#DailyDevotion Instead Of Subtracting Something For Lent Try Adding Something
2 Peter 1:2-11 2As you know God and our Lord Jesus, may you enjoy more and more of His grace and peace. 3His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness through knowing Him Who called us to His own glory and excellence. 4Thus He has given us His precious and very great promises, so that after you have escaped the corruption that lust brought into the world, you might by these promises share in the divine nature. 5In view of that, try very hard to add to your faith moral excellence, to moral excellence knowledge, 6to knowledge self-control, to self-control endurance, to endurance godliness, 7to godliness brotherly kindness, to brotherly kindness love. 8If you have these and they grow more and more, they keep you from being useless and unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone doesn’t have these, he’s blind, shortsighted, and has forgotten that his old sins were washed away. 10Be all the more eager, then, fellow Christians, to make sure you’re God’s called and chosen ones. If you do this, you will never fail. 11Then you will be welcomed richly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
You may read this and wonder what would this text have to do with Ash Wednesday and repentance until you get to verse 9, “But if anyone doesn’t have these, he’s blind, shortsighted, and has forgotten that his old sins were washed away.” You ask yourself, “Do I have these?” and “What is these?” Well these is the previous verses, faith, moral excellence, godliness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, brotherly kindness and love. Well how about it? How are you doing with these. Are you adding each one of these unto the other? You may you have some room for improvement and maybe even a commencement. But you will never get there by way of the law.
No you must go back to the beginning of the lesson. You must know God and our LORD Jesus Christ. How do you know them and receive his divine power which gives us everything we need for life and godliness? Through his great and precious promises which have you share in his divine nature. What are those promises? If you believe in Jesus, even in his name, you have eternal life. If you believe in Jesus and are baptized, you will be saved. Jesus Christ died for you sins, redeemed you and ransomed you from death and the devil with his very blood shed for you. Because he is risen from the dead you will also rise from the dead and if you had put your trust in him, you will rise to eternal life.
When you hear these promises and put your trust in them, you are made partakers of the divine nature. You know God and you know Jesus. You have received divine power to live the life of God and for godliness of living. Since these things are true, now follow Peter’s advice. Add to this faith moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Do this will keep you from being useless and unproductive in your knowledge of our LORD Jesus Christ. Maybe instead of focusing on giving something up for Lent you may, through the promises of God, see to it you are doing these things and adding them to your life. Don’t be like one who has forgotten his sins have been washed away.
In doing these things you make sure you don’t fail in being one of God’s chosen ones. You will not fail. You will be welcomed into the everlasting kingdom of our LORD Jesus Christ.
Almighty God and Father, through the faith and knowledge of your promises in Christ Jesus give us your grace to add these things Peter tells us to so we may be productive and useful in your kingdom. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.