Tag Archives: 2 Peter

2 Peter 3

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Peter continues the theme of growth, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” We have an opportunity now, “waiting for… the coming of the day of God”. That day seems to be slow in coming, but really God is being patient, giving us time to grow and repent.

Just as people scoffed at the idea of a flood, so today people scoff at the idea of the return of Christ. Peter warns us not to be deceived by this thinking, remembering that “the day of the Lord will come like a thief”. In the mean time, lets “be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”

2 Peter 1-2

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God has offered us “precious and very great promises”, in response we should develop our faith into love. Failure to do so is blindness, forgetting we were cleaned from sin.  If we practice these qualities we “will never fall”. Peter speaks as an eyewitness, in contrast to false prophets with destructive ideas.

God knows “how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgement”. We have “escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”, but we must be careful not to become “slaves of corruption” once more.

Habakkuk 3, 2 Peter 1-2

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Habakkuk’s prayer describes God’s power, wrath, mercy and salvation.  He concludes by saying “I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places“. Despite God’s fury poured out on the nations, the day of trouble, the famine, Habakkuk would continue to trust in God, and rely on God’s strength to guide him through his life.

Peter points out that God “has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness“, and also has “granted to us his precious and very great promises“.  Everything we have, our hope of salvation and very life, have been given to us by God.  Our response should be 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 brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.“

John 1

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Jesus is described by John as “the true light”. Those “who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”  That true light has shined on us, showing us an example of God’s character perfectly reflected, through the gospel message.  It is up to us to believe, to “walk in the light, as [Jesus] is in the light”, knowing that we’ve been called out of darkness and given the chance to be God’s children.

Jeremiah 35

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Through Jeremiah, God commends the family of Rechab for their faithfulness, in contrast to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. The Rechabites lived as sojourners, with neither houses or crops, putting their faith and trust in God to provide for them.  “The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.“

Their faithfulness is an example to us as much as it was to the Israelites, highlighting the importance of listening to and trusting in God, knowing that He has “granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us“.

2 Peter 3

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Peter addresses a common concern of believers – why is the return of Jesus taking so long? Things seem to be getting worse by the day. He reminds us that God works in different timescales to what we’re used to in our short lives, but even more encouragingly, explains the reason for the apparent delay. “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.”

Every day is a new chance for us to serve God, to start fresh from the failures of the past and strive to develop “lives of holiness and godliness”.  While we are waiting, Peter encourages us to “be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace… grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

2 Peter 1-2

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Peter’s epistles were written to an ecclesia under intense persecution. He writes to remind them of their hope, to stand fast and put their trust in God, and encourages them to live as “a lamp shining in a dark place”.

“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 brotherly 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… Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall”

Let us similarly make every effort to practise these qualities, living effective and fruitful lives secure in the knowledge that God is with us.

Joshua 7, Isaiah 11, 2 Thessalonians 3

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Joshua’s reaction to a difficult situation is a great example to us. He approaches God, leading the elders of Israel in heartfelt prayer until evening, to seek understanding and forgiveness. God responds to that prayer, and the problem is addressed, allowing Israel to continue to conquer the land.

God kept His promise that Israel would inherit the promised land, just as He was faithful to the prophecies about Messiah, the “shoot from the stump of Jesse“.  Isaiah paints a picture of a time we all long for, when Jesus will judge the poor with righteousness  when the breath of Jesus’ lips will kill the wicked, and the earth will be full of the knowledge of God.  Even at that time, God will extend mercy “yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people.”  Our God is both just and merciful, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance“.

Paul describes God as faithful. “He will establish you and guard you against the evil one…May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ“