The Living Word!

The living Word and the written Word of God!

# 5 2021 Dev. 2 Pe.1:12. The Living Word! Read verses 12-21. The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.

2 Peter 1:12 “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.”

Peter, as he so often does, points back to what he writes before, “confirm your calling, add to faith and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom…” Peter wants to continually remind his parishioners and us today to keep us “firmly establish in the truth you (we) now have.” Life is short and we do not get a rerun, Peter knows that he is about to inherit the kingdom. Tradition has it he was killed, crucified upside down in the persecution brought on by the Roman Emperor Nero after writing this second book some time during AD 63-68.

Peter makes every effort so that the followers of Jesus be reminded of the things he is teaching and has taught them. Today we are blessed to have not only this letter but many diverse letters completing the whole Word of God. Peter tells of his experience with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration where he heard God’s voice. He also points to the prophets as “completely reliable” and as a light in a dark place. All of scripture is reliable “For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The Bible is a living book, one may read the same passages at different times of life and find content you missed the first time because the Holy Spirit guides you to what you need at the time.

As Pastors and church leaders we all need to take on the intensity of Peter’s calling as an Apostol of Jesus. Not only Pastors and leaders but all followers of Jesus, that is why we read Scripture, that is why we attend church, not to get saved, no, we are already saved but we do all the things Peter writes about out of thankfulness to God. But there is more, we want to honor God’s calling and election. God puts us in churches to teach us, to encourage us, so that we may teach and encourage others, Amen! Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 “The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.” God gives the followers of Jesus, “the ministry of reconciliation.” One more way to put it is that “God makes His appeal through us.”  All of life is worship, use words as necessary. We Thank God!

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