Daily Devotional Details

Date

I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 1 Peter 5:12 (NIV)

Peter is not writing this letter to explain what Christians believe. He is writing primarily to explain how Christians are to live. More than any other book in the Bible, 1 Peter sets out the experience of the Christian life. It is a manual of discipleship.

It is very significant that the Holy Spirit moved Peter to write this book. He was the leading disciple of Jesus. He knew the highs and lows of the Christian life from his own experience.

Peter was the one who confessed that Jesus is ‘the Christ’ (Mat. 16:16). He was also the one who denied that he ever knew Jesus. He walked on water because his faith was so strong, and he nearly drowned because his faith was so weak. Peter discovered the grace of God in his own life, and he wrote this letter to encourage new believers in their faith.

Most online accounts require that you set up a user ID. You probably have several of them, and they are all different ways of describing yourself. Peter starts his letter by listing five different user IDs for Christian believers. They are God’s elect, strangers in the world, chosen by God, set apart by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus, and sprinkled by the blood of Christ. In Jesus Christ, all these things are true of you.

Peter wants these young Christians to know that they’ve got the real deal. You may face great difficulties, but don’t ever forget that what you have is the true grace of God, so stick with it.

Do you recognize yourself in the five user IDs Peter uses to describe Christians?