March 12th The Welcome Sign is Out! 2Peter 1:10 - 15
For those of us who have traveled a little; you can relate with me, when you've been on the road for a long time: You're tired, hungry, and empty -- you pull into a town (where you have no advanced reservations) and all you see is that depressing sign -- "NO VACANCY". The business meetings were exhausting or the kids are restless (and all they want is a hotel with a pool, right?) All, you want is a bed & pillow, yet...NO VACANCY.
...and then you see it in the distance; VACANCY - WELCOME! Yes! Finally, we have arrived.
vs. 11 "...and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
Please, let this settle-in for a moment. Let the Spirit of God resound this in your inner being, to the depths of your soul...
WELCOME!.....
.........................................................
Welcome, I've been waiting for you, I've been expecting you....rest, peace, joy.
"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome..."
Peter states in vs.12 that this is so important, that we remember these things, even though we are firmly established in truth...
"So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things."
Wow, what a commitment, what a love, what a concern, what a legacy! This is obviously very important to Peter (and to God). This is our life blood, our foundation, our rock...to be reminded of our "divine power" vs. 3; of "His glory and goodness" vs. 3; of "escaping corruption" vs. 4; of "adding to our faith" vs. 5; of "truth" vs. 12
Remember these things; Remember these things; Remember these things
Refresh your memory; Refresh your memory; Refresh your memory
Share this Refreshing with your family, your friends, your brothers & sisters in Christ.
Again, stop for a moment (or longer) and Refresh your memory, remember, reflect, repent, and rejoice!
Welcome!
posted by BPC @ 12:28 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Hey guys
I got kind of confused with this post. What exactly are we supposed to reflect and remember? God's personal works in our life? or like the works he did in the bible? or a mixture of both? or what... It's kinda sad how I think about how much life just sort of passes me by. For being a guy that doesn't like change, you'd think that I would always be remembering and reflecting. I guess in a way I am, but not about the right things. If I were to reflect and remember more on God's faithfulness, mercy, power, guidance, and love I think , well for me anyway, that my day to day life would be refreshed and I would be able to slow down and live my life in a more effective way as a child of God. It would also help me keep things in perspective (that's if Im interpreting the message in this post properly). Which is definitely a biggy for me right now. Anyway, back to my originally question, if I could get an answer that would be great.
DrummerBoy4Life,
Stephen
Hey,
I'm afraid that I must confess some confusion as to the point of the latest entry. :) It started almost as a good case for God providing for us in everything, but then I sort of lost the thread. Of course, you are right that one must continually refresh themselves by reading the word of God and living for Him daily, but...I'm sorry, I just think it could have been more clear. Maybeit's just me, though. :)
Jedi,
James
Hey, Drummerboy, I think that you are far closer to knowing what this blog is all about than you think.
It is precisely because "life is passing us by" that Peter wrote this magnificent letter. It is a reminder of the reality that we must remember to add to our faith every day the very characteristics, the very passions and pursuits, the very behaviours that will allow our faith to not just become cemented, but grow.
Spiritual growth is what our lives should be all about. I celebrated coming to faith in Christ 25 years ago on February 28th...if I look back on those days in my life (at the age of 21 and a university student) I know exactly what God has done, and I know exactly the cooperative effort between my decisions to act and the role of the Holy Spirit to help me become more like Jesus---It has been spiritual growth that has allowed me to become who I am today.
But just like you say...life passes you by. That is why it is important to remember; to develop a continuous longing to pursue truth and appropriate truth in your life; to be refreshed by the realities of God's Word as it relates to us how to live our Christian life on a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month basis; to know what to do when we stumble; to know how to react when we fail Him; to discover the moment-by-moment reality of His presence in our lives when "life is passing us by."
It isn't just about keeping perspective. While I understand what you mean by this, keeping perspective can sometimes cause us to be far too introspective. This post reminds us that we need to "turn" our perspective on the very things that Peter was telling us to remember...the previous verses of this chapter. If we could only turn our focus in the right direction when we are facing the variety of challenges and distractions of living, we would be heeding Peter's charge to remember.
Your faith and my faith waiver at times. We aren't always "on top." We stagger, we fall, we "mess up." But our position in Christ remains constant, and Christ extends His hand to us to encourage us to step back up and keep walking...we can do so because of His divine power and because our calling doesn't change.
Remain strong, young drummerboy. Take the time to reflect (like a set of mirrors, let the light reflect off many thoughts and bounce around as you ask God for direction and for truth to be known); don't be in such a hurry; and keep on developing a questioning mind so that you can not only love God with your heart and soul, but with the reasoning that allows you to question what God's Word is saying and so that you can understand and know the truth of God as "life is passing you by."
Hey Jedi, thanks for commenting on this blog and I extend to you a warm welcome!
This devo is based on some of the previous devo's from 2 Peter. 2 Peter was written to warn us (Christians) about false teachers and to exhort us to grow in our faith and knowledge of Christ. Peter reminds us of our ability to participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. Peter is reminding us that false teachers (prophets) will be among us. We need to add to our faith (we are babes in Christ at first, but we must mature to be wise of the enemy's schemes). We will learn more as 2 Peter unfolds....WAJD!!
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