The Everyday Prayer

Preserve and Rescue

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:4-9 (day two)

…but preserved Noah…v. 5b; and if He rescued righteous Lot…v. 7a

These verses are double-edged. We retell and rejoice in the stories of Noah and Lot. God preserved his people through their lives and through their faithfulness. Aren’t you grateful for their examples of faithful living? The other side of the coin is the very real and hard circumstances in which they were living. The world was hostile towards the things of the Lord. Everywhere around these men were sin and temptations to fall into darkness. This was by no means an easy journey for them. While we tell the stories of God’s deliverance, we do well to not sugarcoat the struggle they faced around them. To do so is to minimize God’s powerful ability to deliver his people even in the most dire circumstances. He will preserve, he will rescue, don’t give up.

Monday Re:Vlog – 10/13/25

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:4-9 (day one)

Join us as Senior Pastor Chris Johnson, Associate Pastor Aaron Hufty, and Associate Pastor Bryan Richardson walk us through 2 Peter 2:4-9 in our Fall Re:Verse Series: “2 Peter – Standing Firm in the Faith.”

People follow popular trends because it makes them feel good about themselves, especially if it validates a part of them that the Lord is trying to redeem. If the things that we are following are a new revelation, not supported by scripture, or not taught faithfully throughout history, we should pause to ask why we are drawn to this ideology in the first place.

Watchfulness

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day six)

²⁴Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.²⁶When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. Matthew 13:24-26

Almost every New Testament letter addresses false teaching within the church. Peter, Paul, and John spent enormous energy guarding the gospel’s purity and guiding believers toward truth. Jesus was right after all: “…the weeds also appeared.”

Peter calls for a kind of spiritual watchfulness, not a fearful suspicion, but a clear-eyed awareness that wherever truth grows, error will try to grow alongside it. False teaching doesn’t usually deny truth outright; it bends it just enough to blur the line.

That’s why we must remain awake, rooted in the Apostles and Prophets, and grounded in the good news, not anxious about deception, but alert and discerning, trusting the One who planted the good seed in His field.

Does It Float?

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day five)

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies…” v. 1a

The Kids’ Time during our worship services over the course of this Re:Verse study has been a lot of fun. Now, I often spend my days looking around at various items wondering if they will sink or float. At times, I have been surprised by the results of some of our tests (cans of soda sink depending on the amount of sugar) while other times, the results confirm the knowledge of things I learned long ago (wood blocks float and keys sink).

This visual lesson is an important reminder for all of us, no matter our age, that we need to test and approve whatever we encounter to be sure it lines up with what God tells us in the Bible. Peter reminds us that false teaching can sneak in and begin to destroy that which is good. It is of utmost importance that we are diligent with testing and approving the teachings we follow, making sure that God’s truth “floats to the surface.” Often, there is teaching that looks good and sounds good, but is, in fact, not what God says in the Bible (i.e. love is love or there are multiple ways to heaven). Our world is prevalent with these false teachings. If you do not test what you encounter, you could quickly find yourself derailed and following the wrong teaching.

As you go about your days this week, I hope you begin to ask yourself, “Does it float?” Do the teachings you follow float with God’s truth, or do they sink with the lies of the devil? Do the things you listen to and watch drag you down or lift you up? Test what you encounter so you can be sure you are following God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will and be sure you are floating.

Vulnerabilities

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day four)

It can be easy to identify false teachings that others believe in. It’s not too hard from where we sit to say “such and such church” or “such and such pastor” has fallen prey to false teachings. And it is good to recognize them as false. What is harder, though, is to engage in personal reflection and ask the question, “Where am I vulnerable to false teachings? What have I taken as fact that is actually a cultural influence, not a biblical truth? Where have my own bents towards sin allowed me to believe something untrue?”

Peter calls us to recognize our own vulnerabilities and asks that we pray in the spirit of Psalm 139, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

Beguile

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day three)

There will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them…

Whatever system denies that the created physical realm is good; whatever system denies that the human being is very good; whatever system that, like the world, oppresses women and calls it the natural order; whatever system leads one to believe that doubt must be repressed instead of vigorously investigated; whatever system supports and furthers injustice in the name of the law; whatever system seeks favor in the eyes of the power structures of this world – that system is a destructive heresy. That heresy’s power arises from the fact that it’s so very hard to see.

Speakers vs. Teachers

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day two)

…just as there will also be false teachers among you…v. 2b

There are a lot of good speakers in the world. However, not all good speakers are speaking what is good. Discerning the difference is the responsibility of every believer. As we are bombarded with reels, memes, and sound bites, we must ask ourselves what is being said in the larger narrative. Every speaker has talking points that re-emphasize their agenda, but they are so often couched in language that is inflammatory or exaggerated to get maximum coverage. Whether from the pulpit or in politics, this is a technique that we must be wary of. Yes, it is good to trust your pastors, but it is also incumbent on each of us to pray, read, listen to the Holy Spirit, and to ask questions. Even the best of us can make mistakes; it is whether we acknowledge them as such that separates us from the world. Don’t fall victim to people that always say what you want to hear. Don’t stop asking questions. Don’t stop trusting God’s Word.

Monday Re:Vlog – 10/6/25

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 2:1-3 (day one)

Join us as Senior Pastor Chris Johnson, Associate Pastor Aaron Hufty, and Director of Media and Broadcast Ministry Katherine Bell walk us through 2 Peter 2:1-3 in our Fall Re:Verse Series: “2 Peter – Standing Firm in the Faith.”

Beach Retreat 2025

Re:Verse passage – 2 Peter 1:16-21 (day seven)

I write this post from the ocean view patio of Port Royal Resort near Port Aransas where our High Schoolers from FBCSA have spent the weekend retreating in God’s creation and resting in His Word. Our theme for weekend has been relationships. We have talked about our relationships with friends, authority, parents, and even dating. Most importantly, we have tried to highlight that if our relationship with God is not our primary focus, then our other relationships will struggle to fulfill our needs.

We are created for relationships. God designed us with a desire to have deep relationships, but he designed us so that we need relationship with Him. When we fix our eyes on Jesus and run after Him with everything we have, God will provide us the needs we have for relationships through the Presence of His Holy Spirit and through the other people that we have found to be running along side us.