thank you, jesus
"Realize that you were delivered from the futile way of life your fathers handed on to you, not by any diminishable sum of silver or gold, but by Christ's blood beyond all price." —1 Peter 1:18-19
When we give our lives to Jesus and accept Him as our Savior, Lord, and God, we change from darkness to light, futility to fulfillment, and death to life. We think we'll never forget what a difference it is to be a Christian. Yet after a while the devil tries to take the edge off of our Christian joy. He tries to diminish the life-changing significance of belonging to Jesus. However, the Lord reminds us that we have been delivered from the futile way of life "by Christ's blood beyond all price" (1 Pt 1:18-19).
Sometimes the devil tries us to make us think that, although we are Christians, we aren't centered on God. However, God's word says: "It is through [Jesus] that you are believers in God, the God Who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory. Your faith and hope, then, are centered in God" (1 Pt 1:21).
Another lie of the evil one is to make us doubt the permanence of our life in Christ. God's word again counters with the truth: "Your rebirth has come, not from a destructible but from an indestructible seed, through the living and enduring Word of God...the grass withers, the flower wilts, but the Word of the Lord endures forever" (1 Pt 1:23, 24).
Our life in Christ is not diminishable, not insufficient, and not destructible. Our life in Christ is full, perfect, and eternal. We must not let the devil rob us of our joy in Christ. We must resist his temptations and live by faith our glorious life in Christ.
Prayer: Father, may I "rejoice with inexpressible joy" (1 Pt 1:8) because I am a Christian.
Promise: "The Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve — to give His life in ransom for the many." —Mk 10:45
Praise: Bill and Sarah allowed God to work through their marriage by teaching new Catholics in the RCIA program for eighteen years.
Rescript: †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 23, 2007
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