Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you don’t have all the equipment you need to accomplish a goal? Whilst in South Sudan, Matt, Garret and Blake were trying to remove a transmission from a truck and fairly frustrated because all they had for the job were a small set of hand tools from K-Mart. Blake kept making sounds like an air wrench to emphasize how woefully ill-equipped they were for that particular job.

In our study of Peter, we’ve learned that as followers of Christ, we are like foreign travelers through this world’s system.  In our next set of verses this Sunday (1:3-9), we’ll see that God has equipped us with everything we need for the journey.

In vs 3-4, Pete praises God for providing us with a living hope. Read v3-4 in the Message version – I think Peterson provides some real insight as to what a living hope actually means. What do you base your hopes in life on? How does that compare with what Peter is describing as the core of our hope?

Vs 6-7  we find a reiteration of what James reminded us about concerning the value of trials in life – they can prove and refine the faith we have in God. Have you ever had your faith tested like this? How did it effect your hope, and ultimately your attitudes about life?

“You haven’t seen Him, but you love Him.” – that is such a profound verse to me. I love it because it tells me that Peter had seen Jesus, hence he uses the term you. Jesus was real, and when Peter heard that name he associated it with a face and a voice and personality of a real person he had spent personal time with. That’s pretty cool. But I like it that the Bible isn’t just some ancient document about people’s experiences that I have no connection with….Peter was writing to people who experienced exactly what I have, that is, NOT seeing Jesus but still loving Him. I’m connected to a looooong line of “have not seens” who love Christ anyway. For whatever reason, that comforts me.

It also reminds me of another way we’re equipped for traveling…we’ve got the strong motivation of love to keep us going. Ever been away from home, away from a loved one? Can you connect the feelings of love that motivated you to return to your love with our love for Christ?

Anyway, it should prove to be an inspiring study.  Hope you can be there!