2 Peter 2-3 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is 2 Peter 2:1-3:18.

“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. to him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:17-18).

We spend so much time thinking about and talking against “falling from grace,” I wonder if we don’t push ourselves in that direction. The more we think about something, the more it occupies our hearts, the more it takes over our lives. I want to let this passage start to govern my thinking and meditating.

“Grow in grace.”

That’s what I want to focus on today. Instead of worrying about falling from grace, I’m going to focus on growing in grace. It stands to reason if I grow in grace, I don’t have to worry about falling from it. Peter says if I do that, I will not be carried away with the error of lawless people or lose my own stability. After all, I’m not even trying to have my own stability. Rather, I’m resting on God’s stability.

Keep the faith today and keep reading

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? Click here to add your input.

PPS. For a series of sermons that came from this very thought, click here.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Today’s reading is 2 Peter 2:1-3:18.

“Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9).

God was able to rescue lot from Sodom and Gomorrah. But that rescue was not simply from the destruction that would come upon them. No, it was rescue from their perversity and sin. Lot was tormented by their unrighteousness and God delivered him from that. In the same way, though we are surrounded by temptation and trial, God can keep us and protect us.

Instead of facing my temptations and trying to overcome them on my own. I need to flee into God’s arms and let Him protect me. I need to simply find His direction and follow it. He will be able to protect me from my temptations. He will be able to protect me from myself. As long as I’m fighting the battles with my own strength, I will fall. But when I rely on God and turn to Him for protection, He will give it. I can take comfort knowing that God is actively working on my behalf to protect me from sin.

Today, I need to get into God’s word, find His direction for me and follow it. That is the only way I’ll overcome.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

PPS: For all you sticklers out there, I know we have no idea what the fruit in the garden was. If you find a picture that represents temptation without an apple, send it my way.

Today’s reading is 2 Peter 2:1-3:18.

First, my apologies for missing last week. We were traveling and then working through the death of Marita’s Maw-maw. 

Second, I want to ask for your prayers. My family and I have decided to relocate to work with the church in Brownsburg, Indiana. The next three months are going to be a very stressful time (I haven’t been very good about keeping our house in ready-to-sell condition). I don’t know how that will impact my blogging over that time, but I’ll try to keep it up.

On to today’s reading.

God Doesn’t Want Us to Perish

I love today’s reading because it reminds me that God is patient. He doesn’t want me to perish. He doesn’t want you to perish. He doesn’t want anyone to perish. 2 Peter 3:9 says so:

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

I don’t know how many times I get asked what will happen if I get cut off in traffic, lose my cool, give someone the finger and shower them with profanity and road rage only to end up in a fatal accident without time to repent. I believe this question is looking at God all wrong. God is not looking to wipe us out. He is looking to save us. God is giving everyone time to repent. I don’t have to fear that there will ever be something that I would have repented for if given the time but God cuts the cord of my life before I have that opportunity. God is not willing for any to perish, but is patient wanting everyone to repent. What that means is you, me, everyone will have enough time to repent. If we die without saving penitence, it won’t be because God didn’t give us the time.

The great comfort for me in this passage is not simply that God is patient. The great comfort is that God wants us to be saved. God wanted us to be saved so badly that He sent Jesus to die for us. Surely, if He went that far to make sure I could be saved, He is still working to help me be saved. The question is not about what God is doing. The question is about me. Will I surrender to His work to save me or keep trying to go my own way?

God doesn’t want me to perish. How badly do I not want to perish?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 2 Peter 2:1-3:18.

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:8-9).

What a comfort. I don’t know how many times I have been asked by people, “What if I’m, like you know, driving in my car and someone pulls in front of me and I yell some cuss word and give the guy the bird right as I get in a car wreck and I didn’t have time to repent? What then? Will I go to heaven or hell?”

First and foremost, I have to say that I’m not God to decree what judgment you will actually receive. However, more importantly, I wonder what kind of God you think we actually serve? Do you truly think we serve the kind of God who is going to take an otherwise faithful servant and kill him/her the moment they have slip just so He can cast their soul into hell? Do you think we serve a God who is waiting for opportunities to squash us like bugs and then watch us burn for eternity? Really? That’s the God you serve?

I don’t serve that God. My God is a patient God. The God I love is a God who wants everyone to come to repentance. He is patient with each and every one of us. That tells me something about Him. I can trust Him to do what is right with me. I can trust Him to do what is merciful with me. I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. For all I know, I may die in a car wreck in which I slipped with my mind and my tongue. Here is what I’m confident about. If I am judged to spend eternity in hell, it is not going to be because I committed one sin right before I died without having time to repent. Further, if, as some believe and teach, it is true that the one slip would make me guilty of hell, then I know my God will give me time to repent. 

That is comforting to me. I don’t have to dream up crazy scenarios to test God’s grace or to increase anyone’s fear for eternity. We serve a God who wants us with Him forever. We serve a God who wants to bestow grace upon us. We serve a God who wants to welcome us into His heavenly home. He’s not waiting to punish us forever. We can trust in Him and His grace.

So, why not take the patience God has extended to us today and use it to turn from whatever is still enslaving us in sin. Turn your life over to God today in every way. 

***Question: What other aspects of God’s nature provide you with comfort in Him?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is 1 Peter 5:1-15; 2 Peter 1:1-21.

How important is knowing Jesus? 2 Peter 1:2 says, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” How are grace and peace multiplied to me? Not just willy-nilly. If I want grace and peace, I have to know Jesus.

The next verses, 2 Peter 1:3-4, say, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” Look at that. By knowing Jesus, I gain all things that pertain to life and godliness. By knowing Jesus, I receive glory and excellence. By knowing Jesus, I can become a partaker of the divine nature. By knowing Jesus, I can escape teh corruption that is from sinful desire. 

I want all of that. How do I get it? I have to know Jesus. The word translated knowledge in these verses means thorough, precise, and correct knowledge. It is more than simply a knowledge about Jesus. It is actually knowing Jesus, knowing what He thinks, knowing how He acts, knowing what He wants. It is the kind of knowledge we have of close friends.

Do you see what this means? All these blessings don’t come because I got baptized (though I must do that–Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-4; et al). These blessings come from getting to know Jesus. Sadly, many people get baptized who never get to know Jesus. These blessings don’t come from “going to church” enough (though, I must certainly assemble with the saints–Hebrews 10:25). Sadly, many people “go to church” regularly, but never get to know Jesus. These blessings don’t come from avoiding the “big” sins (though I must certainly resist the devil and turn from sin–1 Peter 5:9). Sadly, many people avoid “big” sins but still don’t get to know Jesus. 

If I really want to overcome sin in my life, if I really want to have God’s blessing, if I really want to partake in the divine nature, I have to get to know Jesus. I only know of one way to do that. Get in His word. Open the pages of scripture and spend time studying them. Should we keep reading the Bible every day because it is today’s “Give Attention to Reading” homework assignment? No. We should do it because this is how we get to know Jesus. This is how we become close to Him. This is how we increase our faith, virtue, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love (2 Peter 1:5-7). 

Think about what we noticed yesterday. Doesn’t this tie in. Don’t spend today trying to go to heaven. Spend today striving to get closer to Jesus and get to know Him better. I guarantee you’ll have a better day if you do.

***Question: What do you do to stay close to Jesus?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

Today’s reading is II Peter 2:1-3:18.

Balaam has gone down in history as a pretty rotten fellow. He tried and tried and tried to curse God’s people because he wanted the money. Yet, God wouldn’t let him. In the end, according to Josephus, and scripture supports this, Balaam taught Balak, king of the Moabites, to entice the Jews with their Moabite women. If they became involved emotionally and sexually with the women, they would follow after their gods. Then Jehovah would allow them to be struck and cursed for a time. Certainly, Balaam is a bad example for us.

Having said that, II Peter 2:15-16 reminds me of the beginning of the story. As Balaam starts to go off with Balak, his donkey starts to turn aside and keep from walking down the path. Balaam beats the animal and finally the animal begins to speak (freaky, for sure). Then Balaam’s eyes are opened and he sees the messenger of God waiting to bring judgment upon him. The donkey kept him from it.

I need a donkey like that. How many times do I get enamored with some sinful pleasure and saddle up to pursue it? This story makes me think of Psalm 141:3-5.

“Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! let a righteous man strike me–it is a kindness; let him rebuke me–it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.”

I hear the psalmist essentially saying, “God, if you leave me alone, I’ll just end up going back to sin again. Please, whatever it takes, keep me from sinning today. Even if it takes being struck in the mouth by one of your other children, don’t let me sin.” 

Don’t misunderstand. I believe in free will. (If I didn’t, I wouldn’t even bother with a prayer like this.) However, I recognize that my free will has too often pursued the course of sin. Unless I surrender my will to God, that is what I’ll pursue again today. Therefore, I ask God to send “Balaam’s donkey” my way. Give me the strength to do the right thing. Give me the opportunity. Don’t let my heart incline to evil. Even if it takes opening a donkey’s mouth to speak to me, do what it takes to guide me in paths of righteousness.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What did you get out of today’s reading?

According to II Peter 2:8, Lot “was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard” when he lived in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. I recognize a case can be made about Lot “pitching his tent toward Sodom.” I know he made some really bad decisions and we need to learn from those. But I can’t help but notice that at least the lawless deeds he witnessed tormented his soul.

Sometimes I fear for me and other Christians. So often I hear Christians laughing and reminiscing about movies they have seen that were filled with foul language, sexual immorality and even nudity. I certainly don’t know exactly when the line is crossed on movies and I’m not about to try to set up a list of those that are allowed and those that aren’t. 

This verse is simply a reminder to me that lawless deeds should torment my soul, not entertain me. I’m not exactly sure that I should spend much time berating Lot for pitching his tents toward Sodom if I’m pitching my $8 bucks to pay for entertainment that could have been filmed in Sodom.

I just have to remind myself of this again and again because I love movies. If I’m not careful, I catch myself getting more and more free with the ones I allow. I need to take a lesson from Lot on this one.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. At the risk of violating my own point above, I thought I would share this great little video from a preacher trying to comment on a similar point. I hope you enjoy it.

For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brother affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make our calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

II Peter 1:5-11 (ESV)

I recognize we cannot earn our way into heaven. If we are saved, it will be because God is good enough; not because we are. At the same time, I recognize not just everybody will be provided with an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In fact, it seems not just everyone who has ever believed and obeyed Jesus for a time will be provided that entrance. 

Rather, those who pursue this standard of growth will gain entrance. Our growth rests on the foundation of faith, but we must add to it. We must continually work on…

• Faith–believing in God, believing God and trusting God’s way is right.
• Virtue–the moral excellence to do what is right because it is right.
• Knowledge–getting God’s word into our heads and hearts.
• Self-control–doing what is right in the face of persuasion to do otherwise.
• Steadfastness–stringing moments of self-control together in a row, even in the face of opposition.
• Godliness–honoring God and revering Him with every action.
• Brotherly affection–treating our brethren with kindness, tender-heartedness and forgiveness.
• Love–obeying God from the heart and seeking what is best for others.

There are some things I recognize from this passage:

1. “Going to church” is not the equivalent of being a disciple.
2. I need to work on me; I need to work on my relationship with others; I need to work on my relationship with God; I need to work on these every day.
3. I don’t get to rest based on what I accomplished yesterday, I have to keep growing.
4. I don’t have to be perfect today, I just need to make progress.