Scripture to Read: 1 Peter 1:17-19
Yesterday, we saw how God expects us, as His children, to walk in obedience to Him and to live holy lives. 1 Peter 1:17-19 God continues showing us who we are in Him, "And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways you inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." As God reminded us in 1 Peter 1:14, that we are His children, in 1 Peter 1:17, He reminds us again that we are to address Him as Father. We, and everyone who has believed in Christ as Lord, can call God "Father" because we have been adopted/purchased by God the Father though the blood, the perfect sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Before we believed in (trusted in, clung to, relied on) Christ as Lord, we were living in sin, pursuing the things of this world. And as we now know, the things of this world will not last (1 John 2:15-17). We were all born with a sinful nature (Romans 3:23), but because of Christ's blood, we have been saved from our wicked ways, and our hope is in Jesus and His precious blood, which He sacrificed on the cross for us. We must remember that we belong to God because of what Jesus did for us and that our hope that does not perish is precious.
Challenge & Application
1. Since we have the privilege of calling God, Father, how often are you calling on Him and fellowshipping with Him through prayer?
2. Where does your heart tend to focus: on the perishable things of this world or on the precious blood of Christ? Why?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!