The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:5-8  (day six)

²⁰ And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Mark 4:20

Where there is faith, there is the expectation of growth. That is how the Kingdom of God works. Last week, Peter reminded us that God’s divine power has already given us everything we need for life and godliness. That is a remarkable claim—especially when we remember that the early church had far fewer resources than we do today. Yet they grew.

What becomes clear is this: genuine faith always produces growth and bears fruit in the lives of others. It cannot remain stagnant. To belong to Christ is to be drawn into His life, and that life is always moving outward—maturing, multiplying, and blessing others.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:5-8  (day five)

One of the approaches I use in my Re:Verse reading and study, is to look at different translations. Sometimes a word or words used in other translations resonate better with me – causing me to think deeper and reflect more clearly. That happened this week. In verse 5, translators used the words – add to your faith, supplement your faith, building on (your faith), applying diligence. There is action and activity required on my part to grow my faith. There is work and dedication needed on my part for “increase” (verse 8). Reminds me of Paul’s writing that God is at work in us resulting/requiring that we work as well.  Jerry Bridges describes it this way:

A farmer plows his field, sows his seed, and fertilizes and cultivates—all the while knowing that in the final analysis he is utterly dependent on forces outside of himself. He knows he cannot cause the seed to germinate, nor can he produce the rain and sunshine for growing and harvesting the crop. For the successful harvest, he is dependent on these things from God. Yet the farmer knows that unless he diligently pursues his responsibilities to plow, plant, fertilize, and cultivate, he cannot expect a harvest at the end of the season. In a sense he is in partnership with God, and he will reap its benefits only when he has fulfilled his responsibilities. Farming is a joint venture between God and the farmer. The farmer cannot do what God must do, and God will not do what the farmer should do. We can say just as accurately that the pursuit of holiness is a joint venture between God and the Christian. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part. God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking; He does not do that for us.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:5-8  (day four)

For this very reason…

As Aaron wrote last week, our salvation came at a great personal cost to Jesus, and it is our obligation to walk in the honor of His victory. For this very reason, we are also called to walk in a way that is worthy of the calling/love/grace/salvation/mercy that we have received (Ephesians 4:1-3). I know that I am loved because of what Jesus did for me. There is no middle ground there. He loved me first, and now I am called to respond to that love in growth and walking in a way that is worthy of that.

I know that my wife, Ashley, loves me. I do not need to question it or live every day as if I must earn her love for me. For this very reason, my responsibility is to grow in that love and respond to her love in a joyful pursuit of not living unworthily of it. There is a vast chasm in my life between living unsure of her love for me and living in a way that is because she loves me. One side of that chasm is filled with joy, while the other side is not.

How much more is it with God, then? For this very reason, we are called to live our lives in a way that is a joyful response to understanding that Jesus loved us first and died for us, even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). We should grow in Him because He loves us despite our sin, not because we must earn His love. So, for this very reason, rejoice always and live a life worthy of the calling you have received!

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:5-8  (day three)

…and in your brotherly kindness, love.

Each attribute listed by St. Peter builds toward love. Years earlier, Jesus, issuing his new command to love one another, took stock of all the world’s grasping for power and forcing its way, and, right in the middle of the mightiest empire the world had ever known, pronounced love the pinnacle of any and all acts, whether human or divine. John (let us love one another, for love is from God), Paul (faith hope and love remain, but the greatest of these is love), and here Peter all testify to love. How is it that they so confidently affirmed the Lord’s words? Was it that “Jesus said it so that settles it?” Or was it rather that they underwent love’s healing presence within their deepest selves? Read their stories and see.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:5-8  (day two) …and…v. 5, 6, AND 7

Have you ever taken a spiritual gifts inventory? When you get results you will hear people saying, “I have the gift of hospitality, or patience, or kindness, etc.” This isn’t the way Peter presents this list in these verses, and I am certain that Paul would agree. If we are not careful when we take those assessments, we will tend to think gifts are some sort of side dish that we can choose one with our meal – but you can only get one! Peter says apply diligence as a starting place, and then add – and, and, and, and. There should be a measure of all these characteristics in our walk. Sure, you may have an abundance of one gift, but in some measure, they should be present in us all. So, add some love, AND joy, AND peace, AND patience, AND kindness…you get the idea.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:1-4  (day seven)

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises. vs 4

Precious; a word that derives an image in our minds. Maybe it takes you to a Precious Moment figurine, a precious jewel, or maybe if you are a Tolkien nerd like me, you hear the voice of Sméagol saying, “My precious!” The language is meant to draw an image. Even if Peter had no clue that we would connect the image to a fantasy fiction series, he clearly wanted us to see that God’s promises are immensely powerful and intensely personal. These are characteristics of God that He reveals to us in our faith and through His promises.

These promises are magnificent. When we see them come to fruition, we realize that it was greater than we ever could have dreamed. He is Immensely Powerful. Yet, like a jewel, much of the value is found in its rarity. He does not hand out promises like a politician trying to win favor with the people. He gives you a promise at the moment you need it so that He can show you How great He really is. He is Intensely Personal. You are precious to Him, and so His promises are precious to you.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:1-4  (day six)

When Peter wrote his second letter, he wasn’t addressing individuals. He wrote to churches – communities that gathered to hear the Word read aloud and discern its meaning together. In the first century, Scripture was always received in community, not in isolation.

That matters when we read Peter’s encouragement: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life” (v.3). This is not merely an individual promise but a corporate one. Together, the church has everything it needs to grow in godliness. Together, we are called to add to our faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, and love.

In a world where faith is often privatized, Peter reminds us that the Christian life is not a solo pursuit. Growth in Christ is something we discern, pursue, and embody together.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:1-4  (day five)

For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

How incredibly important are the promises of God. Peter connects them to becoming partakers of divine nature – thinking, hoping, praying, loving, and living like Jesus – all informed by the promises of God found throughout the scriptures. Look at David for example. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” We see circumstances (walk through the valley) and a divine reaction (will not fear) because of the promise of God (you are with me). There is both faith and freedom found in God’s promises.

“The full evidence of Jesus’ power will be seen only in the future when he keeps his promise. That truth frees us from having to pretend to be perfectly whole people today. We are Christians, who are gripped by God’s promises for the future, thrilled by them, and motivated to live godly lives now in his power.” – Christopher Green

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:1-4  (day four)

We have been given everything we need for life and godliness. This doesn’t come in the form of a starter pack or tool shed with every tool imaginable – it comes through the Spirit who dwells in us. Because we have the Spirit, we have constant access to the One who formed us and the world for his glory. The Spirit is transforming us more and more into the likeness of Christ, taking us from glory to glory. This is such great assurance, especially on our darkest days. We have access to the ever-flowing fountain (Jeremiah 2:13) whose waters will not be cut off. As we continue to live in the Spirit and form a greater awareness of Christ’s presence with us, our life will become an ever-growing testimony that we truly have all we need through him.