Chosen to be Obedient

FAITH IN ACTION:
LIVING AS FAITHFUL PEOPLE
God's Redemption
Fruits of Redemption

1 Peter 1:1-5

The Message

 ^1-2I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!

A New Life

 ^3-5What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole,

For Reflection
I have never been one to respond blindly to authority.  So, when I first encountered the concept of obedience, it disturbed me.  But, the fact is that in order to be freed to become what God wished me to become I had to accept the paradox that to become free I had to become loyally obedient to God.  Freedom results from obedience to God's law and his promise.  It is a freedom worth the sacrifice of the only thing I possess -- my independent self.  Giving up one's reliance on one's self for reliance on God's promise is a sacrifice worth making and reasserting each day.

Pray
that you will continue to reject the temptation to return to the self you had been.  Pray for the courage to sacrifice your self each day so that you can live the life promised.