Verse of the Day 4/19

 Verse of the Day 4/19

1 Peter 1:3-4

New International Version

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,

I read today's verses this morning and thought that they were fitting having just celebrated Easter.  They serve as yet another reminder of what we have in Jesus through His resurrection.  It starts with His "great mercy".  Any time that another word is placed in front of His love and His mercy we should take notice.  Paul writes of His "great love" for us as does Daniel in the Old Testament.

The book of 1 Peter was written while Christians were being persecuted in Rome by the merciless Emperor Nero who would go on to have Peter and his wife crucified.  It is against this backdrop that Peter writes of God's mercy, living hope and the inheritance that can never be taken from us. The world hasn't changed and neither has God.  His goodness, His mercy, and love continue to show.

I have the following note in my Bible relating to His  "great mercy". "God's goodness is a spreading, imparting goodness. . . . God is more willing to bestow good than we are to ask it. He is so willing to bestow it that he becomes a suitor to us, 'Seek my face.' He seeks us, to seek him. It is strange that heaven should seek earth, and yet so it is." (author unknown)

As we receive His mercies every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), may we seek His face today.

Lamentations 3:22-23 New International Version

22 Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,

    for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

1 Peter 1:3-9

New International Version

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.