Devotion for 3/31/21 7 Minutes

1 Peter 1:3

Good evening everyone watching by video this evening,,, it's time for our weekly devotion.

I'm praying that all of you are having a wonderful week during this last week of Lent.

As I've said the last several weeks,,, we need to continue to remember those that are dealing with this virus.

Those that are sick,,, since there are many others dealing with this sickness as it continues to grow and,,, those that have lost loved ones,,, we need to continue to remember them as well.

Remember the medical teams that are dealing with this and any others that must work and take a chance of contacting this virus.

Also,,, continue to remember those on our prayer list,,, and our country and it’s leaders.

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Our devotion this evening comes from David Jeremiah's Morning and Evening Devotions.

Our scripture will be from 1 Peter 1:3 --- and I'll be reading from the King James Version Bible.

1 Peter 1:3 (KJV 1900) —

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this evening.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord,,, as we begin this evening,,, with all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.

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Peter is writing to Christians that were going through terrible persecution at that time.

My commentary says,,, the purpose of 1 Peter was to encourage Christians to face persecution in joy,,, so that the true grace of Jesus Christ could be seen in them as they went through these things.

Those who read 1 Peter are encouraged to lift their eyes from present problems and trials and behold the wonderful view that is provided by an eternal perspective.

Because even though believers may suffer grief in trials for awhile today,,, they wait for an inheritance that can never perish,,, spoil,,, or fade.

And in this verse,,, Peter is talking about God's marvelous grace,,, that is shown all throughout the Bible,,, but is really seen through the life,,, death,,, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

David Jeremiah begins his devotion talking about Jesus' victory and what we have to be thankful for today.

David Jeremiah titled this devotion "TAKE HOPE IN THE RISEN CHRIST".

He says,,, the resurrection of our Lord is the single greatest event in history.

If Jesus would have died without the resurrection,,, He would have been considered a great teacher and a moral leader,,, probably,,, but He would not have proven Himself to be God.

By coming out of the grave,,, He triumphed over death and hell,,, showed His sacrifice on the cross as being acceptable to God,,, and gave hope of eternal life to everyone who puts their trust in Him.

When we think of other religious leaders from the past,,, all of these religious leaders are buried in the earth.

Mohammed lies dead and buried.

Buddha,,, Confucius,,, and all the others who have attempted to lead men and women into a religious experience apart from Almighty God could not defeat death.

But Jesus Christ,,, in what is one of the best documented facts in history,,, rose victorious from the grave.

In this troubled world today,,, we can take hope in the risen Christ.

And the way that things keep changing in our culture today,,, we may be facing growing persecution as well.

We can already see it some,,, but if we aren't careful in our future elections,,, it will only increase,,, if it doesn't regardless.

I've noticed during some of my classes that the instructors have referred to the years of Jesus' birth as being from the year so and so CE instead of AD as I knew it growing up.

CE refers to Common Era and is being used a lot so that we don't offend those that aren't Christians.

Makes me wonder when is it going to be ok for me to be offended by their continuation of trying to stop us from acknowledging our Lord and Savior!

At the same time,,, I can't help but laugh,,, because the birth of Christ is still so important to the whole world,,, that even our dating system relies on this information whether they give God the credit it deserves or not.

That's what Peter,,, and David Jeremiah,,, are both trying to explain in their writings.

Without Jesus Christ,,, we would be lost without a way to amend for our sins today,,, not to mention the relationship that we share as we go about our day.

It's through the Holy Spirits help that we are able to improve our way of living and work toward perfection the way that God intends for us.

And non of that would be possible without Jesus Christ,,, our Lord,,, and Savior,,, and the sacrifice that He went through for us,,, through His life,,, death,,, burial,,, and His glorious resurrection,,, that we look forward to celebrating this upcoming,,, Easter morning.

Jeremiah, David . David Jeremiah Morning and Evening Devotions (p. 192). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.