This. Is. It.

Here are just a few thoughts from my time with the Lord this morning :) 

Let's start in the best place to start, the Word. 

1 Peter 1:3-5

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 

Wow. 

I read this this morning and realized how much TRUTH was in these three verses. I wanted to dig deeper. Here is what I found...

- First, the glory goes to God. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

- "Our" indicates an intimate relationship.

- The Lord's great mercy recognizes our sinful nature and offers us glorious salvation REGARDLESS! The Lord truly is merciful. 

- A living hope = eternal life. Beautiful.

- "Hope" means confidant optimism. 

1. Hope comes from God 

(Psalm 43:5 - "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.")

2. Hope is a gift of grace 

(2 Thessalonians 2:16 - "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace...")

3. Hope is defined by Scripture 

(Romans 15:4 - "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of Scriptures we might have hope.")

4. Hope is a reasonable reality 

(1 Peter 3:15 - "...but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence...") 

5. Hope is secured by the resurrection of Jesus Christ

(John 11:25-26 - "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"  

John 14:19 - "After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also."

 1 Corinthians 15:17 - "and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.")

6. Hope is confirmed in the Christian by the Holy Spirit

 (Romans 15:13 - "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.")

7. Hope defends the Christian against Satan's attacks 

(1 Thessalonians 5:8 - "But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.")

8. Hope is confirmed through trials 

(Romans 5:3-4 - "And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope.")

9. Hope produces joy. 

(Psalm 146:5 - "How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.")

10. Hope is fulfilled in Christ's return. 

(Titus 2:13 - "Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.")

-The living hope means nothing without the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

- Eternal inheritance is...

1. Imperishable- something not subject to passing away, nor liable to decay. 

2. Undefiled- unpolluted, unstained by evil. The undefiled inheritance of the Christian is in contrast to an earthly inheritance, all of which is corrupted and defiled. 

3. Will not fade away- "fading" is the image of a withering flower. Eternal inheritance has NO decaying elements. 

- Our inheritance is reserved!

- "Protected by the power of God" - this is a supreme power. Omniscience. Omnipotence. sovereignty. This not only keeps the inheritance, but also keeps the believer secure! 

-Faith- this is our response to God! The saving faith is permanent and it will never die. 

To me, This is it. This is truth. This is the central message of the Gospel! Do you see it? There is something so beautiful about all of this. I am secure! I am rooted in the Lord's hand and will not be removed. I am here only because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without that, I have nothing. Because of that, I have everything. I am promised eternal life with the Lord. Eternal life that is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away. I have that living hope of eternal life. I have a confidant optimism, which means SO much. And this is all because of the Lord. He is merciful. And ALL the glory goes to Him. 

Do you see the truth? 

This. Is. It.