The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:8-11  (day seven)

be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you. 

Jesus calls us all. In the middle of the storm, in the depths of darkness, the voice of the Lord is continually calling out to guide us to Him. The enemy will use the storms and darkness to muffle the voice of the Lord so that we do not hear Him or to think that we do not need Him; but once that voice penetrates through the void and you hear the sweetest sound, you cannot help but to draw nearer to it. The storm begins to calm and the darkness is flooded with light all because you answered the call.

for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble.

Were you chosen or were you called? The answer is both. It is by the practice of these things, the gifts and fruit mentioned in last week’s study, that we find ourselves drawing nearer to the Lord and in turn being made into His Image. It is then that we look back and realize that this calling was bigger than us. We were chosen to become Image Bearers and His Ambassadors back into the storm and the darkness, bringing peace and light, so that others might hear His voice and realize they too have been chosen.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:8-11  (day six)

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to be sure of your calling and election.” — 2 Peter 1:10

“So then, my dear friends… continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for it is God who works in you both to will and to act for his good pleasure.” — Philippians 2:12–13

It’s possible to profess faith in Jesus, belong to a church, and yet live with little concern for obeying him. Some even claim faith while choosing a willful, immoral life. This is what troubles Peter.

The faithful don’t stand still or drift—they press on. They take seriously what Jesus has secured for them. Faith is not just a set of hidden ideas; it is a living commitment to a Person. True faith shows itself in action—visible, tangible, unmistakable—just like Jesus himself.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:8-11  (day five)

“For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.”

I had a professor in college who used to say, “You won’t know how saved you are if you forget how lost you were.”  The human heart has a tendency to forget these things. King David knew this as well. “Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.” Psalm 103‬:‭2‬-‭5‬

Need a reminder?  I do too!  When the elements for the Lord’s Supper pass by, remember His sacrifice and my/your sin. When someone is baptized, remember when it was me/you who met Christ and was changed forever – buried and raised. When we read the scriptures, remember how big, holy, and kind God is. Remember that we are not. When we sing and praise God, remember how worthy He is of our adoration and worship – and that we (all) fall short of His glory.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see.”
(emphasis mine)

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:8-11  (day four)

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you…

Peter is not saying that we earn our salvation through diligence, knowledge, or kindness. Many of us have tried to earn and secure our salvation through performing enough good works, leading enough Bible studies, or going on another missions trip. That will fail every time, because that is not the system God designed. We receive salvation by grace through faith, through no righteousness of our own. It is a merciful gift from Jesus that we cannot earn.

In response to this gift, though, we are called to a life of goodness and godliness displayed in our speech, actions, and inner life. Every time we grow in diligence, or provide moral excellence, or increase our knowledge of God, we are confirming God’s work in us. Every time we exercise self-control or choose perseverance in the faith, it’s like we’re shouting “Amen! Jesus saved me!” Every expression of brotherly kindness and love are really a cry of “Hallelujah! I’ve been set free!” We do these things out of celebration for the gift of salvation.

When we grow in these things, our life becomes one big “Amen! I have been redeemed!” for all to hear.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:8-11  (day three)

For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

In Peter’s pastoral care, he does not condemn people who struggle; rather, he acknowledges how difficult it is to navigate the world. Who has not felt as though a circumstance or a person or an event or a disappointment or a time of suffering is an unfathomable mystery that leaves one lost and afraid? Peter says, “Yes, people will stumble through darkness when they can’t make sense of the world. But you can learn to see better. Your brothers and sisters – the church – will teach you. Little by little your eyes will adjust to the brightness of the way of Christ.” You were made to see. And you will.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:8-11  (day two)

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; v. 10

“These things” refers to the fruit of the spirit mentioned earlier in the text. (Moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness, and love) This is the list we studied last week. Returning to these hallmarks of our faith journey will keep us centered and give us a purpose. Frankly, by focusing on these attributes of faith, they will begin to consume our thoughts and actions and take the place of anything that would hinder us from growing. The stronger we become in these areas the more likely we will weather any crisis. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith.

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

… and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. vs 7

Is your heart heavy this week? We grieve the loss of a young mother in our congregation to cancer. We grieve the loss of a young father who was assassinated for speaking his conservative (and often Christian) beliefs. There were murders in trains and shootings in schools. To make all this worse, social media has been wrought with division as people seek to make death political.

In the midst of the heaviness of death, there is a spark of life. There is a call being made to unification. There is a call being made to boldness. There is a call to kindness. There is a call to love.

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. vs 8

Do you want to be useful in this call? For us to be effective in loving the world around us in such a time as this, we need to invite the Holy Spirit to instill in us a desire to increase all these qualities of a complete faith. If we increase in these things, we are promised Jesus will increase in us. If Jesus increases in Us, we are promised that Jesus will increase in the world.

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.