CONSUMED BY FIRE

 

CONSUMED BY FIRE

II Peter 3:7 And God has also commanded that the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment, when ungodly people will perish. NLT

God has commanded it; He will destroy the heavens and earth by fire. When He judges mankind, He will purify all that is by fire. The only ones who will survive God's judgment will be the godly in heart.

This should cause us to pause and think for a moment. Today man has the ability to destroy the world with fire. There are enough countries in the world who have nuclear weapons that can literally destroy life as we know it. Just to know that man could do it should cause us to realize that the coming of the Lord has to be very near. God promises us that He will do it, not man.

Knowing this should cause us to consider our readiness for Christ's coming. We have been lulled to sleep by our modern-day comforts, but it's time for us to wake up before it's too late. Far too many are not looking for the Lord's return and thus are careless about how they live their lives. Few pursue godliness. There seems to be a contentment with the minimal involvement in the life of faith. God does not hold a prominent place in the heart of most.

Don't mess around with your standing before God. Take your faith seriously or you may very well be left behind when Jesus comes. He commands holiness in our hearts. He commands our submission to Him and obedience. How about it? If Jesus comes today, would you be ready?

ENTANGLED BY SIN

 

ENTANGLED BY SIN

II Peter 2:20-21 And when people escape from the wicked ways of the world by learning about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up with sin and become its slave again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the right way to live than to know it and then reject the holy commandments that were given to them. NLT

I can't help but be taken aback when I read passages of Scripture like this. No matter how one may interpret it, Peter gives us a very stern warning about what it is like for those who turn their backs on Jesus. I believe it's a warning that we must take seriously.

When people escape from the wicked ways of the world, they can only do it through Christ. No one is able to separate himself from the world without Christ's help. We must learn all that we need to know about Jesus and embrace Him as our Savior. I believe Peter is referring to more than just a head knowledge of Christ here. Just knowing about Christ does not set us free from the world.

When people let sin entangle them again, they are worse off than they were before. This is true because in essence they are spitting in the face of Christ and rejecting what He has done for them. They are telling the Lord that what He did for them doesn't matter, that they don't regard Him as worth keeping.

When people do not embrace Jesus as Lord as well as their Savior, they are easily led into sin. It takes more than forgiveness to keep a person in Christ; it takes commitment as well. We cannot give the Lord part of us; we must give Him all of us. We are easily lured into sin because of its powerful draw. We are weak and vulnerable and without Jesus being our Lord, we are very likely to fall into sin.

Don't put yourself in a position where it is even possible for you to be led back into sin. Give Jesus all of your heart, mind and soul. Let Him be Lord over everything you are. Determine in your heart that you will not let sin defeat you. Instead, defeat Satan by letting Jesus be Lord of you.

When we are living in Christ and working out our salvation, there is no way that we will forsake Him and once again become entangled by sin. When we experience the realness of Christ and His holiness, we will only want Him. It’s when we neglect Him and take our eyes off of Him that we run into trouble.

INSPIRED BY GOD

 

INSPIRED BY GOD

II Pet. 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves, or because they wanted to prophecy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God. NLT

Two things must clearly be understood here. One thing is that no part of God's Word comes from human origin. All Scripture comes from the heart and mind of God. God has told us everything He wants us to know about life and need to know. There is so much more He could have told us, but it is not for us to know now. Perhaps someday He will reveal more things to us, but not now. There will always be a limit on what we will know and understand because we are not God, but we can be sure of this: the Scriptures are absolutely true from beginning to end because they come from God himself.

The other thing we must understand is that God was absolutely in control of the revelation process. The writers of the Scriptures did not write because they wanted to do it; they were compelled by God to do it. God determined who would write and when it would be done. He determined how it would be done and what would be said. By His direction alone we have the Scriptures. They are God's complete revelation and they are completely true. Period.

God used people to write His Word. They wrote through the filter of their own personalities and the times in which they lived. God guided them in what to say but allowed them to say it in their own unique ways.

God is responsible for the content of the Scriptures, and we are responsible for our obedience to it. God makes known to us what we need to know. Some parts of it are beyond our understanding, and we accept those parts as truth simply because God said it.

It is fruitless and exasperating to try to come up with answers to questions that God has not clearly made known to us. There will always be disagreements and discussions over things that are hidden in the wisdom and knowledge of God. We waste our time debating things that can be understood differently as long as it doesn’t involve the redeeming work of Christ at Calvary.

What we cannot resolve, we accept by faith, agree to disagree agreeably with others, and get on with the business of the Kingdom. We must stop pointless debates over our disagreements while the world is plunging deeper and deeper into sin and going to hell.

What we need to know for our faith walk, the Lord will make it known to us.

WORK HARD

 

WORK HARD

II Pet. 1:10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Doing this, you will never stumble or fall away. NLT

Hard work never hurt anybody. In fact, hard work will help you and not hinder you in the development of your life and soul. Hard work produces good results. It is an essential part of our walk with Christ.

If you are in Christ, you will strive to do all you can do to please Him. You will be determined to honor Him. You will give Him your best effort for He is worthy of nothing but your best. Working hard on the development of your soul is absolutely essential for healthy growth. We stop growing and being effective when we stop working.

It is easy to spot those who take faith seriously and are working hard to grow it. Godly character cannot be hidden. Others can readily see those who are maturing in faith. The things that come out of their mouths and the things that they do testify to the workings of Christ in them.

Those who are working hard at working out their salvation do not stumble or fall away from Christ. It is those who are lazy and don’t work out their faith that slip and fall away from Him. There simply is no way to keep grounded in Christ apart from hard work. We must work hard at maintaining and growing in our spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer and witnessing. We must hold ourselves accountable and constantly commit ourselves to these disciplines. We must never take for granted our salvation. Instead, we value it above all things and constantly work hard at keeping it fresh and alive in our souls.

Hard workers must surround themselves with others who are working hard for maximum encouragement and inspiration. Hard workers learn from each other how to make their hard work pay off.

Hard workers are an example to others that indeed in Christ all things are possible. Great is the reward in heaven for those who always are working hard at working out their salvation.

GOD CHANGES US

 

GOD CHANGES US

II Pet. 1:6-8 Knowing God better leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. NLT

The more you grow in your knowledge of God, the better you become in your relationship with Him. Knowing God is first a heart knowledge and then a head knowledge. A head knowledge without heart knowledge produces nothing of eternal value in the soul. Knowledge that does not produce fruit in our lives is useless.

Knowing God always flows from Calvary. No one can have a relationship with God apart from Christ. We are condemned to hell because of our sins unless Jesus is invited into the soul and forgives us for our sins.

Knowing God changes us from the inside out. It changes our ability to maintain control of our heart motives and desires. God enables us to take charge of our soul’s progress. As we gain control over our sinful nature and begin to live godly lives, we learn how to patiently endure in our walk through life. We grow to understand that we are works in progress and must allow time for God to mold us into godliness. We don’t give up on God, and we don’t give up on ourselves.

As we patiently endure, we become more and more godly for the more God chips away at our sinful nature, the more like Him we become. It takes a lot of work to become godlier than the sinful creatures we are. It takes determination and unwavering commitment to the process.

Godliness translates into godly love. We develop a genuine love for all. We first learn how to love all who are a part of the family of God, and then we learn how to love those who are not saved. If we can’t love other believers, we will never love those for whom Jesus died outside of the faith. In fact, if we can’t love other believers, then we can’t truly say we love God.

As we change and become a holy people before God saturated by His love, we become useful and productive members of God’s family. We become vital parts of what God is doing to reach those who are lost for Him. We become the light and salt of the world for the glory of Christ.

God changes us. If we are not changing into a holy people, we are not children of God. It’s as simple as that.

PRODUCTIVE AND USEFUL FAITH

 

PRODUCTIVE & USEFUL FAITH

II Pet. 1:5-8 So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. NLT

How much effort are you putting into applying the promises of God into your life? There are wonderful benefits to all who do. God does not give us promises for our selfish gain. His promises properly applied lead to godliness. They work together to strength and increase our faith. The natural progression of faith is that it changes us from the inside out. We develop souls that are grounded deep in the holiness and righteousness of Christ. We become like Christ in our ability to genuinely love others, which affects all of what we do.

To know God is different than knowing about God. To know God is to enter into a relationship with God that results in a heart change, a change that transforms us into godliness.

The more we develop in our godliness, the more productive we become in Christ. We become more than vessels of knowledge; we become useful servants of God. The promises of God were never intended to make us feel good; they are given to help us bring glory and honor to God in the way we live.

Reread today's verses. Look at yourself in light of them. What is God's Word producing in you? Are you becoming a person of moral excellence? Are you gaining in your heart knowledge of God? Are you growing in your ability to control yourself? Are you able to patiently endure whatever comes your way? Can you claim to be godlier today than you ever were before? Are you able to react to others in a loving way that reflects the love of Christ?

Standing strong on the promises of God will lead to a life that can answer yes to all of the questions above.

GOD'S PROMISES APPLIED

 

GOD’S PROMISES APPLIED

II Pet. 1:5 So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. NLT

God’s promises don’t do us any good at all if they are not applied to life. We will benefit from them only to the extent that we apply them. God’s Word is always true and helpful, but only if we put forth the effort to let it work in us. When God’s promises fail to work for us, the problem lies within us and not His Word.

When God’s promises are allowed to work in us, then our faith grows and we become the people of holiness God created us to be. Moral excellence is not achieved by accident. It comes from diligently applying God’s Word to our lives. The more we live by the Word, the more the Word lives in us. We become what we feast on. Achieving moral excellence is not an option for the believer; it’s God’s will and command for us.

When we get our hearts right with God, then we soon discover we know God better. The more we grow in faith, the more we understand the workings of God in us and through us. It’s a never-ending discovery. It’s a process that we are so privileged to be a part of. God wants us to know more and more about himself. He wants us to enjoy Him more and more. He wants us to discover all that He desires to do in us and through us.

God wants these things for us, but He won’t make it happen without our willingness to make it happen. We must do our part and put into practice His promises. We must set our hearts on things above before the things above can become a part of us.

Be honest. How much effort are you putting into applying God’s Word into your life? How close to moral excellence are you? How well do you really know God?