Our eternal inheritance was certain before any of us had life and even before the foundation of the world. Those who have put their faith in Christ can be confident of this inheritance because God has already provided the first installment of it by sealing us with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of what’s to come; He is the downpayment of our eternal inheritance!


Questions for further thought:
1. In what ways have you been called to repentance because of this glorious truth?
2. What is preventing you from turning from your sin and placing your trust completely in Jesus right now?

Challenge: Pray this aloud… Lord, help us not take for granted the awesome eternal inheritance that only comes through faith In Him (Jesus) (v. 11). May we have boldness and courage to share this great truth with a lost and dying world who desperately need the hope only found In Him (v. 13).

Paul uses two words to describe the Christians in Ephesus: saints and faithful. Every Christian is both. The word “saint” means holy one, and refers to someone who is set apart for God and His purposes. We are saints because of what Christ did for us. He made us clean and holy. In Ephesians 1:1, the word “faithful” does not mean “dependable” as much as “full of faith in Jesus Christ”. A Christian is a person made holy by God (a saint) and a person who trusts wholly in Christ (faithful).

Questions for further thought:
1. Do you consider yourself a saint? (This is not arrogant, remember who does the work)
2. Why or why not?

Challenge: God knows the depths of our hearts and lovingly reveals what is hidden below the surface. Ask Him to use His Word to continue searching and cleansing you so that you can become the man or woman of God that He intends you to be.

In this letter, Peter primarily approaches two difficult subjects: holiness and suffering. Peter would agree with Paul that holiness and suffering are vitally connected (See Romans 5:3-4). He knows that the holy will suffer and that the holy will be made more holy as they share in Christ’s sufferings. To take his readers into the commands of holiness and the demands of hardship, however, Peter must first take them to the power and assurance necessary for both. The power is found only in the Gospel. Consider how Peter rejoices in the Gospel in the opening paragraph to the letter. We are “born again to a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3), “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” that is “kept in heaven” for us. It is important for believers to be reminded of our future hope so that we have the strength to obey and face suffering. We find strength knowing that we are forgiven for all eternity; and we are encouraged to hope in God through hardship, knowing that our souls are infinitely secure in Christ. AMEN!!

Questions for further thought:
1. In what ways can you consider your future inheritance even in your current suffering?
2. How might you pray for God’s strength, wisdom, and joy even in this season of suffering?  

Challenge: Our eternal security in Christ gives us strength to face suffering in this temporary world.
Prayerfully reflect on the future promises Peter describes asking God to give you joy as you consider what lies ahead in eternity.

Paul’s words in these verses are so practical we may gloss over their radical nature. Serving Christ isn’t just about obvious spiritual matters. There is no corner of our lives empty of opportunities to serve Him, no matter how menial or seemingly inconsequential the task He places before us. In fact, other than your decision to believe in Jesus Christ, the choice to serve Him will be more formative in your spiritual life than any other decision. Serving Christ also tethers your heart to the Cross. People are counting on you to be a faithful servant, whether they realize it or not. You have an awe-inspiring privilege to work in Christ’s kingdom. If you open your heart to this, you will begin to see an incredible array of service opportunities set before you each day. The life you were designed to experience begins with the decision only you can make and leads to an inheritance that is absolute: I choose to serve Jesus Christ.

Questions for further thought:
1. Where are you heartily serving Christ right now?
2. What have you found are the benefits of serving Christ?

Challenge: Let us seek opportunities to serve Jesus and the body of Christ. Not because we have to, but because we want to.

Webster’s dictionary defines the word inherit as “to come into a possession of or receive especially as a right or divine portion”.  The word inheritance is used many times in the Scripture and seems to indicate the Lord will ensure the believer that he or she will receive a just, eternal compensation for his or her efforts, even if our human boss does not compensate fairly. As Paul writes to the young Christians in Colossae, we see the grace of the Father, the Gospel of the Son, and the love of the Spirit are enabling this church to experience and show the reality of Christ in their lives. The fruitful work of God in Colossae is the direct result of the church being delivered from the realm of darkness and transferred into the realm of light. Through Christ’s work on the cross, they have been rescued from and forgiven of their sin. Because of the transfer from darkness to light, Paul calls them to live a new life that pleases God and bears good fruit. Notice that the inheritance can be realized now through the knowledge, wisdom, and power that He provides in order to live the Christian life with patience, joy, and thanksgiving. Let us give thanks for the inheritance of grace that God provides through faith in His Son Jesus Christ!

Questions for further thought:
1. When you think of the word inheritance, what ideas first come to mind?
2. In what ways do you see the Lord providing you a portion of your inheritance right now? Or do you consider this just a future event?

Challenge: Lord Jesus, we do know that we need to be different, and we need to be “in the world, not of it.”  Help us to become more holy in the way you want us to be, as we know we neither understand nor can do alone. In your name, Amen.

As everyday saints we are called to be different: different from this world and what the world knows and expects. The only way to really do this is to be completely enveloped in the Word and to let the Word inform and direct our daily habits, acts, relationships, and lives. This is not optional for us. God Himself commands us to be different. Happily for us, He makes it easy for us to be different and gives us access to Him to know how to be so. And Amen for that!

Questions for further thought:
1. Do we ask God to help us be different each and every day?
2. Do we ask God to help others see the difference that God can make in their lives?

Challenge: Lord, you told us yourself that all of the commandments rested upon loving you with all of our heart, mind, and soul, and to love others as we love you. Help us to have more of your heart and mind in us and help us to love our brothers and sisters in this world, even the unbelievers. And help us to be different and for them to see us as such. In your name, amen.

We as Christians, when we are saved, are clean. Pastor Doug has touched on this. This doesn’t mean that we don’t sin and that we don’t need to be forgiven from new sin; it just means that we are no longer under the permanent judgment of God caused by that sin. But we also need to embrace holiness in our souls. Essentially, this is communing with God to grow in faith and to constantly ask for His love and forgiveness and wisdom to grow in holiness with Him. 

Questions for further thought:
1. Do we ask for regular forgiveness from God for our sins?
2. Do we pray for holiness in our very beings – our souls – from Him and through His power?

​Challenge: Lord, we know that you make us “clean and whole” but we also wish to grow in holiness in our very souls. We pray that you hear our prayers for forgiveness of sins and also to be holy as you want us to be.  Amen.

You have heard it said: “You are what you think.” This has been proven true even more so in the era of social science and psychological studies and data. Our minds are no different than our bodies; what we put in affects what we think about and say and act. And God’s purpose is to transform our minds to more of His thinking, and not that of this fallen world’s.

Questions for further thought:
1. What do we do to protect our minds from media and entertainment which (frankly) corrupt it?
2. What are the things we should be thinking about that would please God?  

​Challenge: Lord, help us to think on the things of you and that which honors and glorifies you. Help us to stay away from all that takes our minds away FROM you and your goodness. And help us have discipline to do this daily.  In your name, Amen.

You’ve doubtlessly heard it said many times “your body is a temple.” It does actually happen to be true. Remember, you didn’t create you; God did. That includes your body. So we need to treat it with the respect and dignity that God intended for anything He made as holy. This includes health decisions, but it also includes moral living (Biblical) as much as we can. Are we asking for help with this area of our lives from Him?

Questions for further thought:
1. Do we pray that we treat our body with the respect God desires us to?
2. Do we then take steps to execute the best ways to do so?

​Challenge: Let us pray to keep our bodies as holy as the temples that He intended for all of ours to be. This includes all of the healthy ways that are good for us but also to live in a moral fashion as He commands. God’s temples deserve no less, and others will see us as different as well.

The world, since Genesis 3, has been in a world of hurt and sin (putting it mildly). It has made rules that God doesn’t ask for, and disregards the rules God does prescribe. And it hasn’t stopped. So how do we become different in this world while living in it? It is often very difficult but the key thing is to remember the words of the One who created the world and humans, and not the one who deceived humans and twisted the world. To be everyday saints, we must be holy and think and act as holy beings, despite our sinful nature.

Questions for further thought:
1. What does it mean in your life to be holy?
2. Where are the areas in your life in which, frankly, more holiness might be needed?

​Challenge: Lord Jesus, we do know that we need to be different, and we need to be “in the world, not of it.”  Help us to become more holy in the way you want us to be, as we know we neither understand nor can do alone. In your name, Amen.