May God give you more and more grace and
peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. By his divine
power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have
received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by
means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and
excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises
that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption
caused by human desires. In 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, and knowledge with
self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance
with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection
with love for everyone. 2
Peter 1:2-7 (Underlined for emphasis.)
May God give you more and more grace and peace…. For what more could we ask? Grace, peace, knowledge. Then Peter continues with his sage advice reminding
the Christians to whom he was writing …and us that we need to put our knowledge
to use.
The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful
you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to
develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been
cleansed from their old sins. So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove
that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and
you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the
eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, I will always remind
you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm
in the truth you have been taught. And it is only right that I should keep on
reminding you as long as I live. For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I
must soon leave this earthly life, so I will work hard to make sure you always
remember these things after I am gone. 2
Peter 1:8-15
 |
| For unto you a child is born....Jesus Christ. |
Do you need a reminder to respond and to put your
knowledge into action…and to stand firm
in the truth you have been taught? Once again Advent is a time to reflect
on all that Jesus has done for us…and the knowledge we have been given. Then
respond. What are we doing with that knowledge? In earlier times the Jews were
the “keepers” of knowledge, but now after the Reformation the knowledge of
Jesus, King of the Jews, belongs to everyone who seeks Him. With the
availability of the Internet we are literally inundated with
knowledge…including Biblical knowledge.
Jesus was concerned
about the transfer of knowledge to His followers…and about their understanding.
Once when Jesus was talking with His disciples they asked about parables,
His disciples came and asked him, "Why do you use
parables when you talk to the people?" He replied, "You are permitted
to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To
those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they
will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even
what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I
use these parables, For they look, but they don't really see. They hear, but
they don't really listen or understand. Matthew 13:10-13
Pray for
understanding. There is hope when there is “understanding”—when one sees the
big picture that Jesus was painting for His followers. We need to listen—to gain
that understanding and share it. We are privileged to be permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven and to
go tell the world about Jesus…beginning in our neighborhoods.
Prayer
~ Heavenly Father, may I please You in all that I think, say and do. Thank you
for the lesson that I should not copy the behavior and customs of this world,
but allow You to transform me into a new person by changing the way I think.
Then I will learn to know Your will for me, which is good and pleasing and
perfect. Romans 12:2.
Daily Bible Reading:
Romans 14-16
Only
14 Days Until Christmas
© 2019 Text and
photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
Unless
otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation,
copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of
Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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