EXPAND TO READ: 2 PETER 1 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 9): I do struggle at times with remembering that You have cleansed all of my past sins. I do struggle with living in my new, born-again identity through Christ. I often try to hold onto my mistakes of the past through remorse, guilt, and even shame instead of remembering that You have forgiven me of those mistakes, and You have made me into a new creation. Please forgive me for this, Father, as I feel it lessens the great sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for me. By not releasing that remorse, guilt, and shame of the things I did in the past, I am essentially saying through my thoughts and actions that Jesus’ sacrifice was not enough to release that burden off my shoulders. I am sorry for living this way. I know that my past is not to be forgotten as all things can be used for Your glory and praise. At the same time, however, I find it difficult to resist the fleshly temptation and deceptions from the enemy about my past. I find it difficult at times to truly release all things to You and I am sorry for this. Help me to be better at releasing these things that bind me, Father. Help me to be better at embracing Your grace, strength, love, and forgiveness over me through ALL things and to stop picking and choosing what I want to apply them to.
PROMISE (verses 20-21): You make us a clear promise about prophecy in these verses. You promise us that no promise has EVER come from man themselves nor their own interpretation. True prophecy comes directly from You through the Holy Spirit and it is spoken straight from You. True prophecy will never go against Your truth, yet for some reason I often hear many so-called Preachers/Pastors of this world state that You revealed a prophecy to them yet what they end up saying almost always directly contradicts Your truth in some way. Is this them adding their own “spin” to a prophecy You revealed to them or is this just them making something up in the flesh that they are trying to attribute to a prophecy from You? Help me to be better at discerning these things, Father. Help me to be better at knowing what comes straight from You versus what comes from the human mind.
ATTITUDE (verses 6-7): Self-control and endurance are two things that I have not lived out well in my life since coming to faith. You tell us that we should supplement our knowledge of Your truth with self-control and that we should supplement that self-control with endurance. Help me to truly embrace these attitudes in my spiritual journey, Father. Help me to truly embrace these two attitudes in my daily walk in this life. I have gotten better at both, but I do still struggle at times with them and I know that the more I lean on You, the easier it is to fully embrace these attitudes in my life. Thank You for these verses, Father, as it shows me the path I need to walk on, step-by-step, in order to truly reach the end goal of being a Godly man who glorifies You through all things in my life.
COMMAND (verse 10): The command here is quite simple, yet so very difficult to truly live in fully in my life. You tell us to make every effort to confirm my calling and election to Your kingdom in this life, because if I do these things then I will never stumble in my faith. I have stumbled so much since coming to faith, which is how I know this statement to be such a powerful command for me personally. If I truly made every effort in the past to confirm my calling and election to Your kingdom and Your will for my life, then I would have never stumbled like I had. It’s amazing the lessons You are teaching me through my mistakes even still today. It’s amazing how a letter from two thousand years ago can still be valid to this day in teaching me a valuable lesson about my spiritual journey in this life. Help me to be better at fully embracing my calling and election to Your kingdom, Father, so that I will strive to make every effort to reflect that calling and election in all that I am and all that I do in this life.
EXAMPLE (verse 5-7): I find it interesting the order that these are put in and how this was revealed to me just now. When I first joined the Real Men 300, the very first “attitude adjustment” I made was to stop harping on the negative and to begin seeing and embracing the good around me so that I can, in turn, deliver goodness to those around me. The very first thing You mention here is to supplement our faith with goodness. My next step, which ran kind of alongside the first, was to learn more from You by learning how to do a quiet time and trying my best to remain consistent with it. What’s the second thing You mention here? We are to supplement that goodness with knowledge! How amazing is this example You are providing? Essentially, You are providing us the stepping stones on how to advance and mature in our faith as well as our journey into becoming truly Godly men for Your kingdom. Thank You so much for this amazing example and template, Father. Help me to continue on this path as I mature in my faith and continue to learn what it truly means to be a man of God.
*DAILY NOTE: I’m truly amazed at this second letter of Peter and how much it speaks to me today, especially verses 5-7 as it is a true reflection of the journey I’ve been on since joining the Real Men 300. The outline You provide in these three verses is one that I unknowingly have been finally put on thanks to this ministry and Your guidance through them. I thank You so much for these verses as well as the ministry of brothers that are working alongside me to sharpen me properly for Your kingdom. Am I where I should be right now in my spiritual journey? Definitely not. Am I on the right path, FINALLY, towards getting in line with Your will for my life? I feel I am after reading verses 5-7 specifically as it just so happens that this has been the steps I’ve taken, in order, over the last 8-9 months since joining this amazing ministry. Thank You for the direction and validation in my spiritual journey today, Father. Thank You for speaking to me directly through the letter that Peter wrote two thousand years ago. I am so grateful for today’s conversation and the amazing relationship I am finally building with You after coming to faith almost a decade ago.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
Kommentare