Living in our Resurrection Hope!

Here is an Easter Resurrection passage for us to dwell on this week – 1 Peter 1:3-9, 13-16. I’ve bolded the parts I think we should focus on.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ 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, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

We are now in the very joyful and wonderful Easter season of the church calendar year. I want to encourage you all to meditate on this passage and think about the inexpressible riches we have in our Lord Jesus. Through Jesus, not only do we get abundant life with God now, but we get eternal life and perfect happiness forever. Jesus has conquered our sin and conquered our death. In him we have full forgiveness and get to worship God and enjoy his love.

As we wait for Jesus to come back and make all things new, we do have to suffer grief in various forms and trials. Some of the trials which we face are dealing with daily temptations to sin. I just had a slight temptation a few minutes ago. They are a pain in the butt. I cannot wait until Jesus returns! I cannot wait until God transforms my heart and mind fully and completely so that I no longer give in to irrational lies and mess myself up in sin. I cannot wait until God transforms my heart and mind fully so that I am no longer even tempted to sin, or ever tempted to crossdress again.

As we wait we must focus on being holy. We must resist crossdressing and all of its perversity. How do we do this? Verse 13 says we set our hopes on the grace given to us in Christ Jesus, what we have already received, and the grace coming when Jesus returns. We respond to God’s grace with obedience and thanksgiving. And we look at God’s holiness as our example. We are to be holy like he is holy.

Let us all live in the victorious resurrection power which Jesus bestows on us through the Holy Spirit. Let’s give up our addictions and slavery to crossdressing and enjoy abundant life with Jesus! Here is a song to help you realize your victory you have in Jesus – Victory.