Wednesday... We many times leave the best till last. We emphasize what we really want to say at the last. And I think that is what Peter did at the end of his second letter.
In 2 Peter 3:18 (NLT) he says, "Rather, you must grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him both now and forever! Amen."
The Amplified Bible gives a little more detail. Starting in verse 17 the translator says, "Therefore [let me warn you] beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men [who distort doctrine] and fall from your own steadfastness [of mind, knowledge, truth, and faith] but grow [spiritually mature] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory (honor, majesty. splendor) both now and to the day of eternity. Amen"
Yes, we need to know more and more about who Jesus really is in order to refute the distorted doctrines that are being spewed out all around us. That is why it is imperative that we spend time in God's Word and with mature Christians that we trust and believe in. It is so easy for us to be ingrained and impacted in our knowledge, our faith and our belief through the internet with false teaching. This was why Peter wrote this second letter. He was refuting the message of false teachers to some new Christians. And we need to know the truth so we can refute the false truth that is so prevalent in our world today and to live as Jesus did.
Then there is grace. We need to grow in grace. This is both a spiritual thing and a relational thing. We need to grow relationally with those around us. Yes, God is so gracious to us and in turn we need to be gracious to others. I need to grow in grace while I am driving. I'm not always gracious. My pride and selfishness comes out too frequently when I am driving. But Peter emphasizes our need to grow in our actions toward others. And especially in our actions at home. Too many times our weakest link spiritually is at home. How is your grace with your spouse, with your kids, and with your parents? We need to grow in grace at home, don't we?
And finally he says, "To Him be all the glory (honor, majesty. splendor) both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." He is the One that we serve and our task in this day, today is to make Him look good. And that is what it means to give Him glory. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning
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