I Peter 1:2-9 (CEV)
I pray that God will be kind to you and will keep on giving you peace!
3 Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. 4 God has something stored up for you in heaven, where it will never decay or be ruined or disappear.5 You have faith in God, whose power will protect you until the last day. Then he will save you, just as he has always planned to do. 6 On that day you will be glad, even if you have to go through many hard trials for a while. 7 Your faith will be like gold that has been tested in a fire. And these trials will prove that your faith is worth much more than gold that can be destroyed. They will show that you will be given praise and honor and glory when Jesus Christ returns.
8 You have never seen Jesus, and you don’t see him now. But still you love him and have faith in him, and no words can tell how glad and happy 9 you are to be saved. This is why you have faith.
Prayer:
God, on this Monday after Thanksgiving the end of the semester looms large. I’m not sure classes, papers, projects and exams are included in the “hard trials” referred to in v.6, but this time of year can feel like one test after another. Help me remember that your Spirit of life and hope live in me. Pour out your kindness, peace and grace upon my week, and strengthen my faith in myself and you. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.
Written by Rev. Gini Norris-Lane, Executive Director of the UKirk Collegiate Ministries Association.
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