Peter outlines the effect God’s word has on humans when we respond to it with faith and obedience.
When we trust and obey God’s truth, the result is a transformed life.
Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual affection, love one another deeply from the heart (1 Peter 1.22).
I had lunch today with two men who are radiant examples of this verse. They both have a healthy inside conditions and show it by the way they care for other people.
I remarked to one man that he is a dramatically changed person from the man I previously knew.
He told me that he finally surrendered everything to the Lord.
He immerses himself in God’s word by listening to preachers on YouTube and the radio. In addition, he is reading through the New Testament.
What a great choice!
New Birth
When people hear the good news message of God’s love and respond to it in faith, the result is the new birth.
You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God (1 Peter 1.23).
God’s word is living because it produces life.
It is enduring because it produces eternal life and is eternally true and relevant.
When we trust our lives to the Gospel message, the Holy Spirit enters our lives and gives us a new birth.
Let’s not stop at this point. We should come each day to God’s imperishable, living, and enduring word to deepen our relationship with the Lord.
Living and Enduring
God’s word is living and enduring. When we feast on the truth of God’s word, we will live and endure the struggles of life.
For
“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
But the word of the Lord endures forever.”
That word is the good news that was announced to you. (1 Peter 1.24-25)
I worked in a warehouse in my late teens. I marveled at the strength of one old man.
I couldn’t believe this 40-year-old man was so strong. I laugh today that I considered him to be old, especially viewed from the vantage point of my being in my 70s.
An “old” sports star in his 40s remarked that professional sports are a “young man’s game.”
Peter is right. Prime physical fitness and beauty are fleeting, but God’s word endures forever.
The best choice we can make is to rely on God’s living and enduring word rather than the pride of human self-sufficiency.
We can do this by reading God’s word and following its directions.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I continue our discussion of 1 Peter on YouTube. You can see the video on the Bob Spradling channel.
Please email your prayer request to bsprad49@gmail.com. The Maywood prayer team will pray for you.
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