I Do So Little But I Gain So Much

I receive a lot of blessings because of my faith and obedience.

1 Peter 1:1-5  This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God's chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

2  God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.

3  All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,  4  and we have a priceless inheritance--an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.  5  And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

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God's people are not home yet, they were not in the promised land when Peter wrote this letter to them, and they are still scattered all over the planet. Peter wrote this letter to the Jews that are scattered all over what we know of today as ancient Turkey.

It is a blessing to be a member of God's family, there isn't any better life here on earth, just take a look at all of the blessings that God has given his children:

✔ God chose you to be in his family
✔ The Holy Spirit made you holy and the blood of his Son has cleansed you,
✔ God has given you grace and peace
✔ God has given you a huge amount of mercy
✔ God has given us a priceless inheritance that is pure
✔ God's protection is with us throughout this life and in our death

God did so much for me and all that he requires is for me to trust and obey, what a lopsided relationship that God asks to his people, we can give our entire life and live for him every minute of everyday and it would still be a small return for all of the things that he has done for us.

Trust and Obey - The story behind the hymn.

But we never can prove the delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way, 
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

While I am waiting to get to the Promised Land I need to be living differently from the rest of the world. I need to trust in God because he has proven since the beginning of time that he is trust worthy and I need to obey him because he has done so much for me.