Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House (The Foundry Publishing House) of Kansas City, Missouri, United States - The Global Church of the Nazarene for Saturday, 9 September 2017 "God Is Merciful" by Norayr Hajian - 1 Peter 1:3-16

Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House (The Foundry Publishing House) of Kansas City, Missouri, United States - The Global Church of the Nazarene for Saturday, 9 September 2017 "God Is Merciful" by Norayr Hajian - 1 Peter 1:3-16
1 Peter 1:3 Praised be God, Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who, in keeping with his great mercy, has caused us, through the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah from the dead, to be born again to a living hope, 4 to an inheritance that cannot decay, spoil or fade, kept safe for you in heaven. 5 Meanwhile, through trusting, you are being protected by God’s power for a deliverance ready to be revealed at the Last Time. 6 Rejoice in this, even though for a little while you may have to experience grief in various trials. 7 Even gold is tested for genuineness by fire. The purpose of these trials is so that your trust’s genuineness, which is far more valuable than perishable gold, will be judged worthy of praise, glory and honor at the revealing of Yeshua the Messiah.

8 Without having seen him, you love him. Without seeing him now, but trusting in him, you continue to be full of joy that is glorious beyond words. 9 And you are receiving what your trust is aiming at, namely, your deliverance.

10 The prophets, who prophesied about this gift of deliverance that was meant for you, pondered and inquired diligently about it. 11 They were trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of the Messiah in them was referring in predicting the Messiah’s sufferings and the glorious things to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that their service when they spoke about these things was not for their own benefit, but for yours. And these same things have now been proclaimed to you by those who communicated the Good News to you through the Ruach HaKodesh sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things!

13 Therefore, get your minds ready for work, keep yourselves under control, and fix your hopes fully on the gift you will receive when Yeshua the Messiah is revealed. 14 As people who obey God, do not let yourselves be shaped by the evil desires you used to have when you were still ignorant. 15 On the contrary, following the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in your entire way of life; 16 since the Tanakh says,

“You are to be holy because I am holy.”[1 Peter 1:16 Leviticus 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7]

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In 1936, King Edward VIII of England gave up his throne.* Even though he was the rightful king, he chose to renounce that position. He was no longer the king. He no longer had authority.
In a sense, the prodigal son had done the same. He gave up everything he had in order to go and satisfy his own cravings. His actions were so dishonorable, he recognized that he was not longer fit to be a son (Luke 15:19).
When we turn away from God, in our sin and rebellion, in a sense we have abdicated our position as God’s children. We have broken away from Him; as such, we have forfeited our inheritance. We are no longer family. Yet look at the terminology used by Peter. “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3). Nicodemus was encouraged to experience that new birth when he was told that he must be born again (John 3:7).
New birth enables us to be restored into the family line. Because of the new birth, we are brought back in as God’s children. Once again we have a new and living hope with an inheritance waiting for us.
Hymn for Today:

"He Lifted Me" by Charles H. Gabriel

1. In loving-kindness Jesus came

my soul in mercy to reclaim,

and from the depths of sin and shame

through grace He lifted me.

Refrain:

From sinking sand He lifted me,

with tender hand He lifted me,

from shades of night to plains of light,

O praise His name, He lifted me!

2. He called me long before I heard,

before my sinful heart was stirred,

but when I took Him at His word,

forgiven, He lifted me.

Refrain:

From sinking sand He lifted me,

with tender hand He lifted me,

from shades of night to plains of light,

O praise His name, He lifted me!

3. His brow was pierced with many a thorn,

His hands by cruel nails were torn,

when from my guilt and grief, forlorn,

in love He lifted me.

Refrain:

From sinking sand He lifted me,

with tender hand He lifted me,

from shades of night to plains of light,

O praise His name, He lifted me!

4. Now on a higher plane I dwell,

and with my soul I know ’tis well;

yet how or why, I cannot tell,

He should have lifted me.

Refrain:

From sinking sand He lifted me,

with tender hand He lifted me,

from shades of night to plains of light,

O praise His name, He lifted me!

Thought for Today:

“And now I entrust you to the care of the Lord and to the message of his love and kindness, for it can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who have been set apart for God.(Acts 20:32).
Please pray:

For faculty and students as they prepare for Christian ministry in Cuba.
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*After ruling for less than one year, Edward VIII becomes the first English monarch to voluntarily abdicate the throne. He chose to abdicate after the British government, public, and the Church of England condemned his decision to marry the American divorcée Wallis Warfield Simpson. On the evening of December 11, he gave a radio address in which he explained, “I have found it impossible to carry on the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge the duties of king, as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love.” On December 12, his younger brother, the duke of York, was proclaimed King George VI.

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