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.

Help me to be Humble

Lord, teach me to be humble. Help me to recognize Your Lordship so that I may abide by Your will without question. Lord, help me to understand that You want good things for me; You do not intend to harm me in any way. So let me just trust You.

Deliver me Lord,

From the desire of being esteemed.
From the desire of being loved.
From the desire of being extolled.
From the desire of being honored.
From the desire of being praised.
From the desire of being preferred to others.
From the desire of being consulted.
From the desire of being approved.
From the fear of being humiliated.
From the fear of being despised.
From the fear of suffering rebukes.
From the fear of being forgotten.
From the fear of being ridiculed.

Lord Jesus, I want to be so small. So small God. Help me to desire this God. Help me to bring honor and glory to Your name; not my own. Lord I love You. I love You because You love me and care for me and died for me. And I realize that love is an action word, not a feeling. And the way I show my love is by abiding by YOUR law and serving YOUR will and greater purpose.

But man is weak God; I need Your help serving You. God live in me. Live so richly and so deeply in me so that when You look at me, You see Yourself. Hallelujah. Let it be so Lord, let it be so.

Lord, it is difficult. Really and truly difficult. But may I desire,

That others may be loved more than I.
That others may be esteemed more than I.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease.
That others may be chosen and I set aside.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed.
That others may be preferred to me in everything.

Lord, help me to desire to be so small so that I do not want or delight in the praise of the world, only Your approval. Help me to be so small God so that You are the only thing I truly desire. Lord, You satisfy. This hole in my heart, fill it God. Fill this God-sized hole completely so that I do not try to stuff other things in it. Lord, dwell in me so richly so that I do not worry about the things of this world; fill me with the peace that only You can give.

Blessed peace God.

The anxieties, the worries, the confusions, the fear...take it all away Lord. Help me to trust You fully; You know what You are doing.

Ah, Lord. Thank You. Thank You, thank You. You are always there when I need You. You never go away. Never. And I thank You for that.

Amen, Amen.

Real Love

I believe that these few verses fully embody the reason why I am a Christian.

Romans 5

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.

5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Praise God. Thank You Jesus. That is absolutely crazy. Even though we spat in His face and flogged Him and cursed Him, He died for our salvation. I mean, who does that? I believe with all my heart that God is insane. I know that He knows what He's doing, but the reason He does what He does will forever boggle my mind. I'm not worthy of this love! It's insane. Really and truly. Love is the driving force behind all that God does. Love and His glory. But then, maybe those two are synonymous? I don't know. All I know is that God has a real, deep, passionate love for me. And that's crazy.

One part that is idealistic, but hard to put into practice is verse 3, where we are called to rejoice in our sufferings. One thing that I am glad to God about is the fact that suffering draws us nearer to Him. But man, suffering is not fun. And I believe that I'd be strong enough for whatever comes my way, just me and God toughin' it out, but I don't how I'd be if I lost someone close to me. I don't know what that's like yet. My grandparents died, a sister in the church died, but I was never intimately involved in their lives. I miss them, but I don't cry when I think of them. It crosses my mind what I would do if my sister died. And when I think about it, it scares me. Because I don't know what I'd do. I don't know what I'd do! I go to her for EVERYTHING. And I doubt I'd run away from God, but I would be angry at Him and cling to Him at the same time. I'd def. probably do that. And things unexpected always happen to test your faith and I always worry that because I believe that the death of my sister is the worst thing that could ever happen to me, it will happen. God, please take that spirit of fear out of me. You said that You will never give me more than I can bear, so if Nicky dies, it means that I'll be able to bear it. You and me together. So when suffering comes, I will rejoice anyway. I will rejoice. Holy Spirit in me, give me the strength to rejoice through the pain.

These verses are so rich, I can go on and on. But I won't :3

Dad, thank You for sending Jesus to redeem mankind. And Jesus, thank You for reconciling us with the Father. I pray that Your message of hope and peace and eternal life will reach the people of the world and will transform it. For those in despair, those who are depressed, I pray that You will reveal Yourself to them and that they will be a first-hand witness of Your goodness and of Your mercy and of Your friendship and of Your love. Heal the world God, and may the Church, may Your people, be sharp and effective tools in the winning of souls for Your Kingdom. Thank You Jesus for who You are. I pray this in the name of Christ Jesus, Amen.

Indescribable God + Evil-hearted Human = Insane Love

Isaiah 41: 10-14

10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

11 "All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish.

12 Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you
will be as nothing at all.

13 For I am the LORD, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.

14 Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob,
O little Israel,
for I myself will help you," declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

God is so awesome. Like seriously, think about it. This is the guy that created everything we know, every object, every person, every idea, concept, etc. I mean, wow, He created Existence. Our existence is a creation of God. Job 38 and onward most def. conveys the awesomeness and vastness of God.

4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.

5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone-

16 "Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17 Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

19 "What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?

20 Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

21 Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!

22 "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,

23 which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?

24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?

25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,

26 to water a land where no man lives,
a desert with no one in it,

27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?

29 From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens

30 when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?

33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God's dominion over the earth?

35 Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, 'Here we are'?

36 Who endowed the heart with wisdom
or gave understanding to the mind?

37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens

38 when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?

And God just keeps on going. Job 38 and the chapters following are a reminder of how big God is. So when I fully realize and feel (don't think it's completely hit me yet) how big He is, it'll just kill even more to know that that same God cares HEAPS for me. I mean, I already know and understand that, but I'm waiting for the day when my body shakes because I am so overwhelmed. This God who gave us the capacity to think, to love, to reason; this God who laid the foundations of the earth; this God who placed the stars in the sky and knows them by name: This God loves me unconditionally and is on my side. The Creator of the UNIVERSE is on my side!!! That's CRAZY! He disgraces those who are against me, gives me the strength to fight on, and upholds me so that though I stumble, I will not fall. That...is freakin' amazing. A-MAY-ZING. Lord Jesus, I am eternally grateful to You. My flesh is rebellious and proud, but in my heart, I know that I do not deserve this. Even typing that out gave me a weird feeling. It went against the idea, the feeling that I am good and I deserve good, but God that is a lie. If I did not have Christ, I know that I would be a participant in activities that are wrong in Your eyes. Lord, thank You for loving me despite that though. Despite my flaws, despite my evil heart, thank You for loving me. Lil' ol' me. Big ol' God loves and cares for and fights for lil' ol' me! Wow God, Your love is amazing and I will never understand why you love us so much. A bajillion times more than Man's capacity to love. Hmph...that's crazy. You're insane. But thank you Lord, thank You. I pray that I will only come closer to You and that I will love You to maximum capacity X) Ah! Jesus! Thank You :-)