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December 18, Sunday
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Scripture’s Source and Purpose — The Bible is the Word of God. It is “Scripture … breathed out by God” (v. 16). Its Source is divine perfection. When Jesus said to the Father, “your word is truth” (John 17:17), He prefaced that with one purpose of Scripture, praying, “Sanctify them in the truth,” i.e., set them apart in holiness. Immersion in God’s Word develops holiness in us. Paul gives other purposes of Scripture in today’s reading. He said that “the sacred writings … are able to make you wise for salvation” (2 Tim. 3:15). Wisdom and salvation come from the application of Scripture. In the next verse, Paul provides the first purpose: it is “profitable for teaching.” It teaches us and it gives us the content for teaching others. It is also profitable “for reproof, for correction,” telling us when we are wrong and helping us get back on the right path. Finally, it is profitable “for training in righteousness.” God changed our hearts at conversion, but we were spiritual infants at that point. We need training through spiritual workouts, direction and encouragement from other believers, and knowledge of the Word of God. Then, Paul added another purpose in the form of a result: that we “may be complete, equipped for every good work” (v. 17). The Perfect Source leads us toward His perfection and empowers us to do His work.
How Precious is the Book Divine – YouTube
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December 19, Monday
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Granted Godliness — Again, we see the Trinity mentioned in this passage, with the Father announcing the Son (v. 17), and the writers of Scripture being “carried along by the Holy Spirit” (v. 21). We also see two things that God “has granted.” One is that God “has granted to us his precious and very great promises” (v. 4a), referring to the Scripture, which is the main emphasis in this chapter. Notice, however, that the purpose of the Scripture promises is that “through them you may become partakers of the divine nature” (v. 4b). Being able to enter into the spiritual realm is also part of the second thing being granted, that God “has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (v. 3). God’s power gives us all we need to live godly lives, and God’s Scripture gives us all we need to become more like Him. This is why it is so important for us to expose ourselves to what God has said in His Word. It provides truth and power.
Here is a Martin Luther hymn about God’s Word and the involvement of the Trinity.
Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word – YouTube
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December 20, Tuesday
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Fire and Flood — This paragraph features God’s rescue of two key OT people out of a sphere of ungodliness. In Noah’s case, God rescued him and his family from the widespread wickedness in the early history of mankind. The means of rescue was the ark, which Noah and his three sons had to build. The rest of human and animal life on earth was destroyed through a flood in judgment for their sins. The destruction in Lot’s time was more local—Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God with fire from heaven while Lot and his two daughters fled to the hills. God demonstrated that He punishes the wicked and rescues the righteous. Notice that, although God provided the rescue, in both cases, the people involved had to do something. Noah had to build the ark and Lot had to flee the city. The main conclusion of this passage is that “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials” (v. 9). That is a lesson for the 21st century as well. The same Greek word for “trials” here is translated as “temptation” when Paul wrote, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13, emphasis added). Whether we face trials or temptations, God provides rescue for us. We may not have to build an ark or flee a city, but we need to look to God for the way out that He provides.
Eternal Father, Strong to Save – YouTube
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December 21, Wednesday
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Not Slow, But Patient — Whereas in our previous reading God rescued Noah and Lot from partial judgment on the earth because of man’s sin, in this chapter, Peter pointed ahead to the final and complete judgment. It has been a long time since that prophecy was made, but the predicted scoffers are abundant today, ridiculing the idea of a real judgment by God. It has yet to come for at least two reasons. The first is that God’s perspective of time is much different than ours: “…with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (v. 8). God really operates outside our realm of time. It hasn’t been long for Him. The second reason judgment has not yet arrived is because “The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise … but is patient toward you” (v. 9a). He is populating heaven for eternity with people who “should reach repentance” (v. 9b). God does not delight in punishment, but He delights in reward. There is an apparent quota of saints that God is waiting for. Jesus said that “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world … and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). Our reward is coming.
New Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZiE9c94JPM
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December 22, Thursday
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Doing and Being — This well-known doxology is a great summary of the purpose of this year’s “Knowing God” study, i.e., learning about who God is and what He has done. These verses begin with what God is doing, and it emphasizes His action on our behalf. Verse 24 says that He “is able,” showing His power that goes far beyond our own. We have a responsibility to keep from stumbling because Scripture is filled with commands for us to obey, but God also helps us to do what He commands. He will continue to do it until we stand before “his glory with great joy.” This able God is on our side! Verse 25 concentrates more on who God is: His being. He is unique— “the only God.” He is not the greatest of the gods, but is the only real God. The multiple gods worshiped around the world are either inventions of creative and fearful minds or have their source with the fallen angels who rebelled with Satan. God is also “our Savior.” He planned our salvation by sending His Son to die for our sins in satisfaction of His perfect justice. His “glory” stresses the wonder of who He is, especially when compared to us, His creation. His “majesty, dominion, and authority” point to His sovereignty; the Creator is also in charge. He controls what He has created. The doxology closes with God’s infiniteness in terms of time: “…before all time and now and forever.” He has always existed and that existence will never end. Amen!
Face to Face with Christ, My Savior – YouTube
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December 23, Friday
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Truth and Purity — The statements in this passage that “God is light” (v. 5) and “is in the light” (v. 7), refer to His attributes of truth and purity. As for truth, the “message we have heard from him” (v. 5) is in contrast to the three “If we say…” statements that some were apparently using to cover up the truth. If we attempt to do that, “we lie” (v. 6), “we deceive ourselves” (v. 8), and “we make him a liar” (v. 10). Our lies are contrasted against His truth. The purity of God is suggested here in contrast to the sin of mankind. We tend to “walk in darkness” (v. 6), while we deny it. Our sin is contrasted against His purity. Two other important “if” statements in this paragraph point to the solution to our sin problem. The first one is, “If we confess our sins…” (v. 9a). When we humbly admit our sins to God, it allows Him “to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (v. 9b). This confession of sin begins at the time of our conversion and it should continue throughout our Christian lives whenever we slip into thoughts and acts of sin. The second positive conditional statement is this: “…if we walk in the light” (v. 7). That has to do with our daily relationship with God. We “walk” in His truth and purity. We are training ourselves to think like He thinks, which is walking in fellowship with Him.
I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light – YouTube
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December 24, Saturday
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Spiritual Reality — All mankind was created by God, but not all people are “children of God.” We were created by His knowledge and power, but we became His children by His love, the “kind of love the Father has given to us” (v. 1). God’s love has opened the door for Christians to know Him. When we surrender our lives to Christ, God’s Spirit comes to dwell within us, thus changing us into spiritual beings. Before conversion, we were only physical beings, but now we have also become spiritual beings. Paul wrote that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation [or creature]. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). There is one more step to come, however: “…we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2). We are “like him” now in one sense, but after Christ returns, we will be given resurrection bodies without sin. What will that be like? We don’t quite know yet: “what we will be has not yet appeared” (v. 2). The post-resurrection descriptions of Jesus in the NT give us a glimpse, but it is only a taste of what is to come. Without our sinful bodies, we will finally have our eternal spiritual bodies. Only then will we know what true spiritual reality is all about. We are loved by God and we are purified as we think about Him.
Love Divine, All Loves Excelling – YouTube
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