Are you ready to make a fresh start in 2022? I’m not talking about goals and resolutions but a whole new way of life. Let’s stop living in regret and failure and focus more on God’s grace.
The apostle Peter knew all about grace. He knew he was a sinner (Luke 5:8), whose salvation was only through God’s “great mercy” (1 Peter 1:3). He swore he would never deny his commitment to Jesus, but when push came to shove, Peter denied he even knew the Lord (Matthew 26:35; 69-75). The most outspoken disciple let Jesus take up His cross while he lied like a coward.
Yet when Jesus was raised from the dead, He made a special point to reconnect with and recommission Peter (John 21:15-19). Thus, Peter is the ideal person to teach about God’s undeserved, unearned grace. Just the kind we need for a fresh start.
As we read 1 Peter chapter one, we see how God has chosen us (v. 1) and cleansed us from our sin through Christ’s sacrifice (v. 2). Through Jesus, grace and peace can be “multiplied” to us even now (v. 3). By faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have an eternal, never-fading inheritance in heaven (v. 4). We can be certain heaven is our forever home because God is keeping us–guarding us–by His almighty power (v. 5)!
Peter wants us to get serious about remembering the grace that came to us when we first believed, but there’s more. He writes, “set your hope [trust] fully on the grace that will be brought to you” when Jesus returns (v. 13). That means there’s even more grace to come! We can make a fresh start in 2022, living for God’s glory because of His past, present, and future grace.
