2 Peter 1: 1-11

2 Peter 1

¹ Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

² Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Making One’s Calling and Election Sure

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸ 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. ⁹ But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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Wow. This absolutely is the living Word of God. I needed to hear that. Thank You Lord. God, by his glory and goodness, has given me His promises so that I can partake of the divine nature (look into what "the divine nature" really means) and "escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" (verse 4). Evil desires, in my situation, include a desire for the self to be the center of worship; a desire to usurp the position that belongs to God. Also, it includes the desire to make God fit into our lifestyle and what we think is a better version of who He is. How dare I. This evil desire leads to corruption in the world, evident through many world views and religions. In Hinduism, we can choose the gods that we want to worship, in Buddhism, there is no God. How dare we!

I love this passage, because through it, God has told me to do something that I have not been doing; I have not been seeking to know Him. I have been ineffective and unproductive in my knowledge of Jesus the Christ and I am nearsighted and blind and have forgotten that God has cleaned me of my sins (I have forgotten what He is has done for me, how He has healed me). No wonder why my doubt is so great! How can you trust somebody you don't know? And I'd like to say that I know Jesus because of the experiences I have with Him, but I don't really. I don't read His Word!!

Lightbulb. I have been praying for deeper faith and trust in God this year. And as I just wrote the sentence about trusting somebody you don't know, the Lord showed me that in order to trust Him, I have to know Him. And the way that I will know Him, is by reading His word. And if I pursue the qualities in verses 5-7, qualities of goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, they will keep me from being ineffective in my knowledge of Jesus. I love how the New American Standard Version puts it: "For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (verse 8). Hallelu Yah. Thank You Jesus for meeting me. PLEASE, Holy Spirit help me to abound in these qualities that I may honor and glorify You! I want to make my calling and election sure and not take Your grace and mercy for granted. Please help me Lord. For Your glory may my life be lived. Help me to engage with You meaningfully DAILY in Your Word and through prayer. Make me far-sighted and give me great insight and may I not forget what You have done for me. Hallelu Yah Jesus! Please help me grow and get through.

In the Name of Christ Jesus I pray,

Amen.