Theme: As sent ones, disciples intentionally immerse themselves in a relationship with God and His Word…
… to encounter God.
Your Biblical Identity in Christ
1 Peter 1:3-9
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, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9)
Praise to God for a Living Hope
3 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, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 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. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 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. 8 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, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
• In Christ, I encounter a Holy God and live to tell about it.
Pondering Point
As sent ones, disciples intentionally immerse themselves in a relationship with God and His Word… to encounter God. This is why we build churches and print Bibles; it’s why we send missionaries and call pastors; it's why we write and read devotions. Go even deeper, more basic: It's why Jesus is born and why Jesus dies. Jesus dies so that man may encounter God and live – to be saved from our sins and saved for a relationship with God.
You may have heard the expression "lived to tell about it". This describes someone surviving a potentially deadly experience. Jesus ensures that when we encounter God, we “live to tell about it.” Hebrews 10:31 testifies, It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
But through Jesus Christ we encounter a gracious and merciful God. He is the same God – there is only one; but Jesus changes our relationship with this God by sending away the deadly effect of sin and replacing it with the life-giving effect of grace.
Prayer
Father God, it is my heart’s desire, my spirit’s desire to encounter You as the gracious God described in the Bible. Thanks to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, that is possible. Now by Your Holy Spirit, help me to get to know You better and better, now and forever. Amen.
Proverb for the Week
Proverbs 15:14
The name of the LORD is a fortified tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.
Try to memorize this proverb.