Are You Trying to Figure Out What to Let Go of or Hold to in 2021?

Read |1 Peter 1:13 - 19, CSB|

A little under 2000 years ago (AD 62 - 64) the Apostle Peter wrote a letter to believers scattered all throughout the Roman empire: in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. (1 Peter 1: 1).  He wrote to encourage them to remain unmoved in their hope (steadfast reliance) in Jesus Christ during a period of intense persecution, under Emperor Nero. 

He begins his encouragement by reminding them of some core truths:

• They were chosen by God to be saved, by grace, through reliance on the  finished work of Jesus Christ. The finished work being Jesus Christ’s full payment for their sins on the cross, where He received their punishment, and His resurrection by the Spirit of God on the third day-proof that Jesus’ payment for their sins was sufficient (lacking nothing and complete in every way). (1 Peter 1: 1 - 2).
• God did not suspend his omniscience (perfect and complete knowledge of everything) in His election of them as recipients of His kindness. (1 Peter 1: 1). 
• They had been born again, i.e. given a new God honoring nature at the point of relying on the finished work of Jesus Christ. He emphasized that being born again meant that they now had a sure expectation of being embraced unreservedly by Jesus Christ at His appearing on the last day. (1 Peter 1: 5 - 12). 
• They had an inheritance (the spiritual blessings we experience by relying on Jesus Christ and our future resurrection and home with God) that the trials and tribulations of their day (though being severe) could not steal, kill or destroy because it was kept safe in heaven. (1 Peter 1: 3 - 6).

He continues his encouragement by highlighting two specific ways in which they should live in light of the core truths that start his letter:

1. Letting go of an obedience to the desires of their lives before relying on Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1: 14, 18 - 19). Forsaking the ways of the flesh  (Galatians 5: 19 - 21 and Colossians 3: 5 - 10).
2. Taking hold of a life lived in obedience to the Holy Spirit, resulting in holy conduct. (1 Peter 1: 15 - 17). Clinging to the ways of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5: 13 - 26 and Colossians 3: 12 - 17).

Today, we are the believers spread abroad-found in every nation. Today, we are the believers who, for the sake of Jesus Christ, experience all forms of suffering. And today, we can take hold of the very same core truths of which Peter reminded the early Church because they belong to all saints (past, present and to come): we were chosen by God to be saved; we were chosen by God in full knowledge, as recipients of His kindness; we have been born again and; we have an imperishable inheritance. 

Pause and Reflect: 
1. Which of these core truths do you struggle to understand and or accept?

TRY: Using your concordance at the back of your Bible to identify other places where this core truth is mentioned and explained. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help to read and study those passages with understanding. Seek the help of a mentor in the faith, who has a lifestyle of reading, studying, rightly dividing and living the Word of God. You are also invited to join us, online, in Be-Held Bible Study.

2. Which of these core truths encourages you the most today?

TRY: Expressing gratitude to God who has made those truths a reality in your life. Express it with your mouth, with your lived agreement and by sharing it with another sister. You may be the mentor needed for the sister who struggles to accept these truths in her life. Also, consider coming up with a creative way to share it with your children or other children under your rightful influence. If you take this step with children, check out these resources at Awana.

And just as we can take hold of the same truths as the early Church, we are also called to live in the same ways: letting go our obedience to the flesh and taking hold of a life directed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, we were rescued from the danger of Hell, but we were also rescued for the glory of God. We glorify (make Him known) when we live as He did in the person of Jesus Christ. We can only live this way when we obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. 

In obeying the promptings of the Holy Spirit our day-to-day conduct becomes holy. We let go of “sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar.” (Galatians 5: 19 - 21, CSB). We take hold of continuous expressions of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,” by the power the Holy Spirit provides as we rely on Jesus Christ. (Galatians 5: 22 - 23, CSB).​

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Reflect

How does today’s sharing invite you, as a child of God, to live? (Hint: use the categories below to help you reflect).

• Spiritually: How you relate to God
• Soul and Mind: How you think, choose, your sense of right and wrong and your feelings
• Body: What you do with it (actions); where you take it (environment); how you treat it (give and or withhold); with whom you share it and why.​