“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
~ 2 Peter 1:3
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you like to learn new things? What do you like to learn about the most when you are in school? Do you like to learn about how to do math? Do you like to figure out math problems? When your grandpaa was a student for four years in the public high school that is in Volga, South Dakota, some of your grandpaa’s favorite classes were math classes. When your grandpaa was a Volga public high school senior, your grandpaa was one of just a few guys who took the trigonometry class. Your grandpaa got an A in the trigonometry class. Your grandmaa enjoys working with numbers. Your grandmaa was the bookkeeper for Mullins Clothing Store that was located on Market Street in Wilmington, Delaware when your grandmaa and grandpaa got married on February 14, 1964. When your grandpaa was asked by Liberty Loan to transfer to Springfield, Massachusetts to be the manager of the Liberty Loan office that is in Springfield, your grandmaa became a bookkeeper for an insurance company that is in Springfield. Your grandmaa within a very short time was asked by the insurance company to become their head bookkeeper. When your grandmaa was in Bolivia on the South America Mission field missionary team, your grandmaa did the field bookkeeping for several years. When your grandmaa was in Guatemala on the OC International field missionary team, your grandmaa did the field bookkeeping for about seven years. Even though doing bookkeeping is something that your grandmaa enjoys doing and does really well, your grandmaa would much rather spend her time coming alongside young guys and gals who desire to live radical, transformed Christ-follower lives.
Simon Peter was a fisherman who used a net to catch fish that were in the Sea of Galilee. Formal education of any kind about 2000 years ago very probably was not an option for Simon Peter to pursue. Simon Peter did learn to count. 2 Peter 1 has Simon Peter laying out a formula on how to become a proven Christ-follower guy or gal. Peter was picked by the Master Teacher – Who was Jesus Christ, to be one of twelve guys who the Master Teacher would invest a lot of His time and energy into over a period of up to possibly three years. Peter – whose name had been Simon before Jesus changed his name to Peter, was an eyewitness to Jesus’ power, miracles, and teachings. With his own ears, Peter heard God – as God the Father, call Jesus – who was God the Son, His Son Who He loved. Peter’s formula or blueprint for a guy or gal to live out a faithful 24/7 Christ-follower life begins with adding together faith and goodness to come up with the solution on how to obtain knowledge. Peter then adds together knowledge and goodness in his mock-up to come up with the solution on how to obtain self-control. Peter then adds together knowledge and self-control in his treatise to come up with the solution on how to obtain perseverance. Peter then adds together self-control and perseverance in his draft to come up with the solution on how to obtain godliness. Peter then adds perseverance and godliness together in his graphic to come up with the solution on how to obtain brotherly kindness. Peter then adds godliness and brotherly kindness together in his proposition to come up with the solution on how to obtain love. How a guy or gal daily lives his or her life on a spiritual plane will tell other guys or gals if the guy or gal has come up with the solution that Peter parlayed into a life formula for success in being a Christ-follower guy or gal. A guy or gal who has centered his or her life on an aberrant solution will be ineffective and unproductive in walking the walk of an effective and productive Christ-follower guy or gal. A guy or gal who has a misguided focus on a paradigm centered on Gnostic beliefs – which is a belief that does not buy into the actual existence of a Divine Being, is living a blinded, nearsighted life that has not been led by God – as God the Spirit, to claim that the death of Jesus – as God the Son, on a cross as being his or her sins atonement payment.
Would you rather that your lives be more like that of a bumbling fisherman – who has gotten a handle on truth, or would you rather that your lives be more like that of an educated teacher – who cannot accept truth? Peter wrote his second letter to the dispersed Jew or Israelite people group guys and gals to encourage them to keep their faith, move ahead in their faith and share their faith. Peter had grasped what he wrote in verse 3, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” Peter went from rowing a boat, mending nets and cleaning fish to following the Master Teacher, learning from the Master Teacher and living the rest of his life for the Master Teacher. Peter went from having a life corrupted by evil desires to having a life that was saved by the Divine Being. Peter went from a micro world on the shores of the Sea of Galilee to a macro world that is eternal. Peter went from hearing only himself speak to hearing the voice of God – as God the Father, speaking through him. In a way that seems unpretentious to your grandpaa, Peter tells the dispersed Jew or Israelite people group guys and gals to accept what Jesus did for them and to stay away from Gnosticism. What would you say to a guy or gal who says that humans are divine souls who are trapped in a material world that has been created by an imperfect spirit? Muslim guys and gals who once accepted what is written in the Koran – which is the Muslim ‘bible’, are beginning to reject by the tens of thousands an indoctrination to purge all Jews – who are God’s specially chosen guys and gals, from planet Earth and to completely annihilate all Christ-follower infidel guys and gals. God uses false teachings to add guys, gals and kids to His body of believers.
2 Peter 1 (904)