Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 17

 3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.   2 Peter 3:3

       When I think of scoffing, I think of rolling your eyes at something someone is saying. The world rolls its' eyes at the mention of Jesus coming back to catch believers up with Him or come down to judge unbelievers and set up rule on Earth. Why do they mock or scoff at that idea - we will see as we move on, but the underlying reason is they don't want to believe it. They are following their own evil desires so they have ruled it out.

      When we were leading the youth group and kids would start distancing themselves from the group and studying the Bible, we knew something was up and it was usually related to them letting sin, quite often sexual sin, into their lives. Suddenly, the Bible was outdated, not to be trusted, and they became skeptics, scoffers not because of scholarly refute of the validity of scripture but because they wanted to sin.

     I see this in Christian celebrities or famous Christians who "deconvert" or majorly deconstruct. What precedes a lot of it is they get a divorce. Now they know that the Bible forbids most reasons for divorce and "God hates divorce", but in order to "be happy" they divorce anyway. Soon, what follows is a lesser view of the Bible to justify their behavior. Becoming gay affirming usually follows because if the Bible isn't to be trusted on marriage it isn't to be trusted on LGBTQ and other relevant issues like judgement, hell, blood atonement, wrath of God or anything else unsavory.

   Paul discusses this in Romans 1 when he says,

   " The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened..."

     I highlighted in blue all the times they know the truth but they suppress it because they want to sin and over time, to them, the truth of God becomes less and less and their behavior and what they accept becomes more and more wicked.

     So when people roll their eyes at you when you share Christ, don't back down, be ashamed, be offended, or take it personally. Realize that for them to accept the Truth they would have to admit that they are sinful and that the way they are headed is wrong so therefore they choose to scoff and mock the Truth. Their only hope for salvation is that God would break down the walls of sin in their heart and that requires the Holy Spirit so pray that God would release "The hound of Heaven" on them.

      

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 16

 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 2 Peter 3:1,2

          Social Media has exposed us to multiple ideas, frameworks of thinking, and opinions expressed as facts. For example someone could post how the covid vaccine killed more people than it helped and the government forced it on us, followed by responses to that post screaming the exact opposite. What do we believe? Is it necessary or worth your time to explore the issue and find the truth. Maybe not, but when it comes to finding the truth about God and eternity and why are we here and the meaning of life - these are issues that you have to form an opinion on. This is commonly called finding "your truth." "Your truth" implies that truth is either relative or can't be known so let's all believe what we want to believe and treat everyone's understanding of reality as equally valid so we can all get along.

           Peter would disagree with that and say there are two ways to think - unwholesomely and wholesomely and his reason for writing both epistles is so that we may choose the latter. He says the truth, not your truth but the truth can be found in the Bible. He doesn't mention Bible by name because it didn't exist but he describes it - the writings of the prophets (Old Testament) the Command of Jesus (the gospels) the writings of the apostles (epistles and Revelation) If we know these, when a false teacher or influencer spouts opinions as truths we are able to say, "That's your truth but it's not the truth" and stand on solid ground.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matt. 724:27

      My older NIV states the man dug down deep. In order to "found" something, it takes work - digging, sweating, excavating. If we approach the Bible that way, we won't be twisted by the opinions of man but hold fast to the truth about life because there is A truth and He is knowable.

        In closing I'll give one example. The prevailing "truth" in our culture is that since sex is such an integral part of marriage, the wise thing to do is to see if you are sexually compatible before marriage. God's word calls that the sin of fornication and tells us to wait for marriage. When the storms come, we find out which house stands and studies show that couples who have premarital sex have 3x the divorce rate of virgins at marriage. That's truth. If you know the Truth, He will set you free to live the good life. I saw a person wearing a "life is good" shirt today and I thought to myself, "Yes it is!!"

Elvis Movies Ranked

    Over 2 years ago, I took a job in Memphis and saw signs of Elvis everywhere. I decided I was going to watch all 31 movies he made and rank them according to how good the story was, how cool Elvis was, the quality of songs and frequency of them, the leading ladies and chemistry with Elvis, and other intangibles. This is my list that took me 2 1/2 years to compile. After #18 or #19, I would say don't waste time watching them.

1. Viva Las Vegas - Good music, likeable Elvis, great chemistry with him and Ann Margaret.

2. Fun In Acapulco - Good music. Cool Elvis with good moves and music showing off for Ursula Andress. Entertaining. Decent plot. Good scenery. Elvis without a shirt. (I only mention this because he is in a few beach movies where he conspicuously doesn’t?)

3. Loving You - Good music and a lot of it. Early Elvis still trying to fit the James Dean mold but likeable and not dark. Love interest not exciting and minimal chemistry. Kind of an Elvis biography where young singer gets discovered by agent with questionable motives and struggles with conservative old folks not liking his gyrations and girls swooning.

4.Live A Little Love A Little - Not sure what the plot was but great music, Elvis was cool, Michele Carey was a great love interest. If you want to know what misogyny is, watch this movie. Look for the Donald Trump dance.

5. Kid Galahad - Likeable young Elvis has a gift for taking a punch and parlays that into making enough money to start a simple life with his decent love interest. Changes people for the better along the way. Good plot music ok. Best of the dramas in my opininion.

6. Change of Habit - Elvis' last movie takes on social injustices with Elvis being an inner-city doctor who has 3 nuns with nursing degrees come help him as "undercover" nuns doing a social experiment. I'm spending some time on the plot because it has one. Mary Tyler Moore shines and you leave wondering who the bigger star was actually. Not much chemistry (she chooses God over Elvis - or does she?) and little singing but actually a good movie.

7. G.I. Blues - Set in Europe, probably never left Hollywood. Cool, likeable Elvis sings a lot with good chemistry with love interest. Decent plot. His marching swivel hips move in title song is a classic.

8. Girls, Girls, Girls - Good tropical locale. Decent story with some redeeming of angry Elvis. Stella Stevens is somewhat strained love interest. Good music and a lot. If you want to see Elvis physically, at his peak physique, clothes, dancing, gyrating, this is the movie.

9. Wild in the Country- Like King Creole, Love me Tender, Jailhouse Rock, Charro, Change of Habit, Flaming Star, Kid Galahad, this is a serious movie with Elvis acting. Likeable Elvis. Not dark. Hope Lange and Tuesday Weld are good. Very little singing.

10. Blue Hawaii - Likeable Elvis comes home from military to Hawaii but wants to make it on his own not work for rich Dad's pineapple company. Great scenery, decent story, wholesome love interest who he marries at end. Good music with I can't Help Falling in Love With You, which he sings to a grandma?

11. Love Me Tender - Good Movie with an interesting plot. Problem is that Richard Egan was so much cooler than Elvis. I’m sure they never made that mistake again. Good music with great Elvis moves which seemed out of place in the 1800’s. Love interest undesirable.

12. Follow That Dream - Beverly Hillbillies rip off with Elvis playing Jethro character. Wholesome, innocence triumphs over every evil. Sweet romance falls in love at the end. Decent music.

13. Clambake - Good music, good story, likeable Elvis. 60’s beach fare.

14. Jailhouse Rock - Good music, cool but unlikeable Elvis, good story. Somewhat dark

15. King Creole - Dark. Trying to make Elvis into James Dean

16. Speedway - Cool Elvis, average plot and music. Nancy Sinatra as love interest. Fairly realistic stock car racing. Good color visuals. Bill Bixby most annoying actor of the 60’s

17. Girl Happy - Elvis sleepwalks through this one but classic 60's beach fare.

18.  Spin out - Cool Elvis, decent music, lame plot. No chemistry with leading ladies. I don’t think him and Shelly Fabres are a match.

19. Flaming Star - Trying again to make Elvis an actor. Decent plot. No romance, no singing. Depressing.

20. Harum Scarum - Elvis dresses like Aladdin which takes away from his cool factor. Weak plot. Decent music. Pretty love interest.

21. Charro - Elvis takes one last stab at being an actor and fails in this Spaghetti western which could have been good if Clint Eastwood replaced Elvis. Not likeable, not good looking and absolutely no singing.

22. Tickle Me - Cool, likeable Elvis. All girls swoon when they see him. Bad music, slap stick lame story. Beautiful leading lady with good chemistry.

23. Double Trouble- Slapstick comedy with bungling jewel thieves, policemen. Creepy smiling guy. Cool Elvis trying to resist 17-year-old until she turns 18. Decent music. Likeable, attractive love interest with decent chemistry.

24. Roustabout - Unlikeable not extremely cool Elvis with no real chemistry with pretty but forgettable leading lady. Barbara Stanwyck costars. Some good songs. Elvis saves a carnival. Somewhat redeeming ending.

25.Paradise, Hawaii Style - Hard to like self-centered womanizing Elvis whose character flaws cause multiple problems to everyone around him without a clear change at the end. Travel promotion for Hawaii. Average music. Kid actor. No clear love interest.

26. It Happened at the World's Fair - Using Elvis to promote the Seattle world's fair? It should be the other way around. Likeable Elvis with no chemistry with leading lady.

27. Johnny and Frankie - Elvis and Ellie May Clampett. Unlikeable Elvis. Lame. Had more chemistry with Kim Novak

28. Easy Come, Easy Go - Scuba Diving Naval Elvis finds a treasure and races against 2 others to bring it up. Low budget - scenes looked like a Soap Opera. No love interest. Little music and not good

29. Kissin Cousins - Elvis playing 2 roles. Hillbilly Elvis. Bad music. No female lead. Insulting to East Tennessean's.

30.  Stay away Joe - Elvis as a grifter Native American with no leading ladies, bad music, lame plot. 15 minutes of fist fights. Does to native Americans what “ kissin' cousins “ does to Tennessen’s

31. The Trouble With girls - Uncool Elvis, no leading ladies, bad plot, bad music. Elvis doesn’t sing until 32 minutes into it. Painful. Had to fast forward so boring.

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 15

 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.” 2 Peter 2:20-22

          My son's family just bought a puppy and the unfortunate thing is it suffers from coprophagia - it eats its poop. They say 1 in 4 dogs will do it but not only is it gross, it exposes them and those in proximity to illnesses, so you want to stop it. Why do dogs do this?

     1. It is not getting enough food or proper nourishment

     2. Instinct - pack behavior of canines passed down

     3. Modeled behavior - as their mom cleaned up after them as pups, the pups can learn that behavior

     4. Boredom - not stimulated enough

     5. Like the taste

     6. Curiosity

     7. Attention seeking

   Peter compares believers who have been delivered from the bondage of sin by the gospel and yet return to the world and abandon the faith, as dogs returning to their vomit or in my family's case - a dog returning to its poop.

       Imagine owning a steak house and every night you see a homeless person eating out of your trash bin. At first you want to shoo them away but then your heart goes out to them, and you invite them into the restaurant at closing every night to serve them a meal. They do this for a while but eventually stop coming and you wonder why until you see them out back eating out of the dumpster again. Why? They could have a feast with the owner every night, yet they choose to eat garbage. Lest you think this is a rare occurrence, 70% of your youth group will return to the dumpster. Why? Maybe for the reasons of coprophagia.

        What can we do to keep this from happening? First realize that their instinct or old man is drawing them back in. They've developed a taste for sin and they need to acquire a new taste. They need to taste and see that the Lord is good and that the Word is sweet as honey. They need to be nourished with the word and not just fed, although small group feeding is essential, but they need to acquire food on their own. A mentor needs to model how to study God's word to them. Also boredom and loneliness can lead to sin so a group of believers need to hang out on a regular basis to avoid boredom, isolation, or attention seeking from the wrong types. Any discipleship training has to incorporate these things although the devil will definately pluck that young seedling. 

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 14

... they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” 2 Peter 2:18,19

             Let's say a pastor comes in and teaches that s(he) is going to free them from the Victorian sexual mores of the 1600's that people have misinterpreted from the Bible. Peter would say, although that person thinks they are free they are really enslaved to sexual depravity. Let's say a preacher comes in and says that they are going to deliver you from poverty and sickness and show you the freedom in wealth and health. Peter would say they are enslaved to greed.

          No one is really free despite what false teachers teach. Be careful of teachings about freedom and delivering you from giants because the only freedom is found in bondage to Christ, the one master who brings flourishing. Dying to self is the ultimate bondage breaker. Anything that appeals to self is false.

        As we are about to leave this teaching on identifying false teachers let's summarize on warning signs. I'm not saying some of these are wrong, I'm just saying listen carefully with walls up.

        1. Teaching ways to be free from giants in your life

        2. Dogmatic, know it all proud teachers.

        3. People with orphanages or ministries to fund overseas

        4. People who own multiple houses, jets, fly 1st class

        5. People who charge exorbitant fees for their seminars

        6. People who don't have overseers

        7. People who boast of miraculous exploits that seem too remarkable to be true

        8. People with new knowledge or a new interpretation of scripture

        9. Physically attractive people

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 13

 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; 11 yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. 12 But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish.13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh...

          As we get back to false teachers/prophets and how to recognize them we see a couple more warning signs. First is they despise authority. I love non-denominational churches because in an ideal world of Christianity, we shouldn't be demarcated by our differences but by our unity. I'm not saying denominations are bad because they have become necessary in our fallen world. Paul says to the messed up church in Corinth,

 'I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval."

      There are so many wrong interpretations of scripture out there, that if a church is aligning themselves with that, say for example "name it and claim it", they need to be labeled so you know what you are getting when you enter the door. But getting back to non-denominational churches, they do attract or are started up by pastors that don't like people over them and being under submission to a board. In fact, one such preacher in our area as he faced criticism compared those questioning him to the 10 spies and those not questioning him to Joshua and Caleb and saying "which do you want to be?" They like to be in control of everything especially where the money goes. Watch out for preachers who aren't under authority or have a "puppet board" for show.

        The second diagnostic sign of a false teacher is that they are arrogant. Humility is not necessarily something that draws you to a teacher. We are drawn to confidence, boldness, boastfulness of accomplishment, appearance, followers on social media, and we think that this person must bear listening to. A true man of God realizes that he is no better than anyone and the only thing he has worth saying comes from the Holy Spirit who has given him the gift of teaching. I don't even bother listening to cocky preachers any more even though some of them are very good. Am I being judgmental? Maybe - but give me humility any day.

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 12

 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment  2Peter 2:4-9

 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Matt. 24:24

                I've always wondered about that Matthew (and it's repeated in Mark) verse. Is it possible to deceive the elect? Would it be possible for true believers to fall prey to false teachers? My answer would, I guess, be yes, however, in time they would see the light and be rescued as God exposes the false teachers which he will do.

           Currently there is a vast exposing going on and people are hopefully being drawn out of these ministries. Taking these verses to another level, like in the times of Noah, Lot, Genesis 4, this world is going down the drain in ungodliness and people have been predicting the rapture is near. Although people have predicted dates for years, the most recent being Sept. 23-25,2025, the cool thing is they are looking for it. Jesus warns that the end should not sneak up on us unawares and we should always be ready and busy, not lazy. Scoffers of the rapture, which surprisingly are in greater numbers Christians, say it was a theory not developed until the 1800's and the early Church didn't believe in it. I don't know about that, as I wasn't around then, but as I understand scripture, I believe in the rapture and this passage gives me two Old Testament illustrations.

          Noah was righteous in a time so decadent that God was going to have to start over with global judgement. Rather than have Noah go through the wrath of God, he was lifted above it to float over the top of it in a boat. Sodom and Gomorrah were so evil that God was going to wipe the whole city off the map, but it had one righteous person, Lot, inside and he was taken out of the city before God's wrath. Likewise, when the prophetic time clock of seven years starts ticking and God's wrath will be poured out on sin, Satan, the Antichrist, the false prophet, we will be rescued like Lot and Noah. Now whether that's at the beginning or sometime in the middle, we don't know but I believe it to be at the beginning, but it will happen!

        I don't have a problem setting dates for the rapture. So many people are blasting the latest guy for doing it. His heart is in the right place. He's looking forward to the return of Christ. Are you?

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 11

 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.  2 Peter 2:1-3

           There are five common features about false prophets or teachers listed in these three verses. Peter warns us, there won't be a time where there isn't one out there. That's why we always need to be on guard; we always have to have our antennae up. We need to be watching for these hints that their teaching is false.

        First, they will introduce heresy. There is a lot of variations in what Christians believe the Bible teaches but there are certain non-negotiables. That's why things like the Apostle's Creed were written or Confessions, to make sure no matter how far we drift, these are our anchors that moor us. One of these Peter lists, which even by the way he phrases it, he suggests that this is somewhat mind boggling to him, is they change who Jesus is. We have discussed cults in the previous blogs whose common denominator is to say Jesus isn't God and deny the trinity. Gnosticism, so present at this time, denied the bodily or fleshly Jesus come as a man.

         We also see, with this mention of heresy, "the Lord who bought them". Currently, the progressive church, which has arisen from among us, denies the penal substitutionary atonement of Christ and the need for Him to die for us. This has even been described as God committing cosmic child abuse against His Son which could not be in the character of God. This is heresy because this is the gospel, "that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin." The fact that there is the Devil, the great liar and deceiver out there, assures us of the fact that there will always be a deceitful attack at our core beliefs until the Gospel is a gospel that doesn't save us.

        Secondly, their conduct will be depraved. This is tough because there have been so many true teachers out there that behind closed doors, who have been found to have concealed sin. This must be exposed and their place of leadership forfeited but their teachings should, in my opinion, not necessarily be discarded because they taught truth. However, a common denominator of false prophets/teachers is that they have depravity going on. I think of once again Joseph Smith who was stealing other men's wives and compiling a harem, or David Koresh, or Jim Jones or even Muhammed. If you can get into a place where people are following your teachings and hanging on every word you say and worshipping you, you can start taking advantage of them.

          Third, they will bring Christianity into repute. I see this as these teachers will be so fake and hypocritical that the world who we are trying to reach will reject Christianity on the basis of these false teachers as they lump us all together. Groups like Westside Baptist, Ku Klux Klan, Bob Jones University, Bill Gothard, White Nationalism, MAGA, QAnon have all been associated with Christianity and Satan loves this because it is just another tool he uses to keep people away from the Gospel that will save their souls.

        Fourth - greed. Follow the money. If they are charging admission, filling huge auditoriums, selling merchandise, taking love offerings, on television, founding orphanages in foreign countries that need to be supported, it doesn't mean they are false but alarms should be going off in our heads. Be discerning.

       Lastly, exploit you with fabricated stories. They make up stories to make them seem more Godly or separate their ministry. Many years ago there was a man named Mike Warnke who had a ministry based on him being an ex-satanist. Turns out he made that all up. Julie Green currently is prophesying that the big transit systems like Amtrack are transporting illegal aliens into our country and they will be exposed. God, she says has told her this. Todd White, a minister from California who is very buff states God gave him special knowledge on what to eat to make him that way yet has used steroids and had liposuction according to those that know him. And there are so many others being currently exposed for lying to get a following. Not surprising since Satan was a liar from the beginning.

              Peter says watch out. Don't follow people, follow your Bible. If you don't want to or don't enjoy reading the Bible but you want people to read it for you and tell you what it means, then you will be susceptible.

Thoughts from 2 Peter - Day 10

 ...you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 2Peter 1:19

      Even with all these arguments to convince people to believe the Bible is the truth that we have been discussing such as multiple eyewitnesses saying and experiencing the same things and testifying to its' veracity by dying for it, prophecies written thousands of years before being fulfilled exactly by Jesus, archaeological proofs that these things really happened, testimony of outside sources and more - the intellect has to be superseded by a spiritual awakening where the Holy Spirit comes in and like the "day dawning and morning star arising in our hearts" illuminates and convinces us of the truth. John says about this 

" Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.  Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

    There is an Asian guy, currently on social media, who claims to be the smartest person in the world. His documented IQ is 279. The cool thing is he is a believer and therefore is using his status of being smarter than everyone to convince people to become believers, too. In other words, "If I'm the smartest person in the world and I say it's true, to not believe is dumb." Although I appreciate his heart, the problem is, in the end, the things of God are spiritually discerned. Peter experienced this once when Jesus quizzed the disciples on who they thought He was. Peter declared, "You are the Messiah". Jesus doesn't commend him for assessing the data and using his mental prowess coming up with the right answer but just the opposite. In effect Jesus tells him that his brain didn't come up with the right answer but it was revealed to him by the Spirit and that confession by faith through the leading of the Spirit is what the Church or bride of Christ is going to be founded on. That is going to be the key into the kingdom. That is going to be the cornerstone of the Church.

      Have you felt the Holy Spirit tugging on your heart saying, "Jesus is the Truth. Follow Him. Surrender your life to Him"? If you have, you have the assurance in your heart that it is true. If you haven't you will always wonder if it is true or not, and when you stand before Him someday, which we all will, you will realize it was true, but then, sadly, it will be too late. Receive Him today!

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 9

  We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it...20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.  2Peter 1:19-21

          Peter has just discussed the transfiguration where he, James, and John went up a mountain with Jesus and witnessed the bodily "tent" of Jesus being unzipped and the glory of his "God-ness" being revealed. Along with that, Moses was finally granted his wish of setting foot in the promised land and Elijah was present too. When you think about it, you have the Bible represented on the mountain - the Old Testament was often referred to as "The Law and Prophets" represented by Moses and Elijah, and the New Testament has the gospels - Jesus, and the epistles written by disciples and Revelation written by John. God the Father's voice from Heaven is validating the New Testament when He says "Listen to my son". He is basically saying, you have been following the Law and prophets, and rightly so, but they were pointing to the coming of Jesus who is fulfilling their writings. Listen to Him now. Jesus is introducing a New Covenant.

         This eyewitness account of Peter's was not just his but James and John's. Peter was crucified upside down, James was beheaded, and John was boiled in oil but they couldn't kill him so we was exiled to an island Patmos (think Papillon) rather than denounce what they had seen and heard. Peter now says, if you don't believe us, look at the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus -over 300. Only God can write a book that describes the future as if it has already happened because to Him it has. How does that work? God is outside of time so therefore if He were to write a book we would expect it, too, to be outside of time which the Bible is! Picture a train going down a track. As we sit in our car at the intersection, we see car by car going past one at a time. We are experiencing the present which as they go by is now the past. Picture God, in a helicopter above. He sees the whole train from the engine to the caboose, the past, present, and the future all at the same time. He is outside of time. Likewise, as He inspires people what to write, He tells them the future, too, and it's always right. Even Peter had been told earlier by God that he was about to die.

      Finally, let me remind you of one more prophecy that hasn't been fulfilled but will be soon. Jesus is coming back to claim all of us that believe in Him. Are you going to be one of those who lives forever in Heaven with Him?

       

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 8

 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 2Pet.1:15-18

          Peter, James, and John were allowed to accompany Jesus up to the Mount of Transfiguration where they caught a glimpse of his glory as he shone in splendor before them and Elijah and Moses appeared, also. They heard the voice of the Father instructing them to listen to Jesus and on the way down the hill, Jesus instructed them not to tell anyone about this account until He was raised from the dead, which it's clear they did not understand but they did keep it to themselves it appears.

        Now, many years after the resurrection and having the Holy Spirit inside to make sense of things, he understands the resurrection and the purpose for Jesus coming, and he wants desperately for everyone to understand the gospel and the truth of his teachings especially since he won't be around much longer. That's why he is writing these things down and telling about the Mount of Transfiguration and what he saw. It wasn't a dream because two other people saw it, too. Another reason that we know it really happened, besides the fact that other people can corroborate it, was that when pressed, at risk of death, he insisted it was true and died for it.

        Compare this for example to the Book of Mormon as written by Joseph Smith. He stated that he found gold tablets with ancient writing on them in a different language which was interpreted to him as he wrote the pages and handed them to 2 friends waiting outside the room. When asked if the friends also saw the tablets they answered, "yes" but when pressed later they said they saw them with the eyes of faith. Joseph Smith died for his beliefs but in a different way than Peter. He was accused in a newspaper by an article written by ex-mormons that "Smith was practicing polygamy, marrying the wives of other men, teaching a "plurality of Gods", and alleging that he intended to set himself up as a theocratic king." Smith burned down the printing press declaring martial law and was imprisoned by the state of Illinois for treason and killed by a mob in jail while awaiting trial as he tried to escape out a window shooting a gun at the mob. This is quite different than all but one of the disciples choosing martyrdom rather than denouncing what they had seen and heard from the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

          We have to conclude that since all these disciples witnessed the truth and were so sure it was true that they died for it, it has to be true. They had nothing to gain by believing it other than a life of poverty, servanthood, mockery, physical abuse, imprisonment and death. Contrast that to Joseph Smith who was amassing sex, power, money and was even going to run for president.

          Peter is saying, believe the truth of the gospel and never doubt it. Do you believe it? 

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 7

  So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.  2Peter 1:12-15

        Peter refers to his body as a tent. When we discussed this in life group, one of the attendees stated, "I wish God had given me a one person tent instead of a 2 person tent." The point Peter is making is that tents house the person inside it. Who we are is not our body! So much time and money is spent on making the body desirable to the on-lookers and most of it is wasted because who we are is inside. It's like a candy bar - my mouth waters when I see that orange and brown covering of a Reese's candy. I go an spend an "Outrageous" sum of money to get one and the first thing I do is rip off and throw away that wrapper that drew me to it. Why? Because I identified what I wanted by the wrapper but what I craved was inside. You are covered by a wrapper but the real you is inside.

      Because of that knowledge, Peter was unafraid of his body dying and the pain to come because he knew that the real him would live on once the wrapper was discarded. This is why he has been encouraging us on how to purify our inside because we want to be desired by Him who sees through the "tent".

      Have you ever heard someone described by, "They have a good personality"? This is usually code for "they are ugly". People born without the external appearance that society has deemed desirable work on growing the inside, generally speaking.. I'm always suspect of a Christian artist or preacher that is too good-looking. So much of their appeal or acceptance may have come through the wrapper than what's inside.

      Do you consider yourself as a soul inside a body or a body with a soul? Which comes first or primary in your thinking? Which are you feeding with supplements or giving filler to? Which are you working out?  Paul says to Timothy, who by the way was young and the younger you are, the greater the temptation to fixate on the external because by the time you're my age, you have given up ...

  "train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1Tim. 4:7,8 

        Work on your soul. Build it up. Make it so desirable that people will see a glow coming through your tent that draws people in the dark to it. A friend of mine who has solar panels says that whenever there is a power outage, his is the only house on the dark street that is all lit up. Thats what people need to see.

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 6

 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2Peter 1:10,11

           My wife accuses me of never reading directions. I wouldn't say never, but when it comes to Medicare - guilty as charged. I got Medicare four years before she did and when she got her booklet, she delved into it. She found out that I could have been receiving $400 of over the counter medicines free every year. I could have been receiving free gym memberships and gift cards for walking. I wouldn't have had to pay for my eye glasses and more. Yes my surgery and hospitalization was paid for and I was a card carrying member of Medicare but I was missing out on all the benefits by not knowing the book.

         I'm sure you see the analogy here. Peter is saying that if we aren't reading God's word and our knowledge isn't increasing, yes, we will have salvation but all the abundance here on Earth and Heaven will be lacking. People talk about entering Heaven smelling like smoke as all your "wood hay and stubble" are burnt up as your good deeds are tested with fire and found wanting, and this is what Peter is trying to get at. If our knowledge of God's word increases and we apply it to our lives through the conviction and power of the indwelling spirit of God, we will bear fruit like eros and agape love and be effective and productive for the kingdom and experience the peace, hope, and joy of the abundant Christian life here on Earth. 

      This is what Jesus is talking about when He says, "I come that you might have abundant life." It's mistakenly translated as wealth but what He is talking about is being fruitful and experiencing the joy of a effective and productive life. And then getting a "standing ovation" welcoming you into Heaven someday. This is the life that is truly life!

Thoughts From 2 Peter - Day 5

... 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.  2Peter 1:4b-11

           As my wife and I were watching a series on TV, we commented that there would be no storyline or plot if there was no sin, or as Peter would say, "corruption in the world caused by evil desires." There are multiple sexual encounters causing children that show up to claim inheritances and affairs trying to be kept secret but being disclosed or blackmail leading to murder or violence, and we said to ourselves, if people lived "goodness" defined as moral excellence there would be no plot. So we watched a Hallmark movie and decided the common plot line is failure to communicate - every story has a lovelorn couple estranged until the end when all the confusion due to them not communicating is cleared up which ends in a kiss. Living a morally excellent life leads to little drama. Although that leads to bad TV, it leads to an awesome real life.

         Peter says, now that we have escaped the Soap Opera of the life we used to live, how do we keep from getting sucked back in? First of all he tells us we can't stand still, we have to keep making progress moving forward in the Christian life and growing. It's like being in a boat in a river; if you don't paddle or make effort, you will be pulled backwards by the current. How do we grow - it starts with gaining knowledge (gnosis). We have to read, study, memorize, ingest the Bible. This takes self-control, getting up before work, journaling, flash cards to memorize, meeting at houses midweek for Bible studies, on-line messages, life groups, etc. instead of laziness. It takes perseverance to continue even in the times when you may not be hearing from the Lord or going through times of stress, doubt, difficulty to continue on and forge ahead and not give up. People will begin to see your Godliness or piety and describe you as a religious person but as you grow in your love for them, as it progresses from phileo to agape, you will begin making a difference for the kingdom - you will be effective and productive.

          He gives the warning that if you aren't growing, not only will be ineffective as a Christian, unproductive and unfruitful as the world sees you joining in with their corruption or dissipation, but you are in danger of losing your salvation or as I interpret it, the salvation that you thought you had.

          Lest we go "whole hog" on fruit inspecting, he doesn't say that if you don't see any of these qualities in a person then they aren't a believer. (that's a lot of negatives) In other words, I'm tempted to say, "That person isn't a Christian because I don't see any fruit." While that may be the case 90% of the time, only God knows the heart and Peter says, "Maybe they just are near sighted and all they are seeing is the World and they are forgetting the spiritual reality of Heaven, the Kingdom of God, the gospel and they just need to get their vision corrected. To double down on this, he will use Lot in Chapter 2 as an example of a believer to mess with us judgmental people.

        So keep paddling that boat and don't get pulled back into the world. Keep your eyes fixed on Heaven, Jesus, the triumphant return and live effective Christian lives so you can hear Him say, "Well done my good and faithful servant."