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Build on the Rock

                Sadly, summer is over!  I hope that you had a great time with things like camping, boating, road trips, concerts, reunions and weddings.  Summer is made for having fun and creating memories. 
                Unfortunately, memories and good times have one inherent problem. Peter describes this issue by saying, “You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life…” (1 Peter 1:18).  Notice the words “perishable” and “empty”.  Peter’s point is that temporary events cannot produce lasting joy.  Even the most expensive things that you have and your most wonderful memories will fade over time and leave you feeling empty and incomplete.
                For example, I love going to concerts!  However, as soon as the band sings the last song, some of the excitement of that night starts to drain away.  It is a good memory, but part of the joy that I felt while the concert was happening is gone.  The same is true of vacations.  You look at the pictures and remember some wonderful things, but you cannot feel exactly what you felt when you were there.  The memory degrades and corrupts over time.  That is why people continually search for the next big, exciting thing to do, buy or experience.  If our joy is based on having or doing certain things, then we will always be forced to keep chasing the next thing, because the good feelings leak away.    
                Peter then gives them a solution to this problem.  Instead of temporary happiness, he tells them to focus on their eternal hope (verse 21).  This hope is not based on what they have or what they have done.  Rather, it is centred on God and his nature.  It is shown in the “precious blood of Christ” (verse 19) and the fact that God set this plan in motion “before the creation of the world” (verse 20).  This hope gives us a bigger picture and it brings meaning and worth to every day, not just our best ones.
                Jesus said that when we build our life on things that do not last, we will always be rebuilding.  However, when we centre our life around him, we find everything that we need. (Matthew 7:24-27).
              Fun things are great, but we cannot base our life on them.
  Enjoy your days, but live in your hope.

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