God Speaks
From: Simon Peter, a servant and missionary of Jesus Christ.
To: All of you who have our kind of faith. The faith I speak of is the kind that Jesus Christ our God and Savior gives to us. How precious it is, and how just and good he is to give this same faith to each of us.
2 Do you want more and more of God’s kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. 3 For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us! 4 And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character.
5 But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good, and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do. 6 Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. 7 This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply. 8 The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But anyone who fails to go after these additions to faith is blind indeed, or at least very shortsighted and has forgotten that God delivered him from the old life of sin so that now he can live a strong, good life for the Lord.
10 So, dear brothers, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen, and then you will never stumble or fall away. 11 And God will open wide the gates of heaven for you to enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 I plan to keep on reminding you of these things even though you already know them and are really getting along quite well! 13-14 But the Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that my days here on earth are numbered, and I am soon to die. As long as I am still here I intend to keep sending these reminders to you, 15 hoping to impress them so clearly upon you that you will remember them long after I have gone.
16 For we have not been telling you fairy tales when we explained to you the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. My own eyes have seen his splendor and his glory: 17-18 I was there on the holy mountain when he shone out with honor given him by God his Father; I heard that glorious, majestic voice calling down from heaven, saying, “This is my much-loved Son; I am well pleased with him.”
19 So we have seen and proved that what the prophets said came true. You will do well to pay close attention to everything they have written, for, like lights shining into dark corners, their words help us to understand many things that otherwise would be dark and difficult. But when you consider the wonderful truth of the prophets’ words, then the light will dawn in your souls and Christ the Morning Star will shine in your hearts. 20-21 For no prophecy recorded in Scripture was ever thought up by the prophet himself. It was the Holy Spirit within these godly men who gave them true messages from God.
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Peter did not write this letter to a specific group of people, but to anyone who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their God and Savior. It was written a short time before his death. In essence it contains his final instructions to believers whenever and wherever they read it. He begins by identifying with their faith, which, like his, was in Jesus Christ. The basis of their mutual faith was the justice, goodness, kindness, and peace of God. If readers desire to grow in faith, they must strive to learn more and more about and from Him. As they do, through His mighty power, He will give them all they need for life and godliness. He will graciously share His glory and excellence with them. Through the great and precious promises He has made to them, they can partake in His divine nature and escape the corruption in the world around them because sinful desires. To see these promises fulfilled readers would need to be determined. Cooperating with the Holy Spirit, they would build on top of the foundation of faith in Christ the following elements: good character, plus knowledge of God and His ways, plus self-discipline, plus stick-to-itiveness, plus righteous behavior, plus friendly, helpful interactions with other people, and finally, deep, self-giving love. With this kind of construction in the readers’ lives, they would be fully equipped to do anything Jesus would ask them to do. If they kept on growing and increasing in these areas, they would also receive a warm welcome and rich rewards as they entered His eternal kingdom. This letter is Peter’s legacy to remind anyone who read it how to be fruitful and effective in the Christian life. What Peter was writing about–who Jesus was and what He accomplished–was not just a fabricated narrative: it was confirmed by God the Father Himself on the Mount of Transfiguration, by the prophets of the Old Testament and by the changed lives of readers who put it into practice.
Prayer: Dear great and awesome God, thank You for the written word of God, by which for millennia, Your people have been instructed and sustained. It tells of the greatness of You, Lord God, and all You have done for us, particularly through Jesus Christ Your Son. Through Him, You have given me all I need for life and godliness. Through Your Holy Spirit, I can share in Christ’s glory and excellence. Thank You for Your precious promises that give me hope and a future. Through the Spirit’s work in me, I can participate in Christ’s nature and be set free from the corruption brought on by sinful desires (both mine and other people’s). I am determined to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to see Christ’s goodness, wisdom, self-discipline, faithfulness, godliness, friendliness, and selfless love expressed in and through me. I look forward to spending eternity with You and receiving crowns and awards which I will humbly give to the One who really deserves them, Jesus. Lord, what legacy do You want me to leave for the benefit of current and future generations? I long for You to say of me, “This is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.” May all that I say, do, feel, and think be conformed to the teachings of the prophets in the Old and New Testaments as well as other wise and godly people throughout history and in my own day and time. For Your glory, Lord. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will talk with someone about the greatness of God and all He has done for us, particularly through Jesus Christ His Son. Preferably, this will be someone who has not yet believed in Him.
- I will diligently cooperate with the Holy Spirit to see Christ’s goodness, wisdom, self-discipline, faithfulness, godliness, friendliness, and selfless love expressed in and through me.
- I will ask God to show me what kind of legacy He wants me to leave, then work on it with His direction and help.
- I will read a book of the Bible or one written by a godly person and look for ways to apply it in my life.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.