New Birth
Peter, an apostle of
Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect,
exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia,
Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia,
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through
the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and
sprinkled with his blood:
Grace and peace be
yours in abundance.
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, and into an inheritance that can never
perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through
faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is
ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though
now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise,
glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him,
you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and
are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the
end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:1-9
We
don’t always bloom the way we are supposed to because our soil has not been
tended. Sometimes we need a little raking and turning in our own lives to make
us bloom.
Like
the soil in our own potted plants, Christians two thousand years ago had their
own lives “turned over.” God’s purpose in doing that was to allow their faith
to result in praise and glory to Him at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
God
wants to loosen the things that can choke our lives and that prevent us from
radiating joy. To do this, He sometimes has to allow pain and trouble – trials
that help stir up the soil of our lives. If this is what you are experiencing
today, rejoice. Surrender to His touch and acquire a joy and fruitfulness you
never imagined possible.
Those who bless God in their trials will be blessed by
God through new trials.
Our Daily Bread –