by Pastor Cecil | Jul 26, 2016 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 3:18
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”
I have never been much of a model of physical fitness. Yes, I recall my high school days (almost) when I was on the starting football team. I was in shape then, but for the most part I have always battled with a weight problem and, more often than not, I have lost that battle!
Therefore, I love it when Paul tells Timothy that bodily exercise “profits a little.” I am sure he wasn’t implying that we are not to exercise, but that is never to be our primary focus in life. If it is, we will be faced with dismay when the accumulated years begin to prevent strenuous activity.
So what, pray tell, is Paul saying? I feel that he is making a strong argument that if we place our emphasis on temporal things, we are wrong. I recall many of my classmates who were in much better physical condition than I ever was, but they have preceded me in death. (They have just reached heaven before me). In view of eternity, the things that really matter are the spiritual decisions we make.
As we look down the road of our life, we have no idea how long we have to live. Each of us is only one heart beat from eternity. Paul is saying that Godliness is always profitable for us. It is time for each of us to SHAPE UP spiritually!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 13, 2016 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 3:17-18a
“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
It is so sad to observe someone who once had a fervent faith and trust in the Lord slowly draw further and further away from Him. I have tried to analyze how this could happen and I think I have some idea.
It seems that some individuals are drawn to some spiritual leader to feed them. I guess that is good, as far as it goes, but there is also a danger. It is all too easy for one to focus on the words of a teacher instead of the Word of God.
If the spiritual leader leads their students to feed for themselves it is good. On the other hand if there is no effort made to teach personal bible study it is bad. It would be like a new mother never weaning her child. Our churches are filled with bottle fed believers who make no effort to dig into the truth of the word on their own.
My heart’s desire is to have those under my teaching to mature to the degree that they surpass me in spiritual knowledge and total devotion to the precious Word of God that is able to provide eternal growth.
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Apr 30, 2015 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 3:17-18
“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”
Have you ever noticed that when family or friends gather after being apart for some time, someone will inevitably remark about how much the youngsters have grown? “Johnny, you are getting so big!” How would we feel when someone at the same reunion tells us, “Wow! You have really put on the pounds!” Okay, I will get off this uncomfortable comparison.
The fact of the matter is that we are urged to grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord. Grace can be defined as God’s unmerited favor at Christ’s expense. God gives us His favor, yet we often ignore the manifold blessings He has given us.
Picture a person that you love very much. You prepare the most expensive gift imaginable and lovingly wrap it in the most beautiful gift wrap you can find. You can hardly wait to see the look on your loved one’s face when they open that precious package. The problem, however, is that they leave your house with the gift unopened. Days, weeks, months, even years later you visit that person and there on the table is your beautiful, expensive gift package . . . still unwrapped.
We are to open the package of God’s gracious gift to us. That means we spend time reading the promises of His Word and appropriating them into our life. Rather than remaining spiritual babes, we are to become strong and mighty for the Lord! It is time for us to grow up spiritually!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Nov 11, 2014 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 1:5-7
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.
For several months our congregation has been studying First and Second Peter. I have prepared the following as a teaching tool for Second Peter 1:1-7. I have decided to send it out for your personal study.
PETER’S STEPS TO SPIRITAL GROWTH
FAITH THAT SEES BEYOND THE PRESENT
(THIS IS THE BASIS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH)
ADD THE FOLLOWING ATTRIBUTES:
GOODNESS
(A virtuous course of thought, feeling and action)
plus
KNOWLEDGE
(Moral wisdom, such as is seen in right living)
plus
SELF-CONTROL
(The virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, esp. his sensual appetites)
plus
PERSEVERANCE
(Steadfastness, constancy, endurance)
plus
GODLINESS
(Reverence, respect towards God)
plus
MUTUAL AFFECTION
(The love which Christians cherish for each other)
plus
LOVE
(The nature of God is summed up in love)
As you consider these attributes that Peter lists, what would be your score? Make a start today!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 23, 2014 | 2 Peter
2 Peter 1:2-4
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
It has been a long time, but I can remember some of the games the kids in our neighborhood played. Hide and Seek, Kick the Can, Stick Ball, and many others, until we heard the call from our moms to come in the house. I can never remember our choosing up sides and playing a rousing game of—Perseverance.
I especially like the way Thayer’s Lexicon interprets the word Perseverance: “The characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and suffering.”
That is powerful! It is far too easy to seek an escape from trial and testing instead of inquiring of the Lord as to His purpose in what we are going through. Some seem to feel that Christians should not go through the trials of life. Oh, really?!
Read what the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:24-27: Five times he received 39 lashes, three times he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned, three times he was shipwrecked, and spent a day and a night in the ocean. He describes his life as being filled with suffering and pain. That is true perseverance that leads to godliness. So what is godliness? Reverence, respect and piety toward God. It is saying: Not my will, but Your will be done! I want that kind of life!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
by Pastor Cecil | Oct 21, 2014 | 2 Peter, Daily-E-Votionals
2 Peter 1:3-4
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. 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.
For years I have carried a small coin purse in my pocket. It is only 2 ¼ inches across and at most, 1 inch high. I try to carry 3 quarters, 2 dimes, 1 nickel, and 4 pennies. With this change I can escape having to use a dollar at the checkout stand.
I carry a few other things in my coin purse. There is a house key, a small knife, and a tiny foldout can opener. In fifty plus years of carrying that can opener I have used it once or twice, but the times I needed it, I really needed it!
As a boy I was taught to memorize Scripture verses. When I was young it was relatively easy to memorize. As I got older it became much more difficult. I have shared with many people the secret of writing portions of Scripture on 3X5 cards and carrying them around so that they could refer to them during a free moment. One college student who was failing his college classes began to use this method during the college summer break. In the fall he raised his grades to a B average.
How are you equipping yourself to be used by the Lord? Preparation entails a lot of perspiration (the stuff that flows through your pores when you work hard). I will continue to carry my coin purse in my pocket, but I will also carry His Word in my heart!
May God richly bless you as you bless others by your words and actions!
– – – Pastor Cecil
