Verse of the day: 2 Peter 1:4 by which have been
given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may
be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
It often amazes me that
we, as God’s children, sometimes find it difficult to think of things that we
can be thankful for. It becomes quite apparent when we spend more time
complaining about life, rather than spending more time in giving thanks and
praise to God for eternal life. Today’s verse is a wonderful reminder that we,
through what Jesus did for us, have been given “exceedingly great and precious
promises”. These promises are backed by the fact that we serve a God who never
breaks a promise, and a hope that is real because Jesus is risen, and is alive
and well. If we have entered into a personal relationship with Jesus, by
calling upon Him and accepting His free gift of salvation, then we know that we
have been justified (declared “not guilty”), and are now new creations in
Christ (2 Cor 5:17). The sin that separated us from our Creator was paid for on
Calvary, and we have been reconciled to God who is now our Heavenly Father, in
Christ Jesus. Upon our adoption, we have been sealed and indwelt by the Holy
Spirit who is now taking us through the process of sanctification (making us
more like Jesus), Eph 1:13; John14:16-17; Rom 8:29. God promises that we will
be His forever, and that no one will be able to separate us from His love, or
snatch us from His hands (John 10: 28-30; Rom 8:38-39). As if that were not
enough, He also promise that He will come back to get us so that we will be
with Him for all of eternity (John 14:1-4; 1 Thess 4:15-17). Although we have
inherited such magnificent promises, we still have a responsibility to live a
life that is holy, righteous, and bring honor to our Savior, as we are His
ambassadors here on earth (2 Cor 5:20). We are told in Scripture that we are to
work out our salvation, and do so without complaining (Phil 2:12-14). Here, the
Apostle Peter reaffirms for us what the Apostle Paul told us in Philippians. Because
we have such great and precious promises, and because we share in God’s nature
through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, we ought to work hard at being holy, controlling
our desires, being patient, enduring hardships, and doing those things that
please God (and doing it by faith, which is the only thing we can do to please
Him; Heb 11:6). We are to treat our brothers and sister in Christ with kindness
and love others as God loves them. In doing this we will have the ability to
have a greater knowledge of our Lord, and will be of greater use to Him, in our
service to Him, here and now. Ultimately, to refuse to do these things is to
live as if we have forgotten what Jesus has already done for us. The bottom
line is that we have been given all that we need to live a life that is filled
with joy and peace, and endure during trials and tribulations. We have been
given eternal life, and have an undeserved opportunity to live a life of fellowship
with, and service to, the God of creation, the Savior of mankind, the King of
kings, and Lord of lords. God has given us promises that will bring us comfort,
regardless of what He allows us to face; the deciding factor, however, in us
actually experiencing that comfort comes down to whether or not we trust and believe
Him. However, let us be certain that regardless of whether we believe Him, or
not, His promises are always, and will always be, true. What a blessed people
we are!
No comments:
Post a Comment