As I write this, I am currently flying thirty-two thousand feet above the Atlantic. The feeling of being shuttled through the sky hundreds of miles per hour can be rather unsettling if you allow your mind to ponder all the “what-ifs.” You feel completely vulnerable, helplessly out of control of your own self-preservation. However, if you are accustomed to flying there is little to no concern, much like for those of us who drive our vehicles peacefully down the freeway. There is a confident expectation that we will arrive at our destination without the fear of imminent demise. This level of confidence is what the Apostle Peter calls “hope.” In today’s common vernacular, hope is understood as a desired outcome that promises no guarantees. Although “hope” in the New Testament does not imply a sense of absolute certainty (Rom. 8:24–25; 1 Tim. 3:14), it does convey an expectation that is strong enough for one to act on the basis of it (Phil. 2:19, 23). This is exactly what Peter calls the believer to in his first epistle (1:13). To fix our hope completely on the grace of Jesus Christ is to rest assured of the joyous blessings that come with His return. It’s a kind of hope that compels us to reorder our priorities and readily submit to His divine will. This is why Peter continues with moral commands to live holy, blameless, and sober-minded in the following verses. If Peter’s readers will first embrace the great truths of their salvation, they will then naturally begin to pursue the path of life that leads without fail to unimaginable heavenly reward (1 Pet 1:13). May God help us to hope in Him all the more as the revelation of Jesus draws ever nearer. And may this hope rightly transform the way we live so we, too, might look like Christ at His return. –Pastor Nate
Sunday at Liberty
9AM: 1 John 5:15–Living Victoriously
10AM: Dr. Preston Mayes–Don’t Lose Hope–1 Peter 1:13-21
No Evening Gathering
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