God’s Word Daily

Hope in the Dark

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Scripture:  2 Peter 1:19-21

19And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Observations:

Peter commends the prophetic word of the Old Testament to His readers.

It is a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts.

The Holy Spirit catalyzed the prophetic word by the will of God.

Application:

I love the picture here.  Waiting for morning.  The Word of God is like a lamp brightening the dark places of my heart, until “the morning star rises” and a new day dawns casting out all the darkness.  Jesus is the morning star, He is the new day.

The Word of God encourages me to wait on the Lord.  To look expectantly for His deliverance.  To pray with the Spirit, “Come Lord Jesus.”  The Word of God shows me how waiting can be active.  And it is divinely inspired to reveal Jesus Christ in a broken world and even a broken heart.

Prayer:  

Heavenly Father, some of my friends need hope today.  May they see the promise of a new day in the company of your Son.  AMEN.

Eavesdropping on Love

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Scripture:  2 Peter 1:16-18

16For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

Observations:

Peter affirms that they were not making up their message about Jesus.  They were eyewitnesses to his majesty.

The saw and they heard the honour and glory from God the Father on the mountain when He announced his love, relationship, and delight.

Application:

The human experience is by design one in which we discover the most about us from those who speak into our lives.  This is why rejection is so powerful.  This is why announcements of love are so powerful.  Some forms of spirituality reject this reality by determining to find meaning only within oneself.  But we were designed to hear the deepest truth about ourselves from outside of ourselves.  Our identity in Christ Jesus is restored through the Gospel so that we know, “I am loved.”

We pay lots of attention at weddings and movies to declarations of love.  For the Disciples these were words of divine affirmation and love overheard between the Heavenly Father and Jesus:  “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  Peter wants His readers to have confidence in the Gospel message:  Jesus is who he says He is, and He is uniquely qualified to announce the Father’s love to us.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, In this moment I am trusting you and your Son.  But in other moments I lose my mind and am not so aware of my true identity.  Fill me with your Spirit.  May the greatness of Jesus be seen through my weakness.  May you cause my confidence in the Gospel to grow.  AMEN.

The Disciple-Maker’s Desire

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Scripture:  2 Peter 1:12-15

12Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

Observations:

Therefore:  Connects Peter’s intention to continually remind the church of these qualities (See verses 5-8) with the Gospel-inspired drive to grow as Jesus’ people (See verses 10-11).

Peter emphasizes his intention to stir them up, to remind them, and to make it possible for them to recall what they have been taught.

Application:

The work of the Gospel is to make disciples to Jesus.  This requires building relationships and creating the environments that make real-time, real-life teaching, exhortation, correction, and encouragement possible.  I love the drive and passion that Peter shows here.  He is so concerned for the well-being of these followers of Jesus.  Even as he is approaching the end of his days, he is internally motivated to do whatever it takes for them to thrive.  However, the “whatever it takes” is bounded by what Peter believes will make the difference:  their capacity to recall the Gospel.  From the cross, to the forgiveness of sin, to the vision of Jesus’ character and life in them, Peter is determined for this to remain beyond the days of His life.

And so it is for all who hear the disciple-making call of Jesus, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  We love and pour a part of their lives into another not so they will remember us, but so that they will remember Jesus.  In this way their life, like Peter’s will become a living memorial to Jesus Christ and His Gospel for another generation.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, light up the disciple-maker’s heart in me for others to know and grow in Jesus.  AMEN.

Becoming A Gracist

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Scripture:  2 Peter 1:10-11

10Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Observations:

Therefore:  it connects the call to keep building our character in response to God’s grace in the Gospel to diligence…

Calling and election:  The reality that God chooses us for inclusion in His Kingdom on the basis of grace through Jesus Christ and not our own merit.

Application:

The accusation against the “gracists” is that they give people excuses to sin grandly.  But here’s the deal, my sin, does not add that meaning to my life.  My sin actually points out where I have not let areas of my life be infiltrated and changed by the grace of Jesus.  The Gospel tells me that for those who receive Jesus as Lord are forgiven.  “To make my calling and election sure” means that I am making efforts to cooperate with the Spirit of the Living God so that I respond to His grace.  His grace propels me into a greater vision for life — to be like Jesus and honour Him with my life.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I’m thankful that improvement / growth in Christ is not a means for securing my position with you.  That’s settled!  Thank you.  This mysterious choice you have made to elect, to choose, to include has changed my life.  You accepted me, and thankfully you are still working on me.  Grant me the grace to keep working with you all the days of my life.  AMEN.

Y(our) Remedy for Spiritual Stagnation

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Scripture:  2 Peter 1:5-9 NLT

5In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

8The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

Observations:

Peter observes that the failure to grow in our faith creates

shortsighted, blind (or myopic) people

who have forgotten that they have been cleansed from their old sins.

Application:

Remember, treasuring, reflecting on the Gospel and Jesus’ extraordinary love for us shown at the cross is the catalyst for all that is good in our spiritual growth.  If you want your relationship with Jesus to regularly be refreshed consider again the delight of coming to know Him and the joy having sin forgiven.  Pause again and consider His unmerited kindness expressed towards us.  Dive into the depths of your simple confession: “Jesus is Lord.”

Shortsighted, stagnated Christians have trouble seeing an increasingly large vision of God.  They have trouble looking back and seeing God’s grace in their past.  They have difficulty looking forward and seeing how God’s grace pulls them forward into a new way of living in His Kingdom.

Since we are interested in “our” spiritual growth I must never underestimate the power of listening long, patiently, and hopefully in the power of the Spirit with another follower of Jesus who is struggling to see grace.  The challenge when I speak is to give voice to a vision of grace without falling into the wide and destructive ditches of moralism or relativism.  Without this grace-infused wisdom we are doomed to be the blind leading the blind.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for wiping out my past sins.  It cost you so much!  Its a problem when my sin seems larger than your grace.  Such lies are unworthy of Jesus.  I want Him to stand in the darkened rooms of my life and say to me, “Truly, Truly, I say to you…”  May He cast out the darkness and let me hear again, “You are my beloved.”  Then I will see.  AMEN.