Mission Faithwalk

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. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (II Peter 1:3-4)           Every so often, I hear people proclaim "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness." They leave out the rest of the verse and the verse after. Knowing how God has done this is important, wouldn't you say? Leaving those details out is sort of like handing someone a scalpel and saying, "Here, go do surgery." We have what we need...through our knowledge of Him. That knowledge was given to us not because we deserved it, but because of God's glory and goodness. Through His glory and goodness, He has given us promises that we have a divine partner. ...

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:              Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (II Peter 1:1-3)             Do you know God and Jesus? Or, do you know God and Jesus. Do you know that there are at least two Greek words for the idea of "knowing"?   The first word is transliterated "eido." Most of us "eido" President Obama or Johnny Depp. We may be able to rattle off any of a number of facts about one of them. We may be obsessed with one of them in either a positive or a negative way. The second word is transliterated "gnosko." Michelle Obama "gnoskos" President Obama, and Amber Heard "gnoskos" Johnny Depp.           ...

With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (I Peter 5:12-14)          I wonder what sort of help Silas gave Peter. Quite probably, he acted as a secretary but I can imagine him interjecting, "Peter, back to the subject." In this passage Peter mentions his son, Mark. Zondervan's study notes say that strong early tradition suggest that this is John Mark, who recorded Peter's experiences with Jesus in what we know as the Gospel of Mark. He also mentions "she who is in Babylon." There are a couple possibilities for this, but generally, this is believed to be a church with which Peter was acquainted. In other words, more people. Of course, s...

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen (I Peter 5:8-11)           My aunt grew up during World War II. She was trained as a plane spotter. It was her job to identify any planes that flew over her town, in case the Germans ever reached our shores. I was raised during the part of the Cold War in which children were taught what to do if the "air raid" warning went off, in case Russia dropped a nuclear bomb.   Several members of my sister's family are volunteer fire fighters or other emergency responders...

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (I Peter 5:7)               In my office, there's a sketch of Jesus hugging a lamb. I didn't buy the sketch because I believed the artist got His facial features right. I bought it because it reminds me that Jesus loves me. My natural inclination is to think that God sees me the way I see me, which tends to be as a failure.   I need reminders that He cares for me, especially when things aren't going the way I want. When things aren't going the way I want is when I tend to be anxious.            Caring seems to involve two main ideas. One is the provision of what is necessary. I tend to want that part to include what I want, not just what I need. The second is to do the right thing in the right way at the right time. I tend to want that part to include what is convenient to me.       ...

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time . (I Peter 5:5-6)            "Not good enough." I have used that phrase as a name of my own demon. Those are the words I have heard so many times, I've started using its initials instead of it's formal name: NGE. The world says, "Oh, no, don't say that. Everyone is good enough. You just need to think more positively about yourself."           After quite a few years of failing to rise to the "unreasonable" standards that I seem to set, I've come to a realization: I am not good enough. I will not only never meet my own standards, I will not meet all the standards that other people set, and more importantl...

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed:   Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. (I Peter 5:1-4)             Most of us want   to "grow   up" someday to do something important, to lead others, to do good in our society, to have significance in some way. Even if you're 99, chances are good, there's something in you that longs to leave a legacy or to matter to others. Some people think that being a leader in the secular realm is or should be somehow different from leading in the Church....