The goal of your faith

1 Peter 2: 3-12

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,

5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

7 These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care,

11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

This morning’s devotion time was cut short by the cries of Anna Claire who spent the night last night. Oh that precious child and how loving she is. She is at the age where she demands attention and I am happy to give it. On the days that she is here my schedule takes a vacation. I am all hers until I fall on the couch in exhaustion and patiently wait for her mother to come get her.

The house is quiet now. No little screams of delight with each new toy found, pulled out and left on the floor, no pounding of little feet running up and down the hall with sticky fingers tapping the wall all the way, no little head peeking around the corner saying peek-a-boo. What pleasure silence is. :) I already miss her.

Reading the verses over for this morning and getting a second chance at devotion time is also a pleasure and one I miss when it gets interrupted. Some how my day just doesn't feel complete without time alone with God. Words of comfort again from Peter feel good. I don't think there has ever been a time in my life when I didn't have faith in Jesus Christ but can well imagine how hard it might be for some. After all, we are asked to believe in something we can not see.

Maybe about 20 years ago I took a class called Experiencing God. One of the exercises asked us to set aside an entire afternoon to pray. I thought it was going to be an impossible task for me as I had no idea what I would pray about for longer than 30 minutes much less an entire afternoon. When the day came I went upstairs to my room with Bible in hand and spent my afternoon in prayer. I will never forget that afternoon as long as I live. I only wish I had words to describe how close to God I felt and how much I want that same experience for everyone even as angels long to look into these things.

Enjoy your day.

Chicken Pitas
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 1 pound)
1/2 cup matchstick-cut carrots
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/3 cup light mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, drained
4 (6-inch) whole wheat pitas, each cut in half
8 Romaine lettuce leaves

Preparation
Combine first 11 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well. Line each pita half with 1 lettuce leaf; fill each half with 1/3 cup chicken mixture.
Yield
4 servings (serving size: 2 stuffed pita halves)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 471(30% from fat); FAT 15.5g (sat 2.5g,mono 5.4g,poly 6.2g); PROTEIN 36.8g; CHOLESTEROL 82mg; CALCIUM 98mg; SODIUM 776mg; FIBER 7.2g; IRON 3.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 48.8g


Michele Powers , Cooking Light, MAY 2007 Photo: Lee Harrelson; Styling: Melanie J. Clarke