photo #8379541

"I BELIEVE HE IS PRECIOUS" "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:" (1 Peter 1:8)1 Peter 1 is a powerful and inspiring chapter of the Bible written by the apostle Peter to the dispersed followers of Christ across several regions. It underscores the profound blessings and privileges of being God's people. The chapter explains the themes of faith, salvation, perseverance amidst trials, and the call to holiness, emphasizing God's divine love and grace.Folks, did you ever stop to consider that our Christian faith is a wonder beyond words? It loves a Person you and I have never seen, it believes that Person for what He says, and it enjoys fellowship with this Person with a joy that cannot be described in words nor expressed with the greatest of vocabulary.For me, three phrases stand out in this verse from 1 Peter:First, "Whom having not seen, ye love." Whenever I see that "YE", I take it that it means WE. You see folks, the Christian faith is a personal one, not one where we believe in something just for the sake of believing. Nor do we believe because someone told us to. As Christians, we not only learn about the truth of God's love, we love truth because Christians love Christ. Christianity is not a boring religion of traditions. It is a beautiful relationship based on the fact that we love Him, because He first loved us.Second, "Yet believing." There are thousands of obstacles to the Christian faith that we meet with constantly. Problems that try to trip us up, tragedies that tempt us to lose heart, and discouragements that threaten to undo our faith from the inside out. But true Christianity believes in Christ with REJOICING, trusts in Christ REGARDLESS, and draws near to Christ REGULARY. No matter what the heartache, the heaviness, or the helplessness may be, true faith trusts and obeys and thereby, knows the peace of God which passes all understanding.Third, "With joy unspeakable." Psalm 16:11 is one of my favorite verses. It tells each of us, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." Do you know that "fulness of joy"? Do you have "pleasures for evermore"? All that is needed for you, and I is found in "Thy presence." Peter knew what it was to spend time in "Thy presence", and so, the Spirit of God moved him to write it down in words like this: "with joy unspeakable." Make no mistake about it, this old world, with all its perishing promises, will never satisfy the eternal cravings of the human heart; only Jesus Christ can do that!Friends, the lost need to accept Christ by faith to appreciate the fulness of Christ. When they embrace Jesus, they'll love Him, they'll enjoy Him, they'll find their satisfaction in Him, and they'll trust Him no matter what may come their way. And that is when they too will boldly declare. "I BELIEVE HE IS PRECIOUS."