Author Archives: justkeithharris

1 Peter 3:14-16 —

¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, ¹⁵ but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,  ¹⁶ having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

Greetings, Sojourners!

I have enjoyed our journey through 1 Peter looking at the hope that was offered to those original exiles and to us. As we get to our last passage today, I want to take a minute and remind us of the hope that we have looked at so far.

We have seen that the hope we have in Christ is different because it is “living” (1 Peter 1:3). We do not rely on a feeling or an experience because the object of our worship is the resurrected King Jesus; our hope is in Him. We have also seen how we need to prepare our minds for action by “set[ting our] hope fully on the grace” of Jesus (1 Peter 1:13); everything is under subjection to Jesus, including our thoughts. We were reminded that our “faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:21) because of what He has done and is doing in our lives. Last week, we looked at how our hope in God adorns us (1 Peter 3:5) as we submit to God in our daily lives. How we hope determines how we live. And today, we are going to get a practical look at how our hope intersects and mingles with our daily lives.

One of the toughest aspects about being an exile is being different. Think about it. If you are an exile, you are from somewhere else – your very culture and values are foreign to where you are. That is the case for people who are living in exile around the world today.

When refugees flee from wicked dictators and terrorist regimes, they find themselves far away from home in lands that are not hospitable to them. Even in the US – a place known as a melting pot – refugees find it difficult because there are aspects of our culture that are foreign to them. And there are aspects of the refugee’s culture that are foreign to us. Think about the way that politicians, newscasters, and maybe even yourself or those around you have talked about the difficulties, or even dangers, of refugees coming into the country. People were/are afraid that these refugees would be more loyal to their homeland and be used to infiltrate our culture with terrorist ideals or – even worse – be a means by which the terrorists could gain access to us.

But God’s Word keeps reminding us: if we are born again, we are exiles. This world is not our home. The culture of a Christ-follower does not match up with the culture of the world. The values of a Christ-follower do not match up with the values of the world. Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20 that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior”. We are to be more loyal to our heavenly homeland than to our place of earthly exile. And the ideals of our Savior and Lord are supposed to influence our place where He has planted us.

This causes difficulties both in us and around us. We struggle with our flesh because we desire to and do sin. We struggle with the world around us because we want to identify and fit into it. But God has called us to be different, and different is difficult.

Peter tells us that – if we live a Christ-like life – we will be reviled. This echoes Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:12: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…”. Those who follow Christ will be noticeably different than the world around them. Just like in grade school, noticeable differences are noticed – and ridiculed. But Peter shows us a better response than “sticks and stones will break my bones”; he reminds us of our great Savior and the hope that He alone brings!

First, he tells them/us to “have no fear of them”. There is nothing that anyone or anything can do to us to remove our hope. There is nothing that can be done to remove our salvation from us. The most anyone could do is to kill us, and their greatest threat (death) is the believer’s greatest reward (eternity with Christ). Just as we looked at a few weeks ago, if we reverently fear the Lord, there is no reason to fear anyone on this earth.

Second, he tells them/us not to “be troubled”. This echoes words that Peter heard Jesus say on their last night together:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid”

John 14:27

This was a reminder to Jesus’ closest followers that things were about to get hard – harder than they could have imagined. It was also a reminder that He was – and is – Emmanuel, God with us! We need to set our hope on Him!

Rather than fearing or being troubled, we are to honor Christ the Lord as holy. We need to remember that He is unlike anything in this world. Holy at its most simple means set apart. God is set apart from everything in this world and above all that seeks to do us harm. We need to remember that. Having our focus set correctly on Christ reminds us that our “help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2). And, when we set our view of Him correctly, it impacts the way we live.

What Peter tells them/us next is a game changer. As I stated earlier, today’s passage gives us a practical application for our hope. Peter gives this advice: “always [be] prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for are reason for the hope that is in you”. Wow! The hope you have in Christ should be so evident in your life that people want to know about it!

This is very convicting to me because, I know for a fact, that my hope has been less evident in my life this week than most others. I planned out the order of the passages in these devotions back in early July, and I had no idea what would be going on in my life in late August. But that is the beauty of the nature of our hope: it stays the same despite our circumstances!

So, here is the application I am preaching to myself today, and I hope it is of a help to you.

No matter the circumstances of my life, God is still on His throne. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). There is nothing that can unseat Him.

God was so moved by His love for the world that He laid His glory aside, humbled Himself, lived a sinless life, died the death I deserve, and rose again on the third day (Philippians 2:5-8, John 1:14, John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 15:3-5). The gift of His life as found in the gospel is where I first found hope.

Once Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended back to the right hand of the Father, is high and lifted up with the name above every name, where He is interceding on my behalf as I type this devotion (Philippians 2:9-11, Romans 8:34).

Any suffering or trials that we may bear were first borne by Him, and He not only provides us an example for how to suffer well but has left us a Helper to get through it (Isaiah 53, John 15:18-27).

And, finally, He has poured out His love into our hearts that we may truly find peace and hope in Him:

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Romans 5:3-5

So I shall strive today to live – and hope – in such a way that people can see that I am not of this world because my Father is not of this world. I want people to see that I am an exile and seeking after something different than the world. Basically, I want to live my life in such a way that, when people want to know what is wrong with me, the answer is Jesus!

May we find hope in Him and point to Him no matter our situation!

¹ Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, ² when they see your respectful and pure conduct. ³ Do not let your adorning be external – the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear – but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. ⁵ For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, ⁶ as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

1 Peter 3:1-6

Greetings, Sojourners!

As we journey through 1 Peter looking at hope, I have to admit that this is not a passage that I initially wanted to cover. I thought long and hard about skipping it. This passage is not flashy. It is not exciting. In fact, if I am not careful, I can distract from its intended message.

But I am firmly convinced that we do not need flash or excitement. We need the word of God exactly as it is written. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that today’s passage is “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for correction, and for training in righteousness” and that through it we may be “complete, equipped for every good work”. The Holy Spirit intended it to give hope to the exiles in Peter’s original audience, and He intends the same for us on our journey Home today.

It is not hard to see what the original context was here. Peter was talking to a group of people who were having difficult times for many different reasons. 1 Peter 2 covers people being subject to tyrant governments and emperors. It also covered how believers who had been sold into slavery were to treat their masters. Neither situation is ideal, and one is vastly worse than the other. Yet God called them to persevere and guard their conduct. Look at 1 Peter 2:19: “For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly”.

That sounds ridiculous. From an earthly perspective – especially an American perspective, it is difficult to imagine why one would submit to unjust suffering. From a heavenly perspective, we see a picture of the mind and heart of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). 1 Peter 2:21-24 shows His example:

“For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.”

This shows us that Jesus patiently endured sorrow and was willing to suffer because His endurance gave time for our repentance. He bore the penalty for our sin on the cross. Basically, He died the death we deserve to give us the Life that He alone deserves. What a gift!

In the context of today’s passage, we see the picture of a godly wife yoked with an ungodly husband. I would love to say that this is an unusual situation. I genuinely wish that I could say that this is rare and instances of this are few and far between. But, just as Christ patiently endured until the time that our repentance came (or is still coming), these godly women show us what it is like to genuinely love someone and hope/pray for their salvation. Peter says that these women’s “respectful and pure conduct” can win their husbands to Christ.[i]

Look at the way Peter describes that conduct; he describes the conduct of these women to be their “adorning” – like beautiful clothing and jewelry! We have all met people who are just genuinely beautiful people. No matter what they wear or how they fix themselves up, they are beautiful from the inside out. We have also encountered people who – at first glance – are very physically attractive but whose internal ugliness eclipses any perceived beauty. Peter reminds these wives – and all of us today – to “let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (v. 4).

The Bible is very clear on our heart: what is inside will show through to the outside. This is how Jesus put it in Matthew 7:33-34:

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

There are many who like to speak of good things and try to hide the evil in their hearts, but Jesus makes it clear that what is inside will bleed through to the outside. I can, unfortunately, speak from experience: hatred on the inside will inevitably show up on the outside. We will be known by the fruit our lives bear.

Peter reminds these godly women of the heritage that they share. He tells them that if they “do good and do not fear anything that is frightening” (v. 6) that they are continuing in the legacy of Abraham’s wife Sarah who submitted to him.

Peter tells them that the adorning, the “hidden person of the heart”, is how the “holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands” (v. 5). And submitting to anything is one of the most difficult human actions. Submitting to something and giving it a place of authority is even more difficult.

So, what can we get out of all this? Where does the hope we need come into play?

Ultimately, our submission is to be to God, and I think that James gives us very good context for this:

“Therefore it says ‘God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

James 4:7-8

If we are proud or puffed up, we hope only in ourselves. There is no place for submitting to Christ as Lord if our hearts are arrogant and conceited. If we are sitting on the throne of our hearts, Christ does not. So, we must submit to Him as Lord (Romans 10:9-10).

Once you submit to Him – once you are born again, saved, redeemed – things begin to change. What was dead inside of you is made alive (Ezekiel 36:26, Ephesians 2:4-5). Eventually, that inside change is going to work its way outside. It will affect your conduct and way of life. Your hope in the salvation that comes only from Christ is going to affect your outlook, your mindset, and your conduct. Are there going to be days and weeks where your old self and flesh win out? Unfortunately, there will. But the victory over all of it has already been won.

So, we find ourselves being willing to submit in order that people may be won to Christ. We find ourselves being willing to be reviled and persecuted so that those people mistreating us see our conduct, listen to the Word of God that we share with them, and their becoming our brother or sister when they repent and believe in Jesus. This, as usual, is easier said than done. But I can assure that it has value for your life. And it is absolutely what will eventually happen when you have genuine, living hope (1 Peter 1:3)!

I would urge you to think about godly people who you have seen endure hardship so that the gospel can go out. Maybe you have a pastor that endures hell from his congregation while we shares heaven with them. Maybe you know of someone who endures persecution in their work because they want to make sure their coworkers know the hope that comes only from Christ.

It is more likely that you know of a godly wife who puts up with more than you could imagine. You probably wonder how she could love her sorry husband or put up with his foolishness. You probably have told her that she should kick him to the curb for waste management to pick him up. But she sees something that you do not. She sees someone that needs saving. She sees someone who – if they would only repent and believe in Christ – can be so much more than you realize. She is looking at him like Christ looks at us.

And that should be the ultimate focus of our love: to see the people around us come to hear the gospel so that they can repent and believe. May the hope you have in Christ drive you to submit yourself to foolishness that He may receive glory! May the hope we have drive our conduct and our appearance. And, if we search our hearts and do not find that hope, may God grant us the repentance and faith in Him that we need the most!

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[i] I know that there are genuinely terrible and terrifying situations built into some marriages. There is abuse and worse than I would ever hope to imagine people enduring. In those situations, do not hesitate to seek help or assistance.

¹⁷ 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, ¹⁸ knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰ He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you ²¹ who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

1 Peter 1:17-21

Greetings Sojourners!

We are continuing on our journey through 1 Peter, looking at passages regarding hope. We have looked at our “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3) in Christ Jesus through His resurrection. And last week, we looked at how we need to “set [our] hope fully on the grace that will be brought…at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13). Today, we are going to see how we are to look to our heavenly Father for hope in the depths of exile.

As we walk through these passages, it is easy to forget that Peter’s original readers were displaced from their homes and in foreign lands. It is easy to look at how these verses apply to us in our every day lives. And it is even easier to forget that we are exiles on the earth and distant from the Father’s house where He has a room for us in Heaven.

Let us think on that image of the Father’s house. So, often our view of heaven is some ethereal cloud city with harp playing and naked baby angels floating around. While there are numerous descriptions of Heaven in the Bible, Jesus’ words to His disciples – while they were afraid and confused, and He was about to be crucified – describe the specific living arrangements that should give us the most hope:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

(John 14:1-3)

To use the language from our passage today, “if you call on Him as Father” – that is, if you are saved/born again/have faith in Christ as Lord – you have a room in the Father’s house! That’s good news for us in our time of exile!

Now, some of us struggle with the idea that we are are currently in exile, but, rest assured, there is a much better future to be had with Christ than this world can possibly offer. Let Peter’s words give us correct context for our lives here on earth:

“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 inherited by your forefathers….”

(vv. 17-18a)

Fear seems to be an odd command since we are focusing on hope. But God, in His Sovereign wisdom, put these Scriptures exactly as He intended. What does that mean for us, then? How can fear produce hope?

The Bible talks a great deal about the fear of the Lord. A few verses that come to mind and have bearing on our passage today are:

• Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
• 2 Corinthians 7:1 – Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

When these verses speak of fearing God, they are not talking about a “paralyzing terror” but, instead, a “fear of God’s discipline and Fatherly displeasure…a reverence and awe that should characterize the lives of believers during their exile on earth”[i]. In other words, we live out what I often remind Keri and Xander when they are going places; I remind them whose they are and to act like Candice and I have taught them how to act!

We need to remember that – if we call on Him as Father – we are His! And, when we remember who we belong to, it affects the way we live. As I type this, I think about all the lessons and training that my parents gave me that still come to mind and have bearing on how I live, work, and raise my own children. What lessons and training have you received from the Father?

When Peter talks to these exiles about Who they belong to, he reminds them that they were “ransomed” (v. 18). First, they were ransomed – liberated/set free/delivered by paying a ransom – from their bondage to sin and death! Second, they were ransomed from the baggage of their flesh – the things that still linger in our flesh after we are saved but while we are still exiled on earth and awaiting heaven.

Peter wants them to remember that they do not have to be in bondage to the “futile ways” – useless ways – that were a part of their past. They hold no power over us anymore!  This is like Paul’s reminder in Ephesians 4:17 that we “must no longer walk as Gentiles do in the futility of their minds”. Instead, we “set [our] hope fully on…grace” (1 Peter 1:13).

Peter also gives his readers a reminder of the ransom – the cost – that was paid for them. The cost was the “precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (v. 19). He gave His sinless, perfect life for us that we may have Life! He – who was “foreknown before the foundation of the world” (v. 20) – humbled Himself and died in our place. And it is through Him alone that we are “believers in God” (v. 21).

It is because of that sacrifice – and because of the resurrection that came from it – that we have reason for faith and hope. You see, we can now understand why Jesus would tell His disciples to not let their hearts be “troubled” but to “believe”. We can understand what it means for belief to produce hope amid fear. We just have to remember whose we are.

Jesus – the One whom God “raised from the dead and gave Him glory” – is the One in whom we have faith in and, thereby, hope. And “hope does not put us to shame” (Romans 5:5).

So, if you are calling out to the Lord as Father and living in fear, let us make sure that our fear is put in correct placement.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way…. (Psalm 46:1-2a)

Let us set our hope on Christ. Let our fear be reserved for Him while we trust that His loving-kindness carries us through our troubles until our exile is over and we see Him face to face.

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[i] ESV Study Bible

1 Peter 1:13 —

¹³ Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:1-4 —

¹ If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Greetings, Sojourners!

We are continuing our journey together through the hope found in 1 Peter, and I am extremely thankful for today’s passage.

There are so many things fighting for my attention and grabbing at my thoughts – outside voices and from within me. Fear and biased rhetoric are at all time highs in our society. I cannot speak for you, but my mind has been all over the place. It is easy for the doubts and fears in my mind to take over.

The Scripture we are looking at today can help us with this, but we need to realize what these verses are and are not supposed to do. Firstly, we need to realize that these verses are for people who have confessed Jesus as their Lord. There is no way for us to hope to get our minds under subjection if our lives are not subject to Him. Secondly, these verses are not magic words that will ward off the boogie-man of our wayward minds. They are “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching”; they are meant to teach us and correct us that we “may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

In this passage, Peter urges his readers to be “preparing [their] mind for action”. This is good advice, but it is much easier said than done.[i] To help us understand what Peter means, we need to look at what this phrase meant in the original language. This phrase, translated literally, would be to “gird up the loins of your mind”.

The idea of girding up one’s loins goes back thousands of years – back before pants and shorts – to when everyone, even warriors wore robes and tunics. So, if they ever needed to get anywhere quickly, they needed to (sort of) hitch up their skirt tails and confine them with their belt. It kept the soldiers from, literally, being tripped up.

To apply it to our lives and minds, think of all of the stray or wild thoughts that go through your mind on a daily basis – especially in times where your anxiety is heightened – as stray cloth that is tripping you up. The image is fitting. We find ourselves unable to think or focus because our thoughts are everywhere. So, Peter’s advice for us to gird up the loins of our mind – prepare our minds for action – means that we need to gather up our thoughts and pull them into submission, cinching them up in the “belt of truth” (Ephesians 6:14).

1 Peter 1:13 gives us another image to clarify what needs to happen in our minds when he urges his readers to be “sober-minded”. The idea of being sober contrasts that of being drunk. Just as alcohol or drugs alter one’s mind, our stray thoughts take our minds off where their focus should be and puts it elsewhere. When the mind of a believer loses its focus on Christ, it is no wonder we begin to feel hopeless. But we do not have to lose hope because our hope in Jesus is different than worldly hope – it is living (1 Peter 1:3)!

And that living hope is where our focus should be. I love the way that Peter puts it here: “set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. In the case of setting our hope, I think the best illustration is a thermostat. But, before I show you that illustration, let us look at how Peter’s urge for us to “set” our hope on Christ fits with Paul’s in Colossians 3.

When we are urged to set our hope on Christ, it is quite specific. We are to set our hope “fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ”, showing us that our hope is to be fixed on Jesus – specifically on the fact that He is coming back! Similarly, Paul begins in Colossians 3:1 with the idea that those who “have been raised with Christ” – born again, saved – should be seeking things from “where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God”. In other words, our hope is in what – Who – is coming.

Paul goes on to urge believers to “set [their] minds on things that are above” instead of “things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:3). Here we see Paul telling his readers to fix their attention on heavenly things rather than earthly things. This is where the thermostat comes into play.

A thermostat is a glorious invention – that is, if you are the one who gets to control it. One can set their thermostat on a temperature and – Lord willing, everything in the air conditioner is working correctly – that small box will control the temperature throughout a house. You set it to a temperature and leave the air conditioner to do its work. You do not have to will your air conditioner on or off. They even make thermostats that can control the temperature on a schedule, adapted to when you are away or at home. It should be the same for our minds and our hope.

I realize that setting one’s hope or one’s mind is not as easy as pressing buttons. I understand that it takes time to train one’s mind to react under certain circumstances. But I know that, if I leave my mind to its own devices, I will be of no good to anyone – much less be of use to the Kingdom of God. This is something that I am having to practice and use often.

As I stated at the beginning of this devotion, tensions and anxiety are at all-time highs in the world around us. But Jesus is still “seated at the right hand of God” and we still await “the grace that will be brought to [us] at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. Paul Tripp asks a question that has stuck in my mind and challenged my fear and doubt: “Why allow yourself to fear the future when all of your days are held in the wise and loving hands of your Sovereign Savior King?” Our hope is in a King whose victory and return are fixed events in the future. If we believe that, we have faith that He has taken care of us, is taking care of us, and always will. But all of this talk is for nothing without hope in Christ.

This is very challenging for me because, apparently, I have a very specific sort of amnesia. I know Christ. I know and trust in His finished work on the cross. I know and trust that the tomb is empty and that He is at the right hand of the Father. I know that He has a plan for me. I just forget. But there is grace even in my forgetfulness. That grace is present in today’s passages. That is why I must set my hope fully – set my mind on things above – in order to be prepared for action.

So, how do we do this? My suggestions are simple:

• Pray – This is the first step in setting our mind and hope. God wants us to talk to Him and trust Him for our daily needs. This gets our hearts and minds off of our problems and points them toward a solution.
• Read the Word – If you find yourself struggling to hear the voice of God in the midst of your thoughts, you do not have to look for an ethereal voice to speak out. We have God’s words written and compiled in book form. If you want to hear God’s voice, read His Word.
• Meditate on the Word – To meditate on God’s Word is to think and ponder on what His Word says. Here is a list of verses that can be handy to settle your mind: 1 Peter 1:13, Colossians 3:1-4, Romans 12:1-2, Psalm 121:1-2, Isaiah 43:1-3, and Matthew 11:28-30 (and many, many more).
• Talk about the Lord – Share with others about the hope you have in Christ. You are likely surrounded with people who are feeling hopeless and isolated. God has planted you where you are for a reason.

I am praying for you regarding this, and I hope that you will pray for me as well. There is no better place to set our hope and our focus than on Jesus. This makes me think of Paul’s words in Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Sojourners, I can promise you that there is only one thing out there that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise; His name is Jesus. And, oh, what a change of mind occurs when we focus on Him – and a change of life, as well.

As always, I hope that you are loved and prayed for. Reach out if you need me. But, most importantly, you are loved by the King and any hand out to Him for help will not be brushed off.

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[i] For additional resources related to “preparing your mind for action” in the context of 1 Peter 1:13, you can check out the message from Christ Community Church on Sunday, July 19, 2020.

1 Peter 1:3-5 —

³ 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, ⁴ 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 salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Greetings, Sojourners (I will explain this later)!

I am excited to continue writing to you about HOPE! Hope is something that we need to carry on in our day-to-day lives. And it is hope that is missing in much of what we take in on a daily basis.

1 Peter’s original audience was dispersed from their homes and were exiles in foreign countries. They were driven out of their homes for their faith in Christ. Persecution sought to silence them, yet, for these early believers, it did not steal their hope – it made them missionaries.

Last week, our focus was on the nature of our “living hope”. We were reminded of God’s “great mercy” and how He causes “us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”. We looked at what it means to be born again and why it matters that our hope – found only in Jesus Christ – is living.

This “living hope” really helps to put things in perspective. By putting our hope in Jesus Christ and what He has done/is doing/will do for us, our point of view shifts. We shift from trying to earn, work, and do to trusting in what He did for us on the cross. We shift from looking at death as an ending because the grave could not hold our King. We shift from oppressive fear of the unknown to rejoicing in being known by a God who loves us, cares for us, and knows us.

So, if today finds you feeling hopeless, isolated, and alone, I am glad that God’s word has hope to share with you in today’s passage.

If you are born again, God has something special for you. We talk a lot about it when we look at the gospel and salvation, but, sometimes, we talk about it in such an abstract way that it seems as if it is not real to us. I am talking about eternal life.

You see, our “living hope” is not just for the here and now but for the always. Remember, these exiles were torn from the homeland where their ancestors had lived in for thousands of years – all the way back to their father Abraham (had many sons…). That land was intended to pass from them to their children, grandchildren, and so on. Now, that inheritance would go to someone else.  

It is hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea of an inheritance like that. My branch of the Harris family came out of what is now the back corner of Grenada lake. A representative came to my forefathers with a check, and, despite their disinterest in selling, bought the family plot and flooded it for our recreational pleasure. My great-grandfather and grandfather ended up in Riverdale Road in Grenada across from the airport. If you ride by now, you will not see the old home place because it was cleared out for the fence and equipment where the runway extension lights now burn.

We have all, at one time or another, fantasized about that distant rich uncle who passed away and left you millions and a mansion, but, even if no Harris had been displaced, there was no vast inheritance waiting for me. For these exiles an inheritance was expected. They were of Israel, God’s chosen people of old. There was history there between them and God – history and many promises. What could compare with that? Verse 4 lays it out: “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you”.

Once we are born again, we are born into an inheritance that supersedes anything that this world could offer. We are adopted into the family of the King of kings. He has an inheritance for us that is imperishable – that will neither die nor decay. It is undefiled – never be polluted or stained with sin. It is unfading – eternally fresh and flourishing. Our inheritance is full of life, peace, and perfection.

Most often, we equate this reward with Heaven. There is a street made of pure gold. Every precious stone known to man is used in the craftsmanship of its walls. There are riches there that no place on earth can even remotely begin to match. Yet it all pales in comparison to the glorious companionship we will have when we see Jesus! Eternity with Jesus is our inheritance! To echo the hymnwriter of old:

“What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see. I shall look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace…. What a day, glorious day, that will be!”

“What a Day That Will Be”, Jim Hill (1955)

What can give more hope than that? The worst threats that this world can throw at us cannot offer a terror that can stand against eternity. The world can threaten us, beat us down, and even kill us, but the world’s greatest threat, death, is our greatest reward, Life (Romans 6:23, John 14:6). So, we do not have to live hopeless frightened lives because we know there is more to the story.

Furthermore, there is nothing we can do to lose that inheritance! Peter tells us that it is “kept in heaven for you” (v. 4) and that we are protected by “God’s power…being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (v. 5). Since our salvation was not paid for by us, it is not kept by us. Because our salvation rests solely on the power and might of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, there is nothing that can wrestle it from His power (Romans 8:35-39). This is good news! And it should spur us on to hopeful living (Romans 8:24-25).

Just as the exiles that Peter wrote to did not cease serving the Lord when things got difficult (Acts 8:4), we must continue, patiently serving, when things get difficult. I think that Paul gives us a good example for what this hopeful living looks like in Philippians 1:21-23:

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better.”

When he penned these words, Paul was near the end of his life in a Roman prison. His sentence was death. Rather than cower in fear, he looked at his options: to live and continue preaching the gospel or to die under persecution and be with Jesus. Because of the HOPE that he had in Christ, he saw the first option as possible because his future was wrapped up in the second.

I do not know what you are going through right now, and I do not want to minimize your trials. Thankfully, we have likely not suffered in the same way that these exiles have. So, does this mean that what you are going through is not valid since it is less severe? Absolutely not! God’s Word gives us context to know that He can absolutely handle whatever situation we encounter – bad or worse. We can take whatever our situation to the Lord and trust that He has got this.

Maybe you are reading this and are at your wits end. Maybe you are contemplating giving up. Know that the “living hope” that Peter wrote about is not a hypothetical idea; that living hope exists in the person of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” If you reach out to Jesus for help, it is comforting to know that “the mighty hand of God” will reach out to pull you up rather than beat you down farther.

Jeremiah 29:11 is often taken out of context. It was originally part of a promise for Israel when their Babylonian captivity was over. But its words echo the sentiment in today’s passage: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” If you have trusted in Christ, He has not forgotten you and has “a future and a hope” for you that is far beyond anything offered in the world.

In the meantime, between now and eternity, we do not have to continue to think of ourselves as exiles and outcasts. That word can also be translated “sojourners”. A sojourn is a temporary stay. Those of us who are born again are only here temporarily – worshiping and serving our Lord until we see Him face to face. And that future gives us hope on our way.            

So, Sojourner, know that you are loved and prayed for on your journey. As always, feel free to reach out if you need anything.

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