"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, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3-4)

This week you may have read about Fred Goodwin losing his royal honours title ("Sir") because rather than performing services to banking he was one of the people responsible for the economic troubles engulfing the country.  Whether that was the right decision or not, the fact is Goodwin messed up badly in his calling....however I know that I'm pretty distinguished at messing up mine too!  What about you?  I'm so thankful and full of praise to God because He is a God full of mercy that takes pity on me in the sinful mess I make of life and has given me a living gospel hope in the living Jesus Christ.  No matter how much we may fail, and no matter what storms of life we have to face (be they economic loss, bereavement, persecution, etc.) nothing and no-one can strip us of the incredible inheritance we have in Christ.  In God's Honours System we can't be stripped of our rich inheritance for messing up, because we didn't receive it based on our own merits - rather it's completely the gracious gift of a merciful God to messed up sinners like you and me.  That inheritance indelibly writes over us "[Insert your name] is a child of God".  It's saved and stored in a safe place above and beyond anything that might harm it.

Pray Today:

• In praise that the one whose name is above every other name calls you His child and loves you!
• For those who met last night in the CE course to explore more of who Jesus is and hear of the great gift He offers to all who will believe.
• For those preaching God's Word this weekend and for yourself to be a good listener to what God has to say through His Word

Praise God Today: "You Made Us Your Own"