Perspectives

2 Peter 1:12-21 … 12) 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, … 16) We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told You about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (NIV1984)

When I was a young person I often did strange things to find out if God was telling me or granting me permission to do whatever it was that I wanted to do, and whether I should do them. I would flip a coin, heads meant yes, tails meant no. If I got tails, well then sometimes I would go two out of three. When buying a car, if there was a used green Ford car on the lot that meant God was telling me to go ahead and buy that car. Other times I would check fortune cookies and all sorts of other silly things to find out if God would approve.

Why did I do that? Well, deep down in my heart I guess I was searching for the truth. I wanted to know what would happen, say, five, ten years from now. I wanted to know if it was the right thing to do. I do not think my motives were all that wrong. I was just looking in the wrong places because I know now that God does not come to us through cookies or the flip of a coin.

In our Scripture text the apostle Peter is telling us that he wants to bring back the truths which we sometimes forget, even though we are firmly established in the truth. Peter reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ had shown him that His days here on earth were numbered, and that he was soon to die. But Peter said, “As long as I am still here I intend to keep sending reminders to you about the return of Christ.”

His desire is to refresh our thinking because sometimes there are certain things we might not want to remember, truths that may irritate us and things that get under our skin. So we toss that truth into the trash bin of our minds, move it aside … just get it out of the way. The apostle is not scolding us, there are no accusations; he compliments us for knowing the truth and his desires are that he would do everything possible to inspire that thinking. However, while Peter was living, he wanted to ensure that the truth of Christ would grow in us.

When the apostle Peter was walking on the face of the earth the dissenters were already there, just like today. These folks had stopped believing that Christ would return some day, and that Peter did not have the authority to tell them what they should believe and what they should not believe.

They said that the second coming of Christ was a myth, it would never happen. Peter wrote, “That he had been an eye-witness of Christ’s majesty, and Christ’s suffering. He reminds us that by faith we can see the cross, by faith we die with Christ to sin, and by faith we were there at His resurrection

When we wonder if God approves, what should we do? How do I know what the truth is?  How can we apply what has been said to a better understanding of Scripture? The apostle Peter is saying that the Holy Spirit had been working through the ancient prophets to write as they were directed by the Holy Spirit and that no Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.

I believe we have folks today who have spent a life time studying the Holy Scriptures and that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit put into print “study guides, books, papers” as the Holy Spirit opened their minds to the Word of God in “the Bible,” so people like you and I can use that information as we study our Bible to help us understand whether God approves of our motives and actions.

Would you pray this prayer with me … “Lord Jesus, come into my heart. Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I really want that peace, joy and happiness that will fulfill my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honour Your Name.” Amen