Category: Bible Study

Be Ready!

5-9 So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

2 Peter 1:5-9 (The Message–emphasis added)
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Do you plan for emergencies? Most people have some basic idea or plan for expected circumstances; a first-aid kit for home accidents; a small store of food or water; perhaps a generator in case of a power outage… But how many of us have a plan for the unexpected? Not just a vague idea of “what if…” but a plan. Some people have a stock of toilet paper and bottled water for their house or apartment, but no plan for what to do if they need to evacuate or relocate due to a flood or hurricane, or if they lose electricity for more than three days due to a storm, or if their building should catch fire.

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On September 11, 2001, when airplanes flew into the Twin Towers in New York City, several thousand people had to be quickly evacuated from the burning buildings. There were some plans in place; most had been misplaced or forgotten. And the chaos and confusion led to mixed messages– “stay put and wait for help…”,” don’t use the elevators…”,”get out as quickly as possible…”,” the stairways are unsafe…” But the vice president for corporate security at Dean Witter/Morgan Stanley, Richard Cyril Rescorla, was prepared for the worst. He had been planning and rehearsing for years after the failed attacks in 1993. He quickly implemented his detailed plans, ushering hundreds out of offices and into the stairwells, where they descended to safety in spite of the smoke and panic. He went back several times, checking to see who else needed help and guidance. Regardless of where they worked or who they were, Rescorla came with calm reassurance and authority, sending them into the path of rescue workers who could then offer greater assistance. Rescorla himself never made it safety– as he kept going up to get others out, he became trapped and perished when the towers fell. However, his years of planning, and his dedicated efforts on that fateful day saved the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of people. (See more here: https://www.911memorial.org/connect/blog/recognizing-war-hero-who-led-wtc-survivors-safety-911 )

We may not be called on to face another disastrous day like 9/11, but we are called to be alert and ready as we follow Christ. Those who followed Christ during His earthly ministry were called disciples. The name comes from the same root as discipline. They literally “walked” with Christ. They went where He went; they ate what He ate; they slept where He slept; they did whatever He asked them to do. If we seek to follow Christ, we must be ready to live lives of alert discipline. This comes after we take our first steps of Faith, and build on our character and understanding of God’s will. Our actions should not just be spontaneously “good” in the short-term, but patterned on the need to be prepared for the kind of challenges and trials we should expect to face. Just as Jesus was prepared for those who came to challenge Him with trick questions and false accusations, we need to be prepared to be challenged, rejected, and subjected to persecution. And we need to be prepared to respond, not with haughty complacency, outraged panic, or defensive tantrums, but with calm confidence and compassion.

The Apostle Peter, earlier in his letters, urges believers to be ready to give an answer (or a reason) for the hope that they have in Christ. (1 Peter 3:15) And this should not be a knee-jerk reaction to being challenged, or a snide commentary on doctrinal matters. We should be ready to be witnesses for the Majesty, Power, Grace, and Love of God as it has been experienced in our life and the lives of those around us. God never asked us to be His defense lawyers. He asks us to be faithful witnesses–not just of the facts about Him, but about our relationship WITH Him.

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We also need to be prepared to be relocated or evacuated from lives of comfort, complacency, and expectation, in order to GO into the world and spread the Gospel. We will not all be called to be “missionaries” in the traditional understanding of the word, but we ARE all called to be on mission– to be ready to share our hope, our resources, our time, and our love– with others, near and far.

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Today, I pray that God would continue to teach me as I live in obedience…that I would be alert and ready to speak, to walk, and to serve where and when and how HE sends. May I be ready to usher many others to safety as I share and live out the Gospel of Christ!

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Spiritual Understanding

5-9 So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

2 Peter 1:5-9 (The Message– emphasis added)
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8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not my ways.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 “For as heaven is higher than earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (Christian Standard Bible)

I do not understand God’s ways. If I try to work it out with human understanding, I will never make sense of how God works. I don’t have His wisdom or omniscience; I don’t have His eternal perspective or omnipotence. God will never answer all of my questions; He will never reveal all of His plans or reasoning to me. He calls me to walk in Faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) This is a stumbling block to many. It is especially frustrating for those who think they already DO know (almost) everything, and believe that they should be able to speak to God as a peer, even to be able to consult Him! I knew of a man (a convicted felon) who refused to repent of his actions. He admitted that he had done wrong, and that his prison sentence was deserved, but when challenged with how he would answer before God, he simply said–“God and I will come to an understanding.” He simply felt that if he explained “his side of the story,” God would change his immutable commandments and make an exception.

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God doesn’t need anyone to “explain” anything to Him. Nor does He “owe” any of His creation an explanation for His actions or seeming inactions. I will never understand why certain injustices are allowed to happen, and seem to go unpunished in my lifetime. I don’t understand God’s timing in my life– why my father died when he did, or why I had to wait so long to be married. But I am learning to trust that God knows every injustice, every need, every situation we face, and that He WILL make all things “right” in HIS time and in His perfect way.

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Spiritual Understanding has to come from the Spirit. It cannot come through our own wisdom or learning. It has to be built, not just on Faith, but on acting in Faith and walking humbly in conformity to our Good Shepherd’s example. We must become, not just “fans” of Christ, or even just students of Christ, but disciples of Christ, if we want to begin to have greater understanding. Like the apprentice, who must learn by doing, so we must learn through practice of God’s Word. We must also ASK for wisdom and understanding. (James 1:5) They are gifts, just like Salvation. We don’t earn understanding; we are granted it as we walk in obedience and faith.

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Today, my prayer is that I would receive insight as I learn to trust, and I would trust that God will give the wisdom I need for the day ahead– no more or less, and not a moment too late or too soon. And experience confirms that He is faithful to do just that!

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For Goodness’ Sake!

5-9 So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

2 Peter 1:5-9 (The Message)
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What does it mean to be “good?” This is a question that Jesus posed to the Rich Young Ruler in Luke 18:

18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 

Luke 18:18-19 (NIV)
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Jesus went on to list several Biblical commandments– you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, etc.., but even when the young man answers with confidence that he has kept all these commandments, Jesus says, “you still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me.” (v. 22)

Civil Rights activist Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gesturing during sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church. (Photo by Donald Uhrbrock//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Being “good” is not a matter of avoiding evil. It is more than being “correct” in our principles, and upright in our actions. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his famous address in 1963 said that he dreamed of a day when his children… would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the “content of their character.” Character, and more specifically the “good character” mentioned by Peter in the above passage, includes thoughts, principles, actions, and habits by which we are judged. I may never commit murder in the literal sense, but I will be judged wanting in character if my words and actions are vicious, snide, malicious, sarcastic, and brutal. I may never be convicted of theft, but I may be judged harshly for being ungenerous or miserly toward those in need. Dr. King wanted his children to be judged–positively–for their character, not for something as superficial and arbitrary as skin color, nor for whatever they hadn’t done.

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The young ruler in Luke’s story, not willing to give away his possessions, went away disappointed. But he missed the more important calling– “Then come, follow me.” Jesus wasn’t being self-effacing when He asked, “Why do you call me good?” Far from it! Jesus WAS good– He was (and is) the embodiment of Goodness! It is not through ritualistically following the commandments that anyone becomes “good.” It isn’t even in the self-sacrificing act of giving away one’s possessions. It is in the humble act of following the Master! To follow Christ is to step out in faith, and to walk in goodness.

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Peter makes the natural connection that James also makes in his epistle– that Faith, while fundamental, must build good character through our actions, words, and habits. Faith, without works, is dead. (James 2:14-26) So the next building block is developing a good (or Godly) character. Our lives should reflect the Goodness of Christ. We won’t be perfect. But we will be given strength and guidance by the Holy Spirit to walk in Goodness. And as we walk, we will build on that foundation with the next step…Spiritual Understanding. (More about that next time.)

Today, I pray that God will show me how, and His Spirit empower me, to develop in goodness; that I would become more like the “Good Teacher” who is also my savior and Lord. For Goodness’ Sake!

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Don’t Lose a Minute…

5-9 So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.

2 Peter 1: 5-9 (The Message)
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The Apostle Peter was writing to people in the early church– people who were under enormous pressures and persecution. The Epistles of 1 and 2 Peter are filled with dire warnings– and urgent calls to action! Earlier in his first letter, Peter spoke of prayer: “7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:7 New Living Translation). Prayer is primary, but it must be paired with action. In this passage, Peter lays out a progression of characteristics to pursue. We must actively chase after a Godly character. It will not develop in a vacuum. We must build on our foundation, and keep building up– so that we can build up others as well!

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The foundation is basic Faith. We need a bedrock, solid and sure; unmoving and capable of handling stress and pressure. In our own power and our own wisdom, we will crumble under the kinds of stress and persecution we may face in modern circumstances. We need to trust God– and seek to trust Him more completely–before we can advance in Christlikeness. We will be tempted to doubt– that is normal in a broken world. But we must continue to bring those doubts before the power of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Doubts, like other challenges, will test us. The challenge of doubt is particularly tricky, because the more we try to wrestle in our own mind, the more doubt (aided by pride) can take hold. It is counter-intuitive. The more I try to answer every doubt and every contradiction– the more evidence and reassurance I require before I am willing to trust, the less I am likely to find faith. Faith is like a muscle– if you never exercise it– you will hardly know it’s there. But when you need it, you’ll wish you had worked out more! Faith is not fully developed overnight. God will NOT answer every question, settle every niggling doubt, solve every seeming contradiction. But He HAS promised not to leave us alone, without hope or help. And when we do exercise Faith, we will learn to trust more. As we learn to trust God’s wisdom and provision, we will develop our other muscles…like goodness, self-discipline, and self-sacrificing love!

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I like the above translation, because it stresses the urgency that is a core of all Peter’s writings. “Don’t lose a minute…” Don’t waste time in second-guessing, excuse-making, distractions, or empty arguments. Don’t lose the opportunity to see God’s work unfolding as you take baby steps of Faith! Don’t become complacent, and lag behind, losing momentum and focus! Chase after Faith! Cling to the “hem of His garment”

20 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

Matthew 9:20-22 (NRSV)
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We may not see the instant miracle of this woman, but our faith WILL make us “well.” It will change our perspective, open our eyes, and chase away doubts like a breeze chases away a cloud of smoke.

Peter’s list is worth exploring more deeply. I’ve looked at Faith today…next time, I want to explore good character (also translated as “goodness,” or “moral excellence.”) Today, I pray that I would build on the gift of Faith, and strive for a deeper faith, aided by the Holy Spirit, as I face whatever challenges life brings.

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