Sunday we started the book of 1st Peter, and talked about the idea that God is more concerned with the state of our soul and not the comfort of our situation.
1 Peter 1
3Praise 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, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though 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, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
We seem to notice hope more when we need it and when things are hard we need it so much more! That just says a lot about the value we put on comfort. We treasure what we have here in this world now and have no value in what God has for us in eternity.
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trial
We seem to think it idealistic to say my hope is in heaven, yet, that is exactly what we signed up for. So let me ask the question... Do you hold on and hope in the things here and now and hope less in the things to come? If we see things in a future promise that God will fulfill the things that are here today, good & bad seem much smaller.
Shalom,
Rick
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1 comment:
Hey Rick it's Cam - Just walked through a tough decision and what a comfort it was to read this. To know God is keeping my treasure safe in heaven, that He is the Refiner of my faith!!Wow! Makes the trials worth it! Thank you for the encouragement.
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