Category Archives: 1 & 2 Peter

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Envious Angels

Read: I Peter 1

Do you realize how fortunate you are? Angels would have given anything to be in on this! (I Peter 1:12)

Even before the Good News was announced at Bethlehem’s manger and authenticated at Calvary’s cross, rumors were spreading in heaven’s court that something big was about to happen. The Triune God had kept his plans for the salvation of mankind a secret from all creation—and it was really bugging the heavenly hosts. They were itching to know!

Little by little, as the time drew near, God began to release bits and pieces of the Good News, but never in completed form. The angels periodically announced to humans that something really big was coming, and the prophets prophesied the birth, suffering and redemptive work of Christ long before it happened, but always as if seeing “through a glass darkly.”

Then it came! Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died as God’s perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind, and rose again as Lord of life, Savior of the world, and Ruler of the universe. But even then, the Good News was still a bit of a mystery to the heavenly beings (as it still is to the unsaved world), because the only beings who could truly grasp this mystery were the one’s who had been redeemed by it.

You see, only undeserving sinners who have been redeemed from sin and death can truly appreciate salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Angels can’t–they can’t be redeemed because they can’t sin. Only humans have the free will to choose this amazing gift of God—and when they do, the mystery is grasped.

All the angels could do was witness it longingly from afar. They witnessed it when Jesus was born, when he died, when he rose, and when you received Jesus as your Lord. They know it is glorious beyond comprehension. But they can’t quite get their angel brains around it—and they envy!

How great a salvation you and I enjoy! No other creature can experience the greatest gift that God has made available in his entire universe. No other being but mankind can take part in the most powerful miracle of all—bigger than the creation of the worlds, bigger than the parting of the Red Sea, bigger than any other sensational miracle in the Bible—and that is the miracle of the new birth. God’s best miracle took place when you were born again!

Don’t take for granted this great gift God has bestowed upon you! Every heavenly being longs to understand what is now yours. On this day, take some time to appreciate God for “so great a salvation, so rich and so free.”

Father God, forgive me for neglecting so great a salvation—for taking it, and you, for granted. Thank you for this indescribable gift. How privileged I am, above all your created beings, to be the recipient of this undeserved miracle.

“There is no mystery in heaven or earth so great as this—a suffering Deity, an almighty Saviour nailed to a Cross.”~Samuel Zwermer

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Bad Investments

Read II Peter

“Since everything will be destroyed in this way,
what kind of people ought you to be?”
(II Peter 3:11)

Thoughts… Many believers live like Planet Earth is their forever home. They set their priorities, plan their activities, and spend their money like this is all there is. They’re investing pretty much all they’ve got in this world. Hopefully you are not one of them, ’cause there ain’t gonna be no government bailout when this old world folds!

As I write these words, by contrast, I think of my brothers and sisters in the poverty-stricken Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. The church is thriving in this region where a mere four years ago there was no church to speak of. Now, 65,000+ believers gather each week for worship in over 1300 churches that, by God’s grace, I’ve had a hand in helping to establish.

Not only is the church healthy, the individual believers in this region are thriving as well, despite extreme poverty and intense persecution. By watching their lives, you quickly come to realize that they who have so little material wealth have so much more joy that we who have so much material wealth yet have so little joy. By comparison, they are far richer people than we.

Why? Because they have put their hope in the Lord. They are looking forward to a city whose architect and builder is God. They have very little by the world’s standards, and even what little they have, they hold loosely. They have invested everything—sometimes they have even given their lives—in the eternal kingdom of our God. They have made good investments that will produce ever-increasing returns throughout all eternity.

We need to take stock in the kinds of investments we are making. Ask somebody who knows you well what they have observed your priorities to be. What does the way you spend money or plan your calendar or live your life in general tell them about you? If your life is like mine, they would likely conclude that you are making far too big of an investment in a world that is soon going to come to a fiery end. Now in all honesty, that’s a very bad investment, isn’t it?

Peter asks the question that, given the fact that our planet and everything in it will melt away, what kind of people should we then be? How then should we live? Then he gives the answer:

• We should make every effort to live holy and blameless lives (verses 11b & 14)

• We ought to be anticipating God’s promises rather than promoting the things of this earth (verse 13)

• We ought to be focusing on Christ’s return more than the remainder of our days on earth (verses 12 & 13)

• We ought to be at peace with God and keep pure in our faith (verses 14-17)

• We ought to be giving every effort to our spiritual growth (verse 18)

To live any other way shows that we are still investing in the ephemeral stuff of earth rather than the invaluable stuff of heaven.

Take a look around. Whatever you see is going to vanish soon. Only what is done by faith will carry over to and count toward the next life.

Today is a great day to start making better investments—eternal ones—because eternity is going to be here before you know it—as some say, “in the twinkling of an eye!”

Prayer… Lord, my hope is in you and not in the things of this earth. I will hold things loosely and cling tightly to you. Enable me to live the kind of life today that will prove on that final day that I have been rich toward the things of God.

One More Thing… “The one and only characteristic of the Holy Spirit in a person is a strong family likeness to Jesus Christ and freedom from everything that is unlike Him.” —Oswald Chambers

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How To Spot A False Teacher

II Peter 2

“But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as
there will be false teachers among you.”
(II Peter 2:1)

Thoughts… Oswald Chambers said, “The Bible treats us as human life does—roughly.” In the entire second chapter of Peter’s second letter, the Apostle really goes after some people—and he treats them roughly. He is going after false teachers—religious figures who pervert the Gospel for personal gain and manipulate God’s people for their own pleasure.

Peter is telling us to be on the lookout for such people. His message is clear: We are not to be duped by these phony spiritual leaders. And by the way, in case you didn’t know it, there are plenty of them even in our day. Just surf through the religious program on your TV set and you will see one before you know it. But they’re not just on TV; they are in denominational headquarters, they teach in seminary classes, they fill pulpits and lead small groups all around the world.

So how do you spot them? It’s not all that hard really, because no matter what era you are in or what position of authority they are in, these phonies fall into predictable patterns. You can spot them because they are always grubbing for money or they are always trolling for sex or they are always maneuvering for power—or all three.

If you spot a religious figure who seems to be preoccupied with money—watch out! I’ve seen plenty of pastors and TV preachers who were pretty good at that. They are slick, so don’t be fooled! Peter says “in their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money.” (verse 3)

Likewise, if you run into a spiritual authority that seems to be a little too loose with the girls (or the guys)—have nothing to do with them. They are bad news, and when they fall, they will take people down with them. Peter says that God will be “especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire and who despise authority.” (verse 10) If a spiritual leader is unwilling to be accountable for his sexuality, that is the kind of person Peter is talking about.

And finally, whenever you find a religious figure that is egotistical, prideful, and self-serving—you have found the makings of a false teacher. When you get on the inside of their world and you don’t see humility, sacrifice and grace, you’ve got a leader who is, among other things, driven by power. Peter warns of them in the last part of verse 10, “These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling.” Verse 13 says, “they scoff at things they don’t understand.” Verse 18 tells us, “They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting.”

Peter is really quite rough on these people: “These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness.” (verse 17) He calls them “a disgrace and a stain among you.” And he says, “they live under God’s curse.” (verses 13-14)

Tough chapter, I know. But as I mentioned at the beginning, the Bible sometimes treats us roughly in order to protect us from evil influences and preserve our salvation. And as it relates to so-called spiritual leaders, it is time we do the same.

A little rough treatment might clear some of them out of the body of Christ and off the airways.

Prayer… Lord, cleanse your church. Make us a holy Bride, without any spot, or wrinkle, or blemish. Give us greater discernment and courage to root out the false teachers among us so that we can be the kind of church with whom you are well pleased and in which the world can find no fault.

One More Thing… “Hypocrisy desires to seem good rather than to be so; honesty desires to be good rather than seem so.” —Arthur Warwick

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Get Growing

II Peter 1

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life… In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises… work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen.”
(II Peter 1:3,5,10)

Thoughts… Every authentic, healthy follower of Christ wants to grow spiritually. That’s usually right up there at the top of everyone’s wish list. But just how does one experience spiritual growth? That’s the $64,000 question, isn’t it?

For most, spiritual growth is a mystery. It is vague, not defined, something that is felt, not measured. If it is to happen at all, we see ourselves as the passive recipients of a divine agent that catalyzes growth rather than as the catalyst ourselves. In other words, our development into deeper spirituality, stability, maturity, and Christ-likeness is more up to God than it is to us.

Yet according to Peter, there is to be a pretty active partnership in this business of growth. God is the senior partner, you the junior. And here’s the deal: God has done his part in setting you up for spiritual growth. Notice what verse 3 says:

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.” Did you see the word “everything” in that verse. In the Greek, that means “everything!” God has set you up, my friend, to be a growing, godly believer. Me, too!

Now it is up to us to supplement what God has so graciously and completely done in order to move along the continuum toward deeper spiritually. So what is our growth assignment then? Look at verse 5-8:

“Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Notice the seven key catalytic agents to growth that Peter mentions: moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brother affection, and love.

Very simply, when there is a choice between that which is morally pure and anything else, guess what? You and I have to choose moral purity! God can’t choose for us. He can strengthen us and prompt us, but we must make the choice. Added to moral purity must be Biblical knowledge, which frankly doesn’t come without regular meditation on God’s Word. Furthermore, purity and knowledge are safeguarded by self-control. Self-control is what teaches you to say “no” to anything that would hinder, hurt or destroy God’s work in you or in another. (See Titus 3:11-13). Adding to self-control is the exercise of patient endurance. Truthfully, there will be times when the only thing we can do is to grit our teeth and hang in there! Endurance must be connected to godliness or it is nothing more than stubbornness. Godliness means to think and act like God; it is to practice the presence of God at all times. Then along with godliness comes kindness and care for our brothers. Finally, to wrap everything into that which causes growth, we must express Christ-like love for all people at all times.

Purity, learning, self-control, endurance, godliness, kindness and love are the things that you can and must do to grow. And they are the very things that will make you more productive in your faith and useful to your Lord.

That’s your assignment today. So get out there and “grow” for it!

Prayer… Lord, thanks for giving me everything I need to grow into a thriving, useful, God-pleasing saint. I have no excuses not to grow. So today, I will do my part to supplement what you have already done for me.

One More Thing… “A soul may be in as thriving a state when thirsting, seeking and mourning after the Lord as when actually rejoicing in Him; as much in earnest when fighting in the valley as when singing upon the mount.” —John Newton

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Constant Casting

I Peter 5

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
(I Peter 5:7)

Thoughts… Someone has said that “worry is a think stream of fear which, if encouraged, becomes a wide channel into which all other thoughts flow.” English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote, “Anxiety is not only a pain which we must ask God to assuage but also a weakness we must ask Him to pardon—for He’s told us to take no care for the morrow.”

So rather than holding onto those worries, allowing them to become a river of fear, our Christian call is to cast them onto God. That’s what Peter says. Cast your worries, fears and anxieties on God. All of them! Big ones, for sure. And even the little ones. He will take them all, because he cares that much for you!

That means you will need to practice the art of constant casting. You will not simply be able to cast your cares onto God once and be done with them for good. You’ll need to cast them continually because you will never be far from problems. And those problems will continually be feeding that tributary of worry, and that tributary will be continually flowing into that river of fear that threatens to sweep you under. That’s just the reality of your life. Mine, too.

So the next time you find yourself worrying—which will probably be within minutes after reading this post—just cast it back to God and say, “Lord, this one is too big for me. Here, you handle it.”

Sounds simple, I know, but just try it. Try it for a week. Take every single one of your anxieties, worries and fear in the next seven days—all of them—and consciously cast them onto God, and just see what happens.

If you will, God’s promise—not mine, but God’s—is that you will find yourself in his care (I Peter 5:7) and experiencing his peace (Philippians 3:6-7).

Prayer… Lord, here they are—all of my problems. They are too big for me. I refuse to stay up late worrying over them one more night. Since you’re up anyway, why don’t you worry about them? So I give them to you, and in exchange, by faith, I will rest in your care and receive your peace.

One More Thing… “The branch of the vine does not worry, and toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine, and there to find rain. No; it rests in union and communion with the vine; and at the right time, and in the right way, is the right fruit found on it. Let us so abide in the Lord Jesus.” —Hudson Taylor

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The Tyranny Of The Holy

I Peter 4

“Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and
more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a
weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to
get your own way. Then you’ll be able to live out your
days free to pursue what God wants instead
of being tyrannized by what you want.”
(I Peter 4:1-2—The Message)


Thoughts… I am going to step out on the limb of vulnerability here and assume that you struggle with sin as much as I do. And like me, you probably read the last line of verse two and said, “Yes! That’s exactly it! I’ve been tyrannized by the selfish, sinful things that I want. I’d rather be ‘tyrannized’ by the things that God wants.”

Of course, the word “tyranny” carries a negative connotation. Yet, is its meaning really that far off from what you want from God as it relates to rulership in your life? Check out this definition:

Tyranny: A government in which a single ruler is vested with absolute power. The office, authority, or jurisdiction of an absolute ruler. Absolute power.

I don’t know about you, but that’s what I want in my life. I want the righteous, perfect will of God to tyrannize my moment-by-moment, living, sleeping, breathing, eating, thinking, dreaming and doing life! I want the tyranny of the holy in my life.

So how can I personally enter into that kind of dominating, existential rulership of God over me? First off, and very simply, I need to invite God to have that kind of control in my life. Though he is Master of the Universe, he never violates the human will—so I must invite his rule.

Beyond that, there are some other clues here in this fourth chapter of I Peter as to how I can come under the absolute rulership of God:

  • I must learn to think like Jesus—particularly in how I think about my temptations and sufferings (verses 1-2, 12-14). He allowed both trial and temptation to draw him more deeply to the Father through prayer. They caused him to become more dependent on God, not more independent. They caused him to become more obedient—if that was even possible.
  • I also ought to think once in a while—perhaps a lot—about the judgment of God (verses 3-6, 15-18). I know it’s not popular to think of God as a God of judgment these days, nor to dwell too much on negative thoughts. But the truth remains, God is holy, and there will be a payday for sin someday. That sobering reality, even if it is negative, isn’t a bad motivation to do what is right. It’s shouldn’t be the only motivation, or the first motivation, but I must learn to think of sin in my life as a clear and present danger. Furthermore, there is a positive side to judgment as well—the final reward for resisting temptation, patiently enduring trials, and doing works of righteousness
  • Likewise, I need to live with an awareness that the time is drawing near for the Lord’s return (verse 7). Jesus is coming back—perhaps even today. The signs are clear and his promised return is certain. In view of that, Peter says in his second letter, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” He then adds, “So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (II Peter 3:11-12,14).
  • Finally, in between my present challenges and my ultimate destiny, I ought to put Christ-likeness into practice in my daily life (verses 8-10). That means I must love others, even the unlovely, like Jesus did. I must treat everyone as if they were an honored guest in my home—and with a Christlike attitude, no less. And I must marshal all of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power within me to serve others in practical, kind, and God-honoring ways.

That my friend, is how you invite the tyranny of the holy into your life. As you and I increasing allow that kind of dominating rulership to hold sway, the tyranny of selfish, sinful behavior will be the biggest loser.

Prayer… Lord, my humble yet passionate prayer is simply this: Hold absolute sway over my entire being!

One More Thing… “Always seek peace between your heart and God, but in this world, always be careful to remain ever-restless, never satisfied, and always abounding in the work of the Lord.” —Jim Elliot

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A Strange Opportunity For Divine Blessing

I Peter 3

“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when
people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a
blessing. That is what God has called you
to do, and he will bless you for it.”
(I Peter 3:9)

Thoughts… It’s everywhere—on talk radio, the street corner, the classroom, the football field, in the home. People are throwing bombs, verbal bombs, that is. Rather than winning arguments through respectful persuasion, which is what wise, intelligent, mature people do, they are resorting to name-calling.

We live in an age where we are taught to stand up for our rights, defend ourselves, respond tit-for-tat, and never let anyone intimidate us—and getting nasty to do it is now our weapon of choice. On “the street,” you are tagged as weak if you let someone get away with any kind of personal offense without throwing a few nasty bombs back at your antagonist.

But is it really a weakness or is it wisdom to overlook an insult? King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived outside of Jesus Christ, wrote saying, “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” (Proverbs 29:11)

If you tend toward anger and are quick to retaliate when you have been offended, you might as well hang a sign around your neck that reads, “I’m a fool.” But if you have developed the ability to control your emotions when irritated, Solomon would call you prudent. A prudent person is one who shows discretion, has tremendous foresight, and uses careful judgment. It is a person who responds with patience rather than anger.

Proverbs 16:32 describes that person this way: “Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.” Proverbs 20:3 states, “It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.”

You will most likely have opportunity for either foolishness or prudence this week, perhaps even today, because someone has insulted or irritated you. When that happens, just remember: God is watching, and he didn’t call you to retaliation, nor to foolishness, but to blessing.

So be a source of blessing, even to the people who don’t deserve it, and God will bless you for it.

Prayer… Lord, increase my patience this week with those who would irritate or insult me. Remind me that I have been called to give out blessing to those who would curse me. Enable me through your indwelling Spirit to love them just as you love me even when I have offended you.

One More Thing… “He best keeps from anger who remembers that God is always looking upon him.” —Plato