Devotions II Peter
II Peter 1:1-4
Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,[d] 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
“But I can’t”. We have heard many people use this phrase and we have used it ourselves quite often. Granted, there are times when saying this is absolutely true: I can’t run fast…not sure I can run at all! But often Christians will say this with regard to living the Christian life and embracing Christian virtue.
We know that the Christian life is one that makes radical and life altering demands on our thoughts, speech and behavior. And I for one certainly can understand why, humanly speaking, a man or woman might find themselves in deep water and think that the Lord is simply asking too much of them. But is He? Our struggle with sin, our failure to form new liturgies and habits of life that take us away from laziness, self-centeredness and an unproductive Christian experience has more than once left us despairing.
Peter of all people would completely understand this! Yet, Peter sounds an opening salvo: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…”The Holy Spirit, under whose divine influence Peter writes, says quite clearly; Jesus gives us everything we need to be godly…everything we need to choose wisely…everything we need to continue the journey of being made holy as Jesus is holy.
To put it bluntly, the blame for our failure to live as Christ has called us to live, can in no way be laid at His feet. The Lord has given us His Spirit. Think for a moment about what we are saying to confess such a gift. God…God the Holy Spirit indwells those who belong to Yahweh. What must it mean to have God indwelling you? Would having the presence of God make a difference in someone’s life? Wouldn’t we expect there to be a marked dichotomy between those who are so indwelt and those who know nothing of this gift?
What about the gift of His Word? The psalmist says that God confides in His people through His word. God tells us what He loves, what is in His heart, what His purposes are for the world, for His church and even for us as individuals. There is nothing that you need to know about life in this world that is not told to you in Holy Scripture. If someone watched our lives for one week would they conclude that the Word of God is to you, a gift beyond wonder, by noting your attention given to it?
What about the gift of Worship? David says that there is nothing he desires more than to be in the house of the Lord. The book of Acts tells us that when the Holy Spirit came upon men and women on the day of Pentecost that the people gave themselves daily to worship. The Christian church has always stood on the Biblical foundation that in the Lord’s Day worship, heaven comes to earth, or rather, we are lifted up to heaven. God is present for us, in a way that He is at no other time, when His holy people gather on His Holy day, to lift up Holy Hands, and to partake of fellowship with the saints triumphant and God Himself. What is worship to you? During these days of quarantine and isolation, has your heart ached and yearned to go to the house of the Lord? Or, are you getting comfortable just staying at home, perhaps watching a service on your computer, folding some laundry or doing some dishes?
What about the gift of baptism and the Eucharist? God says that it is through these means that He communicates grace to faith. It is through the breaking of bread that our eyes are open to beholding the Christ. It is through baptism and the renewing of ours each time we witness the sacred act, that God places His name upon His children and claims them for Himself. There are many wonderful ways we experience the wonder of God in the world, but none like the means of grace that He has established for that purpose. What value, of what significance to us are these gifts?
What about the gift of genuine Christian fellowship and celebration of God’s mercies to us? It has been difficult and precarious to open our homes during these weeks and for some, this would not be advisable. But for others, I would ask are we living in fear and allowing what should be a gift of God, an experience that gives courage, to be taken from us. And for those beloved brothers and sisters who are highly susceptible to illness, does your heart ache and yearn for the day when we can break bread together and speak of the things of our Lord?
Some time ago I was speaking with a man whose Christian life was waning. He was doing poorly and he knew he was doing poorly but he said he simply didn’t know what to do. His words seemed earnest to change the direction of his spiritual pilgrimage. He confessed that he doesn’t read the Bible nor pray all that much…days on end without even a thought to such discipline. He had stopped going to the weekly Bible study that for so long was part of his life’s liturgy. The same was true of prayer meetings. In fact, he wasn’t all that faithful to attend church regularly any more. His free time was spent with folks from work who didn’t share a love of Christ or a wonder of the joys of His mercy. I listened and then was a bit confused when he concluded: “I don’t know why my Christian life is being lived so poorly and why I am not sensing the Lord’s nearness.”
Of course he knew why. The Lord has given him everything he needs for life and godliness…But he was ignoring those gifts, perhaps it is not too strong to say that as a baptized child of God, he was despising them.
Brothers and sisters, the Christian life, a man or woman who is set apart to live for the glory of Jesus, does not offer an easy life but it does offer a virtuous and joy filled life. It offers a life of godliness. However, as trite as it might sound, we have to want it. If we will make use of all that Christ has given for life and godliness; Let’s run into those things, making much of them! Let’s see if we can’t exhaust these gifts (which we can’t!) so deeply are we given over to the gifts that Christ has showered upon us!
Prayer: Gracious Father, forgive me for ignoring the gifts you have given. Forgive me for not pursuing godliness in extravagant ways with all my heart, mind, body and soul. Holy Spirit, create in me a desire that is insatiable for all that is mine in Christ Jesus and lead me into holiness, righteousness, joy, celebration and wonder and may my life be a testimony to the wonders of God’s grace and the abundance of belonging to the Messiah, in His name I pray, Amen.
Hymn: Jesus Thy Blood and Righteousness