He Earned Your Praise.

To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. – 1Pet. 1:4-5 KJV

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The scripture for today’s devotional is an extract from the letter of Simon Peter the disciple to a people he described as strangers and Elect of the Almighty God. They are strangers to the extent that he had not met them, he never met them just as he will never meet those of us who today, are equally included in this group of Christians. He however had no doubt that they were also Elects of the Almighty God because he is very much aware that they will not be able to proclaim or associate with Christ if they were not foreknown by God the Father – 1Pet. 1:2; Jn. 6:44; Rom. 8:29-30. The earthly acknowledgement of their status as Elects was made manifest because of their obedience to Jesus Christ after experiencing the sanctifying work of the Spirit and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ – 1Pet. 1:2. This became possible because of the grace made available by the Almighty God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ which is a follow-up to his death on the cross of Calvary – 1Pet. 1:3. We are thus able to experience the new birth that gives us access to an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade and is kept safe in heaven for us His children, which is the foundation scripture for today’s devotional. He also ensured that we never, by the temptations that we are exposed to in this world lose access to this inheritance by making his power available to us through His Holy Spirit, which has become a spiritual shield until the coming of His salvation – 1Pet. 1:4-5; Acts 1:8.

What a great revelation by Simon Peter of the immense Grace made available to the Christian, for Christians to know and appreciate the foundation and the pillar behind their successful Christian life. It is definitely not by might or power but by the spirit of the Most High – Zech. 4:6. In addition is the confirmation of hope of the great life after life that that the Christian has they have.

From the revelation of the Simon Peter, the genuine Christian should note the following:

1. That his/her status today as a born again Christian is not a new development. It was always part of the design of the Almighty God. God had foreknown those Her intended to call and purpose for which He wanted them called.
2. That the same Almighty God it was that provided the platform for the predestined role of the Christian to be achievable by guiding such a person with His Holy Spirit along the path of obedience to Jesus Christ with Holy Spirit itself being made available with the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
3. By this His special Grace, He made it possible for the predestined Elect to escape from the unrighteous life of inherited sin to the inherited life of a righteous person. Suddenly, old things passed away and all things were made new.
4. He also by virtue of the power released on the Christian due to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit made it possible to live a life that will not make such lose the reward of the new status as a born again Christian.

There is no doubt that for this immense dispensation of His grace, He has earned for Himself, the praise of every grateful Christian. The one who claims to be a Christian but does not praise Him is a confirmed ingrate.

This also is the reason why the true Christian should be willing to persevere through all forms of suffering and trials. Simon Peter reveals that such experiences serve as a test of the genuineness of our faith and trust in Him, after all His power made available to the Christian should be sufficient to convince that no matter how huge the trial or temptation may be, he/she will prevail. It will just be a question of how long he/she is willing to persevere.

The Christian today who is also included in this message of Simon Peter must focus on this great reward that is preserved for those who persevere till the end. Truth be told, all that is being used to test the faith of the Christian will definitely be lost eventually even if there was no test involving them. All the earthly wealth will be lost once death comes and this is an assured fate of all that were born into the world. However, the stake if the Christian perseveres is access to a heavenly treasure that will not perish, spoil or fade and is kept preserved by the power of the Almighty God. Pray for the ability to withstand whatever situation you may be facing as failure to do so will only lead to eternal loss for the Christian after all the effort to live a Christian life style. May God grant us all resilience to persevere through all trials and temptations in Jesus name. Amen.