! Peter 3 : 15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you , with meekness and fear.”
Dear God,
To love and serve You is at the core of my being and delight. Even though at times I am a poor reflection of Your love, because I tend to go about doing what I want and not what You want me to do. I am always humbled, that through Your spirit, I am bought back to Yourself, and then I see the error of my ways and in repentance ask forgiveness knowing that You attend to all such prayers. Then instead of being self-willed and rebellious, I am contrite, remembering that I cannot even do what is right in Your sight in my own judgement; but I can in the wisdom and strength of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah, all praise to You, beloved Father God and Son.
Thank You for Your mercy and love manifested by the Holy Spirit, who changes me and empowers me so that I can truly have You in my heart. Then You are my hope in all things, especially for the future here on earth, for eternal life, when Jesus Christ comes to collect His own from this old, tired earth, and takes them to live in heaven with Him forever. I have the anticipation of heaven as a place of purity, amidst bright vibrant colours and life, in which sin, death and decay never intrudes or has a place, because the glory our God the Father and Jesus, King of Kings are at the centre, illuminating all of heaven.
The opening text for me, also refers to the fact, that not only do I have Your glorious hope, pulsating through my being, I then with joy bubbling out of my being, will tell others about the reason for the hope I have, not in a ‘cock sure’ way, believing I deserve to be chosen by Jesus, but in meekness and gratitude I acknowledge, He IS in my all.
I am glad that I learned many hymns as a young person in boarding school and one comes to mind that reminds me of what we have in Jesus,
My hope is built on nothing else, than Jesus blood and righteousness,
I dare not trust thrust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
Chorus:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand.
I have just focused on the first verse in my talk with You, but the other three also remind me and speak to my heart afresh today. Please keep these words in my mind throughout the next few days, so I can ponder on them and be filled with gratitude for life lived with this knowledge and experiences with Jesus. Then another gem from Your Holy Word or well-known Hymn will take my attention, and I will have the enrichment of thinking on that for a while, for which I give sincere thanks.
Amen