As you come to Him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-5).
We kneel before You Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name (Ephesians 3:14-15). You are almighty, all-knowing, all-wise.
In Your Sovereign wisdom, Your mercy, and Your grace You designed a plan to lift humans from their devastating plunge into death and destruction (Genesis 3). You "presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood—to be received by faith" (Romans 3:25).
Thank You for all You confer on us through this gift of Your Son—the incredible riches of Your grace—the special status of "children of God" (1 John 3:1). Because Jesus is the living Stone, precious to You, we too, "are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood..." (1 Peter 2:5).
"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15)! Thank You for the message of good news that "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
O Father, we pray for the many who still reject Your gift. You, Lord, know the thoughts of every heart—the barriers of unbelief. The apostle Peter tells us that Jesus, the Living Stone is “a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall” (1 Peter 2:8).
We pray for those to whom "the message of the cross is foolishness" even as they "are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). Lord, You have "made foolish the wisdom of the world...For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength" (1 Corinthians 1:20, 25).
We are assured that "Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God" and that Christ Jesus...has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30).
The apostle Peter, speaking of Jesus, quotes the words of prophecy spoken hundreds of years before (Isaiah 28:16), "For in Scripture it says: 'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.' Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:6-7).
Thank You, Father, that in the constant upheaval, the chaos, and the uncertainty all around, Your precious Cornerstone is our "sure foundation". Thank You for Your promise that "the one who relies on [Him] will never be stricken with panic" (Isaiah 28:16).
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