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April 24 - 1 Peter 1 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday, It is the 24th of
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  April and I'm so glad to have your company because today we
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  get to begin reading a wonderful letter.
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  This is a letter written by that ever so relatable disciple
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  Peter, who just acts with his gut and does the thing that we
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  are all thinking but nobody else was going to do.
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  Yeah, Peter, that wonderful disciple of Jesus, that close
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  trusted ally in Jesus ministry. Here he is writing to the
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  Christian Church as it spread out around that part of the
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  world. You see, it was hard work being
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  a Christian because wherever you were, you would be adopted into
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  this new way of being, with this new way of relating to others
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  and this new identity of this community of the church.
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  And well, from the inside that looks all, you know, fine and
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  dandy. But from the outside, if you're
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  a neighbour of one of these new Christians, they just seem
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  antisocial and weird and rude and like they've just forgotten
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  everything that's important. And so there was a lot of
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  pressure on new Christians by their old friends, by their
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  neighbours, by their communities to say, stop this madness.
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  Come back to your old ways, come back to your old community and
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  just be a part of us the way you used to be.
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  And so here Peter writes to the new Christian saying, stand
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  firm. Stand firm in your new faith and
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  continue to to love and care for your fellow brothers and sisters
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  in Christ. So in the 1st century, this call
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  to be faithful to God's people and this new way of life is just
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  as important as it is to us these days.
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  So why don't you join me, friends, as we travel back to
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  this new growing church? And how on earth do we fit in as
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  Christians in a secular world as we read together First Peter
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  chapter 1. This letter is from Peter, an
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  apostle of Jesus Christ. I'm writing to God's chosen
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  people who are living as foreigners and the provinces of
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  Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bethania.
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  God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His
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  Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him
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  and have been cleansed by the blood of Christ Jesus.
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  May God give you more and more grace and peace.
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  All praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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  It is by His great mercy that we have been born again.
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  Because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
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  Now we live with great expectation and we have a
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  priceless inheritance, an inheritance that is kept in
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  heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of
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  change and decay. And through your faith God is
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  protecting you by His power until you receive the salvation
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  which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
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  So be truly glad there is wonderful joy ahead, even though
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  you must endure many trials for this little while.
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  These trials will show that your faith is genuine.
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  It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold, though your
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  faith is far more precious than mere gold.
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  So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it
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  will bring you much praise and glory and honour.
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  On the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world, you
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  love Him even though you have never seen Him.
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  Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him and you rejoice
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  with the glorious, inexpressible joy.
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  The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.
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  This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know
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  more about. When they prophesied about this
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  gracious salvation prepared for you, they wondered what time or
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  situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about.
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  When He told them in advance about Christ's suffering and His
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  great glory. Afterward, they were told that
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  their messages were not for themselves, but for you.
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  And now this good news has been announced to you by those who
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  preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
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  It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching
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  these things happen. So prepare your minds for action
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  and exercise self control. Put all your hope and the
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  gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is
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  revealed to the world. So you must live as God's
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  obedient children. Don't slip back into your old
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  ways of living to satisfy your own desires.
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  You didn't know any better then, but now you must be holy in
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  everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.
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  For the scriptures say you must be holy because I am holy.
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  And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no
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  favourites. He will judge or reward you
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  according to what you do. So you must live in reverend
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  fear of Him during your time here as temporary residents.
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  For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the
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  empty life you inherited from your ancestors, and it was not
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  paid with mere gold or silver which lose their value.
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  It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless
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  Lamb of God. God chose Him as your ransom
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  long before the world began, but now in these last days, He has
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  been revealed for your sake through Christ.
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  You have come to trust in God, and you have placed your faith
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  and hope in God because He raised Christ from the dead and
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  gave Him great glory. You were cleansed from your sins
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  when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love
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  to each other as brothers and sisters.
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  Love each other deeply with all your heart, for you have been
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  born again, but not to a life that will quickly end.
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  Your new life will last forever because it comes from the
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  eternal living Word of God. As the Scriptures say, people
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  are like grass. Their beauty is like a flower in
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  the field. The grass Withers and the flower
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  fades, but the word of the Lord remains forever.
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  And that word is the good news that was preached to you.
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  Are Jesus here? Peter refers to our lives on
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  earth as being of temporary residence.
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  Ah, you know, when we live our life, it doesn't feel
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  particularly temporary. It's a long time that we're
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  here, but Lord give us that eternal perspective that as we
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  make decisions, as we choose between different options that
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  we would make our choices in the light of eternity with you as
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  our Lord and you gathering us to yourself to live in your
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  presence. Oh what a beautiful, wonderful
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  gift that is. Would continue to raise that
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  through the different levels of complexity in our mind as we go
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  about our daily lives so that it continually reaches the top and
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  it is what bubbles over to shape the way that we live our lives.
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  Knowing full well that you have already saved us and thank you
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  that we are permanent residents of your Kingdom and your family,
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  and that this identity branded on our hearts will always remain
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  no matter what. What a loving, generous God you
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  are, and we thank you and we pray all of this in the name of
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  Jesus, Amen.