Inner SHift

Read His Words Before Ours!

1 Peter 1:13-16 
1 Thessalonians 5:1-8
2 Timothy 4:1-5
Romans 12:1-2 

Ever since writing for Gracefully Truthful, I’ve been continually amazed how the Lord perfectly aligns Journey Studies I write alongside my spiritual journey with Him.
We choose our Journey assignments months prior to writing,
and even longer before they ever go live on the website.
And still….
the Lord always leads me to write specific Journey Studies He knows in advance He will use to transform my heart.

This journey through 1 Peter has proven, yet again, God’s incredible timing and His miraculous voice through Scripture.  

As Partners at GT, we committed to read through 1 Peter many times before we even began writing. Two weeks ago (which was months ago as you read my words today), I sat down to read and the tears began flowing as I fixated on the first chapter detailing birth into a living hope.

What I didn’t know when I chose this Journey was when it came time to write,
I’d be swinging from days of great hope to days that left me utterly hopeless.

Hopelessness has been hanging heavy here, Sisters.

But as I sat weeping with His Word, His Spirit breathed, and I was reminded of LIVING hope that is mine in Christ Jesus! Hope that is moving and breathing and actively working because of Jesus!
Our trials will result in “praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ!”
(1 Peter 1:7) 

And because of that hope, sisters, that massive, freeing, and life-giving hope,
we land at 1 Peter 1:13… 

Therefore 
One powerful word; don’t miss it!  
Therefore means that “hope” doesn’t stop at “initial salvation”.
Yes, our salvation is certain and sure and these Scriptures that proclaim this glorious gospel are fully reliable because they are the very words of God that will not pass away. (1 Peter 1:25)

Yes! Hope is found here!
But “therefore” means it doesn’t stop there.  

Therefore. Because of. For that reason. Consequently. It Continues… 

Because our hope is so assuredly solid, we are called to prepare our minds for action, and take an active role in this living hope!  

Our salvation, grounded in hope, is meant to catapult us forward into living with hope
as our inner minds shift. 

At salvation, we surrender all we know of ourselves to all we know of the Savior, trusting Him not only to save us from Sin and Death, but to save us for the fullness of life. That radical transformation where we begin moving into life,  comes as a result of an inner shift. A moving away from conformity to the ways of the world, and a moving into surrendered transformation as the Spirit remakes us into the image of Christ Jesus.
Transformed into holy.
Just as He is holy.
Un-Fathom-Able!

We can never earn holiness, Sisters.
​
It’s no secret you and I would never, ever reach the perfection of the Almighty God by our own effort. One little lie, one little lustful thought, and we are sinners.
We are justified and made eternally righteous once we choose to make Jesus the Lord of our lives.
We grow in our like-Jesus-ness through daily surrender as we keep our eyes fixed on eternal hope. This is sanctification through the work of the Spirit. If Jesus is ours and we claim His incorruptible inheritance waiting for us in Heaven, then we are called to conform to this gospel, and His holiness, leaving the ways of the world in the dust.  
That means the TV shows we watch.  
The movies we go to.  
The people we spend most of our time with.  
The places we hang out.  
The way we think.  
The way we conduct ourselves at work.  

Everything about us should be different because of the therefore.

Because of certain hope in the trustworthiness of the Savior. 
Our relationships should look different. 
The way we dress should look different. 
Our marriages should look different. 
Our language should be different.  
Not different because we’re trying so hard to look like Jesus.
Different because when we chose Jesus, an inner shift happened, hope grew,
we were made new. 

We long to look like Him more than we long to look like
that cute mom we adore on social media. 

OOFTAH.  

For me, that’s a hard pill to swallow because I idolize, yes, idolize, other mamas.
Her hair is perfect, her kids look so put together, her house is clean, she’s so talented, AND she loves Jesus?! For a long time, I wanted to look more like her than I wanted to look like Jesus (sometimes I still do). I focused on transforming myself to become more like her instead of my King. Maybe that’s you too?

Hope, Sisters.
Inner Shift.
Eyes on holy. 

When we say yes to Jesus, the radical inner shift begins.

I was about five when I asked Jesus to become my King; that’s when my inner shift began. Small, yes, but it was there. My focus changed from inward to upward, and I became passionate about others meeting Jesus! Hope grew the fruit of a transformed life.

Hope of salvation is not the end.
It’s the therefore that doesn’t stop there.  
If He gave His life for me to live forever, surely, I can give my life to serve and love Him.  
We have incorruptible hope.
It’s solid enough to anchor my everyday life and transform my heart toward holy!   

This Bible Study is property of Gracefully Truthful, where it was first published. For other Bible studies like this one, check out GracefullyTruthful.com!