The Word of the Lord endures forever. That Word is the Good News
that was announced to you. –1 Peter 1:25 (NRSVCE)
A Living Hope
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us a
new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an
inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are
protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last
time. In this you rejoice, even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so
that the genuineness of your faith — being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is
tested by fire — may be found to result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Although you have not seen Him, you love Him and even though you do not see Him now, you
believe in Him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the
outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Concerning this salvation, the Prophets who prophesied of the grace that was to be yours made
careful search and inquiry, inquiring about the person or time the Spirit of Christ within them
indicated when it testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent
glory. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the
things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you Good News by the
Holy Spirit sent from Heaven — things into which Angels long to look!
A Call For Holy Living
Therefore prepare your minds for action. Discipline yourselves. Set all your hope on the Grace
that Jesus Christ will being you when He is revealed.
Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formally had in ignorance.
Instead, as He who called you in Holy, be Holy yourselves in all your conduct, for it is written,
“You shall be Holy, for I am Holy.” (Leviticus 11:45; 19:2; 20:26)
If you invoke as Father the One who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live
in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the
futile way inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with
the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined
before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake.
Through Him you have come to trust in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him
Glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the Truth so that you have genuine
mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of
perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring Word of God. For
‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers and the flower falls but the Word of the Lord endures forever.’ That Word is
the Good News that was announced to you. –1 Peter 1:3-25
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