Day 93 – A Living Hope

₁From Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ —

To God's chosen people who live as refugees scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. ₂You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood.

May grace and peace be yours in full measure.

₃Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope, ₄and so we look forward to possessing the rich blessings that God keeps for his people. He keeps them for you in heaven, where they cannot decay or spoil or fade away. ₅They are for you, who through faith are kept safe by God's power for the salvation which is ready to be revealed at the end of time.

₆Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. ₇Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honour on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed. ₈You love him, although you have not seen him, and you believe in him, although you do not now see him. So you rejoice with a great and glorious joy which words cannot express, ₉because you are receiving the salvation of your souls, which is the purpose of your faith in him.

₁₀It was concerning this salvation that the prophets made careful search and investigation, and they prophesied about this gift which God would give you. ₁₁They tried to find out when the time would be and how it would come. This was the time to which Christ's Spirit in them was pointing, in predicting the sufferings that Christ would have to endure and the glory that would follow. ₁₂God revealed to these prophets that their work was not for their own benefit, but for yours, as they spoke about those things which you have now heard from the messengers who announced the Good News by the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These are things which even the angels would like to understand.

₁₃So then, have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. ₁₄Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant. ₁₅Instead, be holy in all that you do, just as God who called you is holy. ₁₆The scripture says, “Be holy because I am holy.”

₁₇You call him Father, when you pray to God, who judges all people by the same standard, according to what each one has done; so then, spend the rest of your lives here on earth in reverence for him. ₁₈For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life handed down by your ancestors. It was not something that can be destroyed, such as silver or gold; ₁₉it was the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or flaw. ₂₀He had been chosen by God before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last days for your sake. ₂₁Through him you believe in God, who raised him from death and gave him glory; and so your faith and hope are fixed on God.

₂₂Now that by your obedience to the truth you have purified yourselves and have come to have a sincere love for your fellow-believers, love one another earnestly with all your heart. ₂₃For through the living and eternal word of God you have been born again as the children of a parent who is immortal, not mortal. ₂₄As the scripture says:

₁Rid yourselves, then, of all evil; no more lying or hypocrisy or jealousy or insulting language. ₂Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved. ₃As the scripture says, “You have found out for yourselves how kind the Lord is.”

₄Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable. ₅Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. ₆For the scripture says:

₉But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvellous light. ₁₀At one time you were not God's people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God's mercy, but now you have received his mercy.

₁₁I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul. ₁₂Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that when they accuse you of being evildoers, they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.