March 1, 2011 - It's another 1-verse-day.
2 Peter 1:4 - "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in this world through (by) lust (sinful desires)."
Did you know that God's Word is filled with promises from God to us? Hebrews 13:15 - "...I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." John 14:2 - "I go to prepare a place for you." Oh, there are so many! This would make a good bible study - seeking out God's promises to us. ~Tammy~
February 28, 2011 - Well, I was going to read another couple of verses this morning, but there was so much in verse 3, I had to stop!
"According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue...."
What strikes me here is that God, by his divine power, has already given us, as believers, ALL the tools we need to live in godliness. He has called us to live lives of glory (to him) and virtue (excellence), but like yesterday's verse 2, we can once again only achieve this through knowledge of him. "Book learnin'" has its place to be sure, but there is, I believe, no greater "study" than that of God's Word, where we find God himself - and in finding Him, we find His will for us. ~Tammy~
February 27, 2011 - I started 2 Peter today. I wanted to hurry through the first few verses because they are always just the "greeting"; I was eager to get to the real "meat" of the passage. But like a quiet whisper in my soul came the reminder that there is not one word, not one "jot or tittle" in God's Word that is "filler" material; if it's in God's Word, it's there for a reason...
So, I backed up and started over. And what I found there surprised me.
v. 1 says, "...to them that have obtained like precious faith..." Our faith is PRECIOUS! How often do I treat it like an old shoe? How often do I take it for granted?
v.1 continues, "...have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ..." There is only ONE way to obtain faith - through God's righteousness. Not our righteousness, not our good works, not by good intentions...that's it. One way.
v.2, "...grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord..." How do I get grace and peace? By knowing God and Jesus! Not knowing "of" them - but knowing them personally. How can I "know" God? By reading HIS Word, by praying, by hearing His Word preached!
Wow - I'm so thankful that God didn't let me skip over the first two verses! Now I really can't wait to see what comes next!!
