Bible Verse of the Day Wednesday April 12th, 2023

1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

This verse of Scripture tells us to revere Christ Jesus as our Lord. Too many people want to claim Jesus as their Savior but not allow Him to be the Lord of their lives. Some see Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior as divisible entities; in other words, we have a choice: Lord or Savior. There is no choice; Christ Jesus is either our Lord and Savior, or He is neither. Still, some want the love, grace, and mercy that Christ Jesus offers with salvation without a full life's commitment and surrender to Him. We are to revere Christ Jesus in our hearts; our hearts are the chapel in which Christ Jesus would desire that we worship Him. Fear will amazingly dissipate when we live in total surrender and communion with Christ.

Our fleshly desires, what other people say or think of us, and carnal wisdom, as well as the daily demand of our lives, can sometimes be a lord that controls how we navigate our daily walk. This misdirection will cause us to turn away from our all-embracing and all-inclusive commitment when we first accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Once we preserve and cherish Jesus, we will find no other desirable pathway except making Him uniquely principal in our earthly existence. 

This point brings us to the next issue of this verse of Scripture: always be prepared to share our hope in Christ Jesus with others. The world sees hope as some anticipation or longing for something to happen. The hope we have in Christ Jesus is eons apart from worldly hope. When the world hopes, they mostly hope for any situation to turn out in their favor and is based on one or more humans' actions; the basis of Godly hope is  "the assurance of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).

To share the sure and reliable hope we have in Christ Jesus, we must know where the foundation from where our hope stems. The Holy Word of God is the only fountain of knowledge and wisdom that will ensure that we find the right path and are able to share our hope in eternal life through the forgiveness of sin because of the substitutionary work of Christ Jesus on the Cross of Calvary, on our behalf. Yet, with all that said, some believe that we cannot talk to people about the Bible and God's love for all people of the world (John 3:16) unless we have a Ph.D. in Theology or some equivalent.

The writer of the book from where this verse of Scripture was derived, the Apostle Peter, knew the importance of always being ready to answer to anyone that God puts in our path, Peter also realized one other most important and critical element of sharing the gospel with others, and that is a total reliance on the power of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God, that is in all followers and believers in Christ Jesus.

If we surrender ourselves to Christ, commit to daily prayer and bible study, and depend on the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, the fear of sharing the gospel with someone will no longer grip our hearts and souls. This verse ends with "share the hope that you have but do this with gentleness and respect." When we overflow with the love of Christ Jesus, which is more concerned for the other person than ourselves, the gentleness and care will seamlessly flow, and the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say.