May 30, 2015 – I Peter 1:2

God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy.  As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.  May God give you more and more grace and peace.  I Peter 1:2To be known and still be chosen is beyond our wildest imagination.  That God sees us as His Children – is beyond belief.  The Almighty God who created the universe, the God who put into motion the tides of the oceans and the planets that spin in outer space — this God chose me?  He chose you!Because He chose you, His Spirit makes you holy.  Being holy is a spiritual cleansing…of our words, our thoughts and our actions…every day.  This happens only through the blood of Jesus Christ.  There is no salvation except through Jesus.And there is salvation in no one else,  for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.  Acts 4:12When I read the following words from I Peter 1, I see prophets standing on the mountain side peering into the future, speaking of things that will come and they long to see.    They prophesied about this great Grace that is within our reach, not knowing when or how, but knowing.  They knew of the rejection that Christ’s words would receive.  They knew of the heartache and they knew of the physical torture Christ would endure on the cross for our sins.The prophets had a glimpse of the glory, after three days, awaiting Jesus Christ.  We are blessed to experience this prophesied salvation, this gift of Grace.  The question is, what will we do with this gift of glory?  Will we reject this gift or will we, through Jesus, make this gift ours through holy living?The prophets looked ahead and knew, Now we accept Jesus and look ahead to the final gift of life everlasting.  This gift begins with love.  Let us love God as He first loved us into glory.This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you.  They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.  I Peter 1:10-11