260 in 2012 DEVOS - Day 228 - 2 Peter 1: Everything We Need

Introduction to 2 Peter: This letter was written by the apostle Peter (1) in approximately AD 67. Peter knew his life was coming to an end (13-14) so He wrote to warn about false teachers and to remind believers of the eternal, unchanging truth of the Gospel. 2 Peter 1: Everything We Need “Consumer” is a good word for us people types. Seems like we are always wanting something: clothes, a new phone, the latest computer, new shoes, bigger vacations, more money, nicer truck, yadda, yadda, yadda….. I need to hear verse 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.” These are amazing words we all need to hear! Promises from God like this exist so that “through them we may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” Cool God stuff! Next Peter lines out what faith looks like: learning to know God better, developing perseverance, doing God’s will and loving others. These actions require work and they overlap each other. We must practice them because “they will keep us from being ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Only then we can get a “way to go” from God on the day we arrive in heaven! Finally, Peter was an eyewitness of Jesus, specifically the transfiguration (17-18). He didn’t make up this stuff about Jesus. As a matter of fact, none of the writers of the Bible did: “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” SO WHAT?! *What is it you are “wanting” these days? The latest phone so you can keep up with your friends? More money? Bigger muscles? Cooler wheels? Whatever it is, we need to never forget that this earth is just our temporary living place. Everything we need to live this life for Jesus He has already given us. We just need to live it. *Are you having an impact on your friends for Jesus or are they impacting you towards worldliness? I learned early in my Christian life, that if I don’t see myself as a missionary, it won’t be long before I’m the mission field! How about you? In what tangible ways are you being an ambassador? Really, who wants to live an ineffective and unproductive life!?~! Just sayin’… *This chapter teaches us that the Bible was written by GOD. Yes, He used people, but HE is the author and He gave them what to write. This is why we call it “God’s Word.” Think about this the next time we get busy and blow off reading it. When we do that, we put off the most impactful and powerful words we could ever receive for the day. Ouch. Lets read!