Are You a Bit Shaken?

Strengthen the feeble hands,
   steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
   “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
   with divine retributionhe will come to save you.”
Isaiah 35:3-4 (NIV)

Just a little reminder: God is Sovereign, he has unfailing love for you, and he will save you.

Comfort and Protection in His Light

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

II Peter 1:19

I was watching a survival show last week and the situation was a guy stranded on an island for ten days. The first thing he did was set up shelter and make a fire. He said he needed the fire at night not just to keep warm and see but to protect him from the wild animals at night. The Bible not only gives us guidance but protection.

One of the actions the survivalist took was to stay near his fire at night. The fire provided the warmth and protection he needed. Reading the Bible on a daily basis is not about works, it's about staying connected to God. It's about staying near the comfort and protection of living by faith Christ. Having a time with God is not about being able to say to God that he owes you because you pray and read the Bible daily, it's about being reminded that God hears your prayers, that God is faithful, that he doesn't always answer what we want to hear but he will never leave us nor forsake us. We pay attention to his light because we need to stay connected to our Lord and Savior. 

Father, help us to pay attention to the word of the prophets mad more certain in Christ. Praise be to you in us today!

You Don't Have a Cartoon Religion

For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

2 Peter 1:16-18 (NIV)

I must admit that I laugh (to their face) at arrogant evolutionists  who scoff at creationism. Their big proof is "illustrations" of hypothetical evolutionary steps from something crawling out of the water, to a monkey to modern humans. It's a cartoon! You might as well believe that Bugs Bunny is an alien who came from outer space and spiked our ancient microbial ancestors to set us on an evolutionary pathway to the humanity we are now. 

Peter is proclaiming that the apostles gospel is not a made up fantasy but truth and reality in the most undeniable manner. They saw and God heard speak from his Majestic Glory proclaiming Christ as his Son. They saw him live, die and rise from the dead. They did not make up some clever story. The simply told the truth about who Jesus is. 

For us today that means we are basing our hope on the truth of Christ. He is Savior and Lord. He ever lives to intercede on our behalf. He will never leave us or forsake us. He will remain faithful even when we don't. He is faithful to complete the good work he began in us. That is the truth. 

Father, thank you for the truth in Christ. Help us to live by faith i Christ. Praise be to you in us today!

Being Sure of Yourself in Christ

Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make you calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

II Peter 1:10-11

First of all I think that you only worry about your salvation if you  are saved. If you are not saved you don't care. Peter is talking to people of faith. Not just faith in general, but, faith in Christ. He's talking about knowing Christ. Peter is all about effective and productive knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Sometimes we don't see the work of Christ in our lives because we  sense the battle within ourselves. For example, I am a teacher and this year I am teaching sixth graders English and History. An aide who works with some special needs students I have in a few classes tells me she doesn't know how I stay so calm because there are several students who struggle with their behavior. I don't always feel so calm, but my reactions apparently reflect that I am continually trying to be patient and redirect students to be on task and help them understand the tasks at hand. 

My point is that sometimes while we are fighting the good fight we may only sense the tension of the battle, but, because we are seeking Christ our faith is becoming effective and productive, even if we don't notice it. Remember, Christ is faithful to complete the work he started in our lives (Philippians 1:6). 

Father, help us to keep sowing seeds of righteousness. Open our eyes to see the effective and productive fruit your Spirit is producing in our lives. Praise be to you in us today!

Efforts of Faith, Not Works

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

2 Peter 1:5-8 (NIV)

Even though the verse says to "make every effort" I know that legalism is not part of the meaning. In other words, this is not a to do list that must be followed to the letter, and if I miss one part then it all falls apart. Legalism puts it all on me and that is not faith.

Faith in the finished work of Christ is what I am trying to grasp. I do, at times, feel ineffective and unproductive in my relationship with Christ. So, trying to add goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love to my faith does not mean acts that earn me God's favor. 

I think it was Zig Ziglar who said, "If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time." What will you seek today? By faith you can aim at several things that God promises to use to make us effective and productive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Don't aim at nothing, aim at goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. 

Father, help us to walk by faith and may our knowledge of you be effective  and productive. Praise be to you in us today!

To love (agape) others means ____. Fill in the blank on Fill-It-In-Friday!

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
2 Peter 1:5-7 (NIV)

After mixing together faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, and mutual affection (brotherly love) Peter  says to add love. 

Why do you think Peter saved love, agape in the Greek, for last? What do you think agape love means? 

I am going to try something different today. Let's call this a "Fill-it-in" Friday. I need you to complete the following statement. 

Peter places love last for a reason. To love (agape) others means ___________________________________. Help us out by filling in the blank leaving your thoughts and insights in the comment section. Thanks!

Does a Friend Need You to Stand by Them?

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly love, and to brotherly love, love.

2 Peter 1:5-7 (NIV)

I have two sisters and one brother. We grew up like typical brothers and sisters. We argued , played, fought and laughed. After we moved out and we're living on our own my brother went through a bit of a hard time. I drove out from California to New Mexico to pick him up and bring him back for Christmas. He kind of thought that just because he was going through this particularly difficult situation that we might not support him. I told him that right or wrong (and he was in the right) he was my brother, I loved him and would always be there for him. 

Brotherly love just loves. Not romantic love. Not emotional fantasy love. It's stand by your friend, help no matter what love. Brotherly love stands with someone when they repent. It's not about condoning or judging, it's about support. Brotherly love tells the truth in love. It helps you see what is right and helps you do what is right. 

Who do you need to stand with today?