Surrender: A devotional on desperation, humility, and giving over

 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for. — 1 Peter 2:6-8 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, You are precious to me. I trust You. When everything around me feels tenuous and temporary, You are my foundation. When people fail me and my feelings are hurt, You are who I trust. When I trust in You, my shame is erased and You lift my head high. For those who do not believe, You are not precious to them. Instead, You make people stumble and fall. You are an offense and a stumbling block. As people attempt to live their life independent of You, rejecting You as the found...

 "As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." — 1 Peter 2:4-5 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, As I come to You, the Living Stone, you are my Rock in the wilderness struck once for me and for all to provide sustaining living water (Deuteronomy 32:4). You are the Rock not cut with hands that will bring an end to the worldly governments and will establish God's Kingdom that will cover the earth and never end (Daniel 2:34). You are the Living Stone rejected by humanity—the very ones You came to rescue (Isaiah 53:3)—but chosen by God and precious to Him (Matthew 3:17). As I come to You, I too am like a living stone. But a stone is of little use until it is positioned in its proper place upon a firm foundation being built up with others together into a s...

 "Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." — 1 Peter 2:1-3 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, In light of all that Peter has just said about the imperishable and eternal Word of God, I am to therefore cast off, put aside, and get rid of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Each of those words is worthy of study and inspection, but the one I'll focus on now is "slander." The Greek word is  katalalia  and it means "defamation, back-biting, evil speaking." Unfortunately in the church, this evil habit is all too common. We pick up an offense, harbor a grievance, and then form an alliance with others by speaking negatively against someone behind their back. Even speaking true but damaging information can be considere...

 "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you." — 1 Peter 1:23-25 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, I have been born again, not of a seed that perishes or becomes corrupted over time, but from the imperishable seed of Your word (logos)  which lives, endures, and abides forever. I am like grass and any glory I have is like the flowers of the field. I will one day wither and fall, but the word (rhema)  of the Lord will never fade, wither, or fall. Your word endures forever. Your written Word (logos) , spoken in the past, is eternal and despite man's attempt through the centuries to ban, abolish, and burn your word, it will never die. Your spoken Word (rhema) that You are speaki...

 "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart." — 1 Peter 1:22 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, When I choose to obey the truth—no longer living in ignorance (vs. 14), or living the empty way of life (vs. 18), but living as an obedient child who wants to please their Heavenly Father (vs. 14)—I am purified. That means I am made clean, I am sanctified. The pollution that's settled upon my soul gets washed out and filtered away. Merely reading God's Word—the Truth—won't do that. I must obey God's Word. Reading and obeying the truth is what purifies me. The result of this purified heart is a capacity to love others. The quality of this love for others is twofold: sincere and fervent. Sincere love is unfeigned, undisguised, without hypocrisy. It is genuine and authentic. There is nothing fake or pretend about it. This love for others is also fervent. To l...

 "He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." — 1 Peter 1:20-21 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, You were chosen before the creation of the world. You weren't God's "Plan B". You were The Plan all along. God the Father knew that His creation would need redemption and You were chosen as our Redeemer before the world even existed. You were revealed to mankind in these last times for my sake. I could have been born at any point in time, but God saw fit for me to exist in this time and place, as an eternal beneficiary of Your life, death, and resurrection in these last days. Through You, I do believe in God. I believe in the One True God who raised You from the dead and glorified You. This is the God in whom I believe. Romans 4:17 describes God as "the God who gives life to...

 "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." — 1 Peter 1:18-19 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, I have been redeemed, ransomed, liberated from an empty and futile way of life that was aimless and without purpose. I inherited this way of living from my forefathers who inherited it from theirs. But now this empty way of life has been interrupted, turned around, and given incredible purpose. I have been set free from the old way, not with something valuable but perishable like precious metals, but with Your precious blood. The blood of Christ while finite in quantity is infinite in value. It was Your blood, poured out for me from the Cross that covers all my sin—past, present, and future. My sin is atoned for by Your sinless blood, like a lamb without spot or blemish, sacrifi...

 "Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear." — 1 Peter 1:17 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Peter made an observation on his readers that I have to assess for myself personally. Do I call on the Father? It gives me pause because I'm still navigating and understanding how I view the Father Heart of God. Today, may this be a reminder to me to  call on the Father, to not fear calling on the Father, to ask my Father for what I need! He's a good, good Father who cares for me! He is also a Father who judges and He judges each person's work—what we do with this life—impartially. He doesn't play favorites. We will stand before Him on level ground and be held accountable and rewarded for how we invested our time on this earth. How will my life be weighed and judged? Will I leave an impact upon people's lives? Will my work be judged and found lacking or will my work be me...

 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” — 1 Peter 1:14-16 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, When thinking about being an obedient child, one might conjure up the image of a dutiful but woefully restrained child, unable to live the carefree, childlike life they were created for. Forced instead into living a dull drudgery in order to please and satisfy their heavy-handed parent. Quite to the contrary, the picture of an obedient child is of a child who truly feels loved and cherished by their parent and wants to obey. They aren't like the unruly, untrained kids surrounding them. They aren't rebellious and selfish. They are mature for their age, pleasant to be around, and a delight to their parent. They aren't controlled and constrained. They are free to be who they were made to be within the safe boun...

"Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things." — 1 Peter 1:10-12 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The prophets who long ago foretold of your coming, your suffering, and your glory, were not serving themselves but me! I am the beneficiary of their intent searching and careful listening to the Holy Spirit. They were uncertain as to the time and place you would appear, but they were certain you would come. The Gospel message I have now heard, received, ...

 "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." — 1 Peter 1:8-9 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, While the Apostle Peter had seen you, following you every day for three years, his audience largely had not. I have that in common with them. I've never seen you. Yet, I love you. I love you because you first loved me. I love you because you rescued me. I love you because you care for me. Even though I have not seen you and don't see you now, I believe in you and the result of this love for you is a glorious joy that can't adequately be described by any earthly language. It is inexpressible and unspeakable. It is a joy that wells up within me and cannot be contained. This joy is unlike the fleeting feeling of happiness or the momentary contentment I find through world...