I Peter 1: 1-2
Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ,
This is Peter who denied Jesus three times, and was restored on the shore of Lake Tiberius when Jesus fixed them breakfast after their night of fishing.
And Peter is the one who stood up and preached to the Jews in Jerusalem who had gathered from all parts of the known world for the Feast of Pentecost, and three thousand people became Believers, some of whom were from the areas mentioned next.
To those who reside as aliens, throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
These are Jews who lived in these Gentile areas. These are areas that are to the North and East of where Paul took his missionary journeys, so their faith came from being in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, when they heard Peter's sermon; and those who believed through them.
who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
When the Father, the Son, and the Spirit decided to create, and that they would give Mankind a free choice, that is when the Father decided that those who would want to come to Him would be the ones who would be saved. He knew our names even then.
by the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
It is the Spirit who sets us apart to understand God's call and come to Jesus.
to obey Jesus Christ
Jesus is our Christ, and He is also the Law-Giver of the Old Testament. He knew what He would do, so He told His people so they would recognize Him. When the Spirit opens our eyes, then we can see that Jesus is our Savior, and turn to Him.
and be sprinkled with His Blood:
When we turn to Jesus, we realize that He is our personal Sacrifice who took our place in death, and His Blood that sprinkled the sides of His altar, the Cross, will not just cover, but wash away all our sinfulness. Both the sins we are guilty of, and our very sin-nature we are born with naturally.
May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
This is Peter's greeting to these scattered Messianic Jews. It's only the very beginning of his letter to them. This is Peter's "Dear Brothers."
All the things Peter described here only constitute the first step, the birth of the new baby.
These are things we need to understand first, the "mother's milk" to nourish us as we grow into the toddlerhood of our spiritual life. As we learn to walk in the knowledge of God, we will progress along the path God has put our feet on, that narrow path that leads to glory.
O my Father, thank You so much for knowing us, and loving us, and choosing us out of the World, so we can be born into Your own family. Thank You for the new identity You give each of us, to learn to live as Your children, the children of the Great King.
Father, hold our hands as we travel this road with You, learning who You are, and who we are now. Help us to pay attention to Your lessons, to learn how to think Your thoughts and have Your attitudes and views.
Keep us from going back to our old ways, Father. You have given us Your own Spirit to live in us to strengthen us, so we have no excuse.
Thank You for Peter, Father. Thank You for Jesus who Loves us more than we can imagine; to leave his glory in Heaven with You to be one of us, so that He could make us fit to live with You. You didn't want Heaven without us, so You did everything possible so we could be able to be with You.
Father, Your plans for each one of us brings us through all the trials, troubles, and sorrows this World can throw at us, but Your Spirit in us encourages us and strengthens us and enables us to carry on, to push through, and to gain the victory.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
