A weekday morning devotional series written by Aaron Marcarelli and hosted by Chad McBeam
“As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.”
1 Peter 1:10-11 NASB2020
The prophets foretold of the coming Messiah. Zachariah, Elijah, Jeremiah and Isaiah all prophesied of the one who would rescue us from eternal damnation. Isaiah said of the Messiah “He was despised and abandoned by men, A man of great pain and familiar with sickness; And like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we had no regard for Him.
However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, And our pains that He carried; Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, Struck down by God, and humiliated. But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all To fall on Him.”
Isaiah 53:3-6 NASB2020
I don’t believe Isaiah could be more clear. This is what happened to Jesus of Nazareth. This is the salvation story that Peter is reinforcing in his words. Christ suffered for us, so we would not have to face eternal suffering. That is the ultimate But God moment. We were dead, we were destined for hell, Satan thought he had won because he killed the Son. Nope! But God raised Jesus on the 3rd day conquering death and vanquishing Satan for all eternity.
Yes, we face trials and tribulations, but we should “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2-4 NASB2020
Therefore, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 NASB2020
This is the type of faith that we as followers must have. Remember, Christ is in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. What an amazing gift we have. Let us use The Holy Spirit, rely on The Holy Spirit and rest in The Holy Spirit.
Lord, we honor and praise your Holy and Perfect Name. We thank you for the power of The Holy Spirit that lives and dwells in us! We thank you for the eternal salvation that you have so richly blessed us with. Help us to rely on You and the power of The Holy Spirit. We pray all these things in Jesus Name. Amen…
Shalom Shalom Blessings and Press In and Press On!