachable goal.
II Corinthians 5:21 ” He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Our Savior’s obedience to His Father wasn’t out of sympathy for us. Jesus became a sin offering that we might have a right standing with God, not because He felt sorry for our wretched human race. No, Jesus knew the only way we could come to the Father was by Him going to the Cross… for nothing we could do would ever make us acceptable to God…only Jesus death.
Safetypinlove 