COMMENTS
I love how
the Lord speaks to us and encourages us to get into His Word and to commune
with Him. It seems that every time I do,
He gives some kind of confirmation. I
know that you’ve experienced this if you interact with Him at all. For example,
my husband mentioned at lunch today that he had heard a scripture
mentioned last week; and then, someone emailed him the very same scripture
a couple of days later. I mean, there
are thousands of verses in the Bible.
Why would the same verse come to him from two different sources at the
same time? Coincidence? No.
God-incidence! That happened to
me today. Our guest preacher referenced
today’s blog verses in his sermon this morning ;-). I mean, the very verses that I was going to write about this afternoon! Another confirmation that 2 Peter is where we’re
supposed to be!
NOTES
Have you
ever noticed that every time there’s some kind of a major news event, the media
interviews someone who was there for it—someone who either experienced it or
observed it first hand and close by. Why
do they do that? Because we give value
and credibility to an eyewitness account.
In our passage today, Peter does the same thing.
He starts by
reminding his readers that he and the other disciples didn’t have some clever
marketing scheme to sell Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Instead, he reminds us that they were “eyewitnesses
of His majesty” (V. 16). Referring to
the transfiguration of Jesus, Peter recounts what he SAW and HEARD from the
very mouth of God! He literally heard
God—the Majestic Glory (don’t you love that name!)—say, “This is my Son, whom I
love; with Him I am well pleased” (V. 17).
Basically, Peter was saying, “You can believe what I’m telling you
because I saw and heard it myself.” What
he had to say was credible.
Peter then
adds some history. He reminds us that we
also have the word of the prophets who came before. Those prophets, speaking not on their own but
in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (a VERY important point), gave validation
and confirmation of the deity of Jesus Christ.
I love two
of the phrases Peter speaks here: (1) “you
will do well to pay attention to [the word of the prophets] (V.19) and (2) “as
to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises
in your hearts” (V. 19).
NOTE: Just a warning to you: I’m not researching what that means. I’m telling you what it says to my heart,
which may not be theologically correct.
What those
two phrases say to me are: Hey,
guys. Pay attention to what the prophets
said. Their words are true. You may be confused now, but they will help
you understand God’s plan. Slowly and
surely, it will dawn upon you that Jesus is, indeed, the Messiah—the Son of
God.
Over the
last couple of years, I’ve been to a bridal shower, a baby shower, and a graduation
party. At each event, I was asked to
write a piece of advice for the honoree.
Why was I asked to do that?
Because I am married, I’ve had two babies, and I’ve graduated and experienced
life beyond graduation. I’m just an
imperfect human being, but I’ve learned things from my experiences (especially
my mess-ups!) that can be helpful to someone who’s doing it for the first
time. Peter, the other disciples, and
the prophets were also imperfect human beings; but what they have to teach us
is far more valuable than anything I wrote at those showers. Their words of wisdom come from God Himself,
speaking to us in the power of the Holy Spirit.
As Peter said, we would do well to listen….
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