2 Peter 1:4 New International Version (NIV)
4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
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Confirming One’s Calling and Election
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
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2 Peter 1:4-11 New International Version (NIV)
4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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I'm glad the verse of the day was 2 Peter 1:4. It reminded me that God give us great and precious promises. Nothing to harm or hurt us. It also says that those promises will enable us to share His Divine nature and escape the world's sin caused by humans. I wanted to know what the promises were so I looked at the verses before and after this verse. The promises before that verse 4 was having true and personal knowledge of God. We have it because He called us by His Own Glory.
The verses after verse 4 talks about the feelings we can have in God. They are promised to us and in a certain order too. As long as we remember to excise them. First is moral excellence. Followed by knowledge/understanding. Yet with that knowledge comes self control. In that self-control comes steadfastness. Next is godliness. After that is brotherly love, which is a Christian love that learns to unselfishly seek the best for others and do things for their benefit. All these things are promised to us and always grow in us as we go towards spiritual maturity.
We won't be useless or unproductive if we have all of these in our lives. We should be more certain about our calling from Him. We need to make sure our lives reflect and confirms on faith in Him. If we can do that, we can lead others to Christ. That's another promise. We will certainly enter the eternal Kingdom of our Lord. That is the most important promise of all. These verses also gives me a feeling of freedom. Especially right now at this moment in my life. The brotherly love part give me that freedom. It confirms that I am doing the right thing for now in a situation that I am in.
I think the situation I am in right now just needs that brotherly love and support. It needs that family from the outside. It needs to know that I am there through it all. The good and the bad. I need to seek what is best for that situation and not just what I need or want. I need to do things for the benefits no matter how hard it is on me. It has been hard the past few weeks but I know deep down God is doing something through all of this mess/blessing and I still believe that some day, if I don't give up all the way, I will see it come together. Right now, though, I just need to let go and let God and not be so hard on myself or the situation because you don't get anywhere when you are that way in anything especially with people.
Thank you, Daddy, for showing me this verse today and the verses around it. You knew exactly what I needed. Why can't I believe that for other things in my life as well?
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