Day 3: October 3rd, 2009 -- 1 Peter 1:3

Written by M. Hall
Please feel free to agree or disagree with points made, and feel free to comment if so desired. If you would like, you could write your own thoughts on the verse of the day, and include that in your comments below. Thank you and may you be Blessed!! =)

“[Praise to God for a Living Hope] 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,”- 1 Peter 1:3

WOW! Thank you Lord! A new birth, a new life… Who doesn’t love NEW things?

Let’s look at the same scripture, found in ‘The Message’ translation; “What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all -- life healed and whole.” (1 Peter 1:3-5) How amazing is this truth? God is watching over our future. He promised that it will be a great future, Using the New Century Version, “’I say this because I know what I am planning for you," says the Lord. "I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.1. Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you.’ You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me!” (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

Call on Him and He will listen. Search for Him, and you will find Him. How easy does that sound? God has great plans for our lives, but we have to step out. He has given us a choice and also the power to choose. Choose God and you will have a hope and a future. In our last “Points to Ponder” we learned that we can call God our “Abba Father” (Romans 8:15), and in this verse we see that God is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you see what that makes you? You are a brother of Christ, whether you are a man or a woman.. So many women have taken the mind-set of ‘feminine power’, and choose not to be called ”sons of God’, or the “brother of Christ’. But as we were reminded in one of the sermons in a service in Rwanda, women should be able to call themselves ‘sons of God’, if men can call themselves ‘the bride of Christ’. What a shame if you are missing out on one of your greatest blessings, because of ‘feminine power’.

Take a stand and stand for what you believe. There is a statement I’ve heard and even spoke to the children in Rwanda, ‘If you don’t stand for what you believe, you will fall for anything.” (Malcolm X) Sometimes when you take that stand, you even have to stand alone. This is a truth that needs to be shared with the next generation. The VeggieTales have even discussed this issue in Rack, Shack & Benny, where Junior sings, “Stand up, stand up for what you believe in. Believe in God, He’s the One who’ll back you up. He’ll stand with you, He’ll stand with you.” You are not standing alone, you have God standing beside you, and also a “great cloud of witnesses”. (Hebrews 12:1 NIV) When I came back from Rwanda, I missed all those little faces, but I knew that I had an impact while I was there. God had given me charge over those children, but He also gave me charge over the children back at home in the daycare and at church. During one of our devotion times at work, we shared the verse found in 1 Peter 5:9, “Stand firm in what you believe.” (NIrV) The children all told me what they believe to be true about Jesus, and that is that He is God’s Son, He did die on the cross, but He did rise again. They are happy to know that Jesus lives in Heaven with God building us a big house, but also that He can live in their hearts. Our devotion that day stated “If you stand firm in what you believe, no one can change your mind. You know that what you believe is true.” (The One Year Book of Devotions for Preschoolers, c.2004 Crystal Bowman. Tyndale House Publishers Inc. October 1st Devotional) Each of us, no matter our age, needs to remember that truth. “Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

As the season of autumn is upon us, we see the trees and leaves changing colours, and falling to the ground. Isn’t it good to know that unlike the trees, Jesus never changes He stays the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) The trees are dying in autumn, just like Jesus died. But just as Jesus lives again, the tree has new life in the spring, and once again new buds will grow into fresh green leaves of life. We thank God for the new life that He gives us, and He even compares us to trees. (But that’s another lesson all on it’s own)

PRAYER: Father of Life, we thank you for loving us so much that you shared your Son Jesus with us. We weren’t part of the blessed ones to see Him on earth, but we know that what we read in Your Word is truth. He is alive! Help us to share this simple truth with others. Help us to stand firm with no fear, and share Your love and the love of Jesus with the world. People need the Lord, and we have to be walking Bibles for some of them. Help us to be the examples and positive influences in other’s lives. Help us continue to die to ourselves, and live with you as we grow in our walk with you, like the trees of autumn and spring. Help us Lord, to love others like You love us. In Jesus’ Name, AMEN!