To Life and New Life

On Saturday evening I had a refreshing time over at Ryan and Kelly's apartment with my old friends, Luke and Nicole Preussler. It was great to be able to spend time with these two couples who have been such great friends to me over the last three years or so. We enjoyed food, drink, and the hilarious, canceled television show, "Arrested Development," but the highlight of the night for me was meeting Luke and Nicole's new baby daughter, Sophia. Luke's toast as we had our drinks is the title of this post: "To life and new life." We thank God for our lives, and for the life of baby Sophia, and we especially thank God for the new life we have in Jesus Christ.

Peter 1:22 - 2:5

"Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."