1 Peter 1:24-25a

It’s spring and beautiful flowers are starting to come into bloom, BUT THEY WON’T LAST! I used to run marathons, BUT I RECENTLY HAD A HIP REPLACEMENT! In today’s passage, Peter reminds us of a crucial contrast. All things associated with the physical world, with our physical birth, are temporary and fading away. But this is not totally bad news because my sin nature and all that flows out of it is attached to my earthly vessel. By contrast, the Word of the Lord which culminates in the GOOD NEWS that saves us and changes us is eternal (“REMAINS FOREVER”). And that means we will “remain forever!” Peter’s practical application for the here and now is that if we try to function as a church family according to our physical, fleshly nature it will never work. We will just keep stumbling over each other (OR BETTER, STOMPING ON EACH OTHER!) in our sinful selfishness. But if we function out of our new nature and in alignment with His eternal Word we will love and serve one another deeply from the heart. (1:22). Warren Wiersbe summarizes this way: The externals of the flesh that could divide us mean nothing when compared with the eternals of the Spirit that unite us.

PASSAGE: for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25  but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

PAUSE: We need the Word of God in our lives. Jesus said that if we abide in him and his word abides in us, we will show the world that we are indeed his disciples. When was the last time you quieted your soul and read the Bible?    

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I desire to be in the word of the Lord daily. Grant me an unending hunger and desire to read and apply the Scriptures to my life.