Focus

Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.

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Read

1 Peter 1:3-9 (NRSV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

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Reflect

I remember talking to some young parents at the birth of their child. There was this wonderful mix of excitement, dreams, blissful ignorance, joy, fear, and amazement. They chattered and quipped about everything the birth of their child held for them. They spoke, too, of what the birth meant for the child. It was then that those initial expressions and feelings of longevity, purpose, and promise began to become real in them and began to be passed on to their child without any permission from the child. Immediately, the child had an inheritance and was a living hope for her parents.

The same gift belongs to us from God through Jesus. God didn’t ask our permission, and we didn’t have to validate what God gifts to us. From the very beginning of our personhood we are God’s beloved children and purposed for salvation so that our lives bring praise and honor to God. Through God’s great mercy we are born into life in God’s kingdom. Hear and believe that good news!

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Pray

Merciful God, in love and with deep intimacy you have given life to us as a gift. You have called us your own and claimed to be our God for our benefit. We pray that our lives may reflect this deep and intimate love so that others may come to know that love and the gift of life that is the inheritance of your children. Amen.

Go with God.