The Only Word That Really Matters

Amos 3:1-11 2

2 Peter 1:12-21

The Season of Advent receives its texture and its meaning from the word of God. God has made promises to us that we know will be kept, so even as we wait with hope and expectation we must prepare ourselves for what God is about to do. Two of our readings for today touch on the role that God’s word plays in our lives.

“The lion has roared;

who will not fear?

The Lord God has spoken;

who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:8)

“First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21).

When God speaks through the Holy Spirit men and woman of faith are compelled to share that message with others. Amos in particular resisted the title of prophet; he was a farmer who had heard the voice of God. What else could he do but speak God’s truth? The writer of 2 Peter affirms that God alone is the source of prophecy. We are not called to speculate blindly about the future, but to embrace God’s will and live toward it. On any given day many voices will clamor for our attention: advertisements, political rhetoric, gossip, the crass and clashing sounds of our culture. Only God’s word, however, can set the tone for the days that lie ahead, for only God’s word contains the truth.

Prayer: Lord, allow us to hear your word and to be moved by it in all that we do, throughout the Season of Advent and into the days ahead. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Support Your Faith

2 Peter 1:1-11

It reads like something that Paul might have written, but we find it in 2 Peter. “For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8). Faith needs support. Even though it is given to us by God faith is most effective when we strive to live with goodness and knowledge and self-control, etc., all of which rests on the foundation of love.

In this way I suppose faith is similar to life. Life first comes to us as a gift but over time it needs support. Life requires that we be fed, taught, encouraged, enabled, and loved. Initially others do these things for us, but most of us eventually must take responsibility ourselves for sustaining life if we are to reach our fullest potential. Faith has potential, too. It may languish, or it may flourish. 2 Peter calls those who neglect their faith “nearsighted and blind” (v. 9), an interesting combination of terms that seems to heighten the danger. But those who “confirm (their) call and election” (v. 10) will not stumble spiritually the way those who are spiritually blind or nearsighted are apt to do.

Faith needs support. Those who nurture their faith will find their walk with God to be more fulfilling.

Prayer: Lord, help us to grow in faith even as we progress in life, that we may be fully alive to you in all we do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

When the Light Shines, Pay Attention

Isaiah 9:2-7 2

Peter 1:12-21

Sometimes a little light can be a bad thing. If you happen to sit near someone who insists on texting in a movie theater, then you know how distracting it can be. A more drastic example comes from World War II. Then cities in Europe went to extreme measures to remain “blacked out” during the night so that enemy bombers would have no point of reference, no matter how small, by which to drop their bombs.

But when it comes to the prophetic word of God, the brighter the better. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;” Isaiah tells us, “those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2). This is good news because it represents a turning point in the lives of God’s people. No longer will they be subjected to the doubt and fear of spiritual darkness. For in the days to come the light of God will be shining and joy will abound. The writer of 2 Peter takes it a step further. “So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place” (2 Peter 1:19). In other words, given a choice between a path through the darkness or one illuminated by lamp, the wise will choose the way that is lit. Pay attention to the light, 2 Peter tells us. It is shining for us.

Perhaps another way to understand this is to consider Isaiah’s passage as a promise that we may be tempted to dismiss as wishful thinking or too general to take seriously. But the writer of 2 Peter assures us that the witness of the prophet is accurate. Indeed, we have Peter’s word on it, for he is a witness to what Isaiah was promising. Pay attention to the light, he tells us. It is shining for us, full of life-sustaining power, full of hope, full of joy. Clearly, that is where we need to be looking.

Prayer: Lord, may the light of your word fall upon our path and guide us in our living. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Seven Steps From Faith to Love

2 Peter 1:1-11

Recently the congregation I serve added stepping stones through a garden on the church grounds. This path makes the garden more accessible, but it also creates a nice shortcut from one side of the building to another. Our reading from 2 Peter today talks about something like spiritual stepping stones, though in this case there is no shortcut involved.

“For this very reason,” we read, “you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance and endurance with godliness and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love” (2 Peter 1:5-7). Notice that the list begins with faith, which is as it should be. Faith, a gift to us from God, is what allows us to enter into the process and to take the first steps along the path of discipleship. But the passage reminds us that as those who have faith we “must make every effort” to support that faith with goodness. In other words, once we find ourselves on the journey along the path of faith the next step is to seek goodness. To take that step, however, we need knowledge such as we find in study, prayer, and involvement within the community of faith. And on it goes, from knowledge which requires self-control, to endurance which is supported by godliness, and finally mutual affection which is built upon love. Take out any of the steps and you will find the way blocked. Try to move along the path too quickly and you are apt to find yourself falling by the wayside. What we need are intentional, thoughtful steps, taken with confidence in God’s guidance.

Ah, but this is no ordinary path. We do not travel along it once to its conclusion. Instead we must travel each of the steps continually, so that one step supports and encourages all the others. After all faith is supported by love as much as it is by endurance. And godliness is as dependant on goodness as it is on mutual affection. And, as I’ve said, this is no shortcut of a path, but a lifelong process of loving and enduring and being faithful in goodness, knowledge, and godliness. But if we stay on the path, or continue with the process, we know we are moving in the proper direction. And that is good news.

Prayer: O God, help us to live our faith day in and day out according to your will. Amen.