Forgiving, pt 1
OPENING PRAYER:
Father God, teach me from your word today and make my heart like yours. Amen
READ:
"Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:17-19)
REFLECT:
Have you ever thought about how things get their worth or value? What makes one meal at a restaurant more expensive than another? Why does this car cost more to buy than that one? Would you be willing to pay a lot for your freedom or for a miracle cure for someone you love? In our text today, we learn that our freedom or “redemption” from an “empty life” cost Jesus much more than even silver or gold. Our redemption cost Jesus his very life, “the precious blood of Christ”. Later on in 1 Peter (2:21-25) we read again that Jesus suffered, endured insults, and “bore our sins in his body on the tree”, dying so that we could be forgiven and have a life with God eternally starting now. Our forgiveness cost Jesus everything.
APPLY:
What does it mean to you that God gave his one and only Son to pay for your forgiveness? What could you possibly withhold from Jesus for willingly dying for you? Spend some time asking God to show you what areas of your heart that you are holding back. Ask him to help you release your grip on the temporary things of this empty life in response to his precious and total sacrifice.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Amen.