AUTHENTIC FAITH
AUTHENTIC FAITH
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. —I Peter 1:3-9
When we were born and then when we were born-again, we did not know what this race we are to run with perseverance would look like. We still don’t know what our race may include ahead of us. But this one thing we do know— we are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and not let anything else take away our focus on Him. We are born again “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” This is our hope and everything that does not make sense to us now will make sense to us then. Will we trust Him with those things we don’t understand now? “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).
We have “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” He is guarding us until we get there! Rejoice! For now, in this fallen, sinful world though and “for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Following Jesus in the most difficult of times—
- Is grievous
- Shows the genuineness of our faith
- Reveals a faith if more precious that gold
- Will result in praise at the revelation of Jesus
- Will result in glory at the revelation of Jesus
- Will result in honor at the revelation of Jesus
- Shows our love for Him
- Shows we belief in Him
- Gives us inexpressible joy
- Fills us with glory
- Ends with the outcome of our faith— salvation
Do you have that type of faith in God? Are you trusting Jesus, even in the most difficult of times? Are you allowing His Holy Spirit to guide you in the most difficult of situations? This reveals the authenticity of Your faith in Jesus. Oh, Dear Father, may I be faithful, whatever comes my way, as I look forward to being with Jesus and with all who love Him in heaven. Yes, so may it be by the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Dear Son, Jesus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLDEt9KP2O0