Scattered: Day 15
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a
reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear”
1 Peter 3:15
Peter is speaking to a persecuted church and is encouraging believers to stand firm in their faith and in the grace of God. This verse asks each one of us a profound question “are we ready?” Are we ready to share our faith in Jesus with others and are we spiritually in the right place with God? The first part of being ready is to “sanctify the Lord God in our hearts”. Usually scripture refers to God sanctifying us so what does it mean for us to sanctify God?
To sanctify means to set apart, to honour and to consecrate. Peter is telling us that before sharing our faith we first need to make sure that God has primary place in our hearts, to make him so much above everything else that He is “set apart” as the absolute focus and centre of our lives.
The second part of the verse challenges us to be ready to defend our faith to everyone who asks. Jesus said we are the light of the world and when we place Him above everything else than His light shines out of us. We are surrounded by people who struggle with fear and worry. The hope that we have in Jesus makes people around us wonder why we are different.
The challenge for each of us is to be prepared and ready to share our faith. So this week let each of us take time to examine our hearts, letting go of anything that stops Jesus having primary place in our lives. Let’s also ask God to give us opportunities to be a witness and to give us the boldness to act when these opportunities come.
Paul Thompson
Trustee