Fear God because He planned it all (before creation!)

Finally, in our passage this week, Peter says to respectfully love our God and His Son, because all of this was planned before the creation of the world!

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. (I Peter 1:20-21)

When God gets hold of a person, He doesn't let go, most times. He'll pursue them. Get their attention. Make them think. Make them listen. The Spirit calls them.

Do you find it amazing the holy God Almighty, Who spoke the universe into existence, would want to have a relationship with each and every human?
How far ahead of time did He come up with His plan for us?
God planned our salvation before He even created the world. You know, He didn't just find out about Adam and Eve and say, "Uh-oh! I didn't anticipate that!"
We can rest assured that sending Christ into the world was not an afterthought. Not a gotta-do-something-quickly-they-blew-it kind of plan. He knew that they were going to blow it, and that sin would bring death and destruction to the world that He so lovingly created.
Long before then, He had said to the Son, the Word, "you're going to have to go down to earth and save them from their sins."

God revealed His plan when Jesus came to the world. Did you see that Peter uses the term "last days" or "last times"?  (It depends on which translation you are looking at.) So many years, people waited for Him to come. The rabbis said, "The Messiah is coming." Year after year after decade.....
We have the privilege of experiencing what the prophets just puzzled over. What they waited for. Christ came, died, and rose again -- and the Holy Spirit now lives with us. What an awesome privilege!
We have a relationship with God -- we can honestly say that we know Him personally....and we're not bragging! Do we take that relationship too much for granted? The salvation that God planned, and revealed, and then applied to our hearts?

He alone gets the glory.... we choose our leaders in many countries. We vote for who we think will do the best job. Jesus wasn't elected by popular vote -- God chose Him to be our Savior, and He redeemed us with His precious blood.

Living in the fear of God.
That's where we started....two weeks ago. And I think that all of the practical instructions about living for Jesus are tied to that respectful love that we should have for Him. How can we take lightly what was purchased at so huge a cost?
We are here only a short time.
We will be judged by our Father God.
He loves us so much that He planned our salvation before the world was even created.

There's inspiration for living here -- and for falling on our knees in grateful prayer and praise!