Category Archives: Commands

Accountability, Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Deceit, Deception, Devil, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Following, Lies, Mentoring, Parenting, Satan

BEING LED

2 PETER 3:17

“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,” 

Okay, you’ve got to go back and read verse 16 to understand verse 17. I’ll wait. Did you do that? People will distort the Scriptures. Now that you know that, Peter says be careful, guard yourself. They will attempt to lead you astray. Peter says they are in error. They are lawless and unprincipled. They don’t care where you end up, as long as it is far away from the truth.

I’ve always said the devil doesn’t care if you go to church. He doesn’t care if you give a little money to the church and read your Bible. He just doesn’t want you to live for Jesus. He’s okay with you acting like a Christian as long as you don’t love like one. He will send people into your life to lead you astray. And in today’s world that can be done through tv, internet or social media.

APPLICATION

Let’s play a blindfold game with our kids. Go outside and set up a simple obstacle course which will require them to maneuver through. Blindfold your child and have them stand at one end of it. On your instructions have them walk the course. Purposely direct them entirely wrong. Make them bump into stuff (safely I might add). Take them way off the course and then have them remove their blindfold.

Now, take them back to the beginning of the course, remove their blindfold and have them walk through it. Nothing to it, right? What an illustration. We can’t go through this life with blinders. We have to be able to see the truth of our journey. That is only possible when we follow Jesus. We may only see a little of the journey at a time, but that’s okay. Others can lead us astray if we don’t know where we’re going. That’s a lesson worth teaching.

Are you walking around with blinders? Are you letting someone else lead you in your thinking about Scripture? Dig in yourself. But Pastor Carl, I don’t know how to study. There are hundreds of great study guides available today. Ask your Pastor for a recommendation. But dig it out yourself. Go deep with God.

Father, help me go deep with You. I don’t want to be led astray by others. I want to know Your truth and apply it to my life daily.

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Accountability, Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Encouragement, Following, Gifts, Holy Spirit, Mentoring, Modeling, Parenting, Patience, Salvation, Scripture

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

2 PETER 3:15

“and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you,” 

Just how patient are you? I like to think I am very patient, but truth be known, I am probably not. And why aren’t I? Because I want my way. I want things done how I want them. I want… Well, you see where this is going. My flesh gets in the way.

Aren’t you glad Jesus isn’t like me? Before you yell You better believe it, ask yourself how you compare. Jesus is the patient or long-suffering one. This Greek word for patience is the same word used in Galatians 5:22. “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,” You see, you can’t be patient without the Spirit controlling you.

APPLICATION

How do you teach your children patience? The best way is to model it for them. How patient are you with them? Ouch! Did that hit home? Sometimes we aren’t very patient with our little ones. Jesus is so long-suffering with us. Don’t forget that. How can you extend that to your kids?

Jesus was patient towards you in regards to your salvation. That’s what Peter said in today’s verse. He waited for you to respond. He didn’t hurry you or force you. Can you show that patience toward your child? That fruit of the Spirit is so important to show to others, especially your children.

How patient are you toward your work colleagues? How about your neighbor who infringes on your property? Hmmm. Well, Carl, you don’t understand. I don’t have to. Jesus does, and He can give you the power to be patient. In fact, He already has, if you are believer. That fruit is yours to exercise.

Lord, I long to be just like You, including being patient with others. I know I don’t have it within me to do that without the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Accountability, Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Confession, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Following, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Mentoring, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Sanctification, Scripture, Surrender

HOW WILL HE FIND YOU?

2 PETER 3:14

“Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,” 

Have you ever been caught off guard by someone or something? Boy, I have. It can be embarrassing or even dangerous. It’s always best to be prepared. When I’m hunting, I try to be prepared for any situation, but I can still be caught sometimes not looking in the right direction or moving when I shouldn’t.

Peter is telling us in this verse to be found by Jesus in peace, spotless and blameless. Well, good luck with that, lol. Listen, you can’t be found “in” peace until you are “at” peace. That only comes through Him. And you will never be found spotless and blameless unless you are covered in His blood through your salvation. You see, it is really all about Him.

APPLICATION

Have you ever found your child’s room to be spotless? I doubt it, unless you have a remarkable child who just loves cleaning. Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you surprise your child and clean their room and make it spotless? When they see it, you can explain that you wanted to bless them by doing this.

Then read them this verse and explain how Jesus makes us spotless when we come to Him. Explain that unlike their room which will get dirty again, we are made spotless in His sight for eternity. Sure, we may sin again and need to confess that, but He sees us in our glorified state already. Isn’t that cool?

Are you at peace with God? Are you spotless and blameless? That’s how He wants to find you when He returns. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He does expect us to strive for it. He says so in His word. Our God demands holiness, and He gives us the ability to be holy as we surrender daily to His Spirit. Now, go “scrub” yourself.

Thank You, Lord, that my holiness does to rely on me. You produce holiness in me through Your Holy Spirit. I want to be found worthy of You.

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Bible, Blessing, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christ's Return, Commands, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Evangelism, Faithfulness, Heaven, Hope, Inspirational, Joy, Mentoring, Parenting, Rapture, Scripture, Witnessing

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

2 PETER 3:12

“looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!” 

The world will never understand believers’ anticipation of the return of Christ. In fact, many scoff at us. They think our faith in His return is shallow-minded. To them, His return is a fable told for centuries.

But we know better, don’t we? Peter says we are to be “looking for and hastening” His return. The Greek word for “looking” is a bit more than just scanning the horizon. It is an eager anticipation, almost a giddy yearning. “Hastening” means to speed it on. How can we speed it on? By sharing the good news with everyone we meet.

APPLICATION

Don’t be afraid to talk about Jesus’ return with your kids. Some parents don’t want to “scare” their children with this news. But this is great news. For believers, it won’t be a scary event. We will be transformed so quickly and ushered into heaven, we won’t know what hit us. It will be pure joy.

I hear many young believers say they want to do such and such before He returns. They want to get married first. They want to have a baby first. They want to…. Listen, make sure your kids know that nothing compares to seeing Jesus. There is no earthly joy that compares.

Are you giddy for His return? Does the thought He could come any day get you excited? It should. As a believer, we should be looking and hastening that day. We should be actively preparing and seeking. We should be telling others about Him whenever we get the chance. Soon and very soon.

You promised You would return, Lord. We are eagerly waiting. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Direction, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Following, Gospel, Inspirational, Mentoring, Obedience, Parenting, Remembering, Scripture, Wisdom

WORDS OF WISDOM

2 PETER 3:2

“that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.”

Do you remember any of your parents’ “words of wisdom”? You know, words like “Look both ways before you cross the road” and “You’ll shoot your eye out.” Of course, you can remember those. You probably have a bunch of others you can recall and have probably repeated to your children.

Peter isn’t referring to those kinds of words. He is referring to prophecies about Christ and His commands to us. In fact, the Greek word for “remember” means to actively remember. In other words, don’t forget them, keep reciting, keep remembering.

APPLICATION

Ask your children if they recall some of your “words of wisdom.” You may get a little tickled at their remembrance of your guidelines. Give them some slack but clarify your words. You will get a tickle later on when you hear those words come out of their mouths when they have children.

Most importantly, take them to the real words of wisdom. Make sure they are learning from His Word each and every day. Challenge your whole family to memorize the Word. Memorization allows you to “actively remember” those words of wisdom. Wherever you go, you will have those words with you.

Are you actively remembering the words of the prophets and Jesus? I pray you are. There is no other way to successfully navigate the world we are in today. The world’s wisdom will lead you in all the wrong directions. But God’s Word will always lead you in the RIGHT direction. Words of wisdom – listen carefully.

I am so thankful for Your words of wisdom, Lord. I cherish them each day. Help me spread to others Your words.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Commitment, Direction, Encouragement, Knowledge, Mentoring, Obedience, Parenting, Punishment

YOU KNOW BETTER THAN THAT

2 PETER 2:21

“For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them.”

Did your mom or dad ever say, “Young man (or young lady), you know better than that”? Why did they say that? Because you had obviously been taught something which you had now disobeyed. You knew the rule, but didn’t care. Peter is telling us something similar to that in this verse.

These individuals he is writing about here had heard the “way of righteousness” and “the holy commandment.” They knew the right choice to make. But they turned away. They turned their backs on the right choice. And because of that, Peter says they have no excuse. They can’t say they didn’t know.

APPLICATION

I bet your children break the rules from time to time, don’t they? I haven’t met a perfect child yet (contrary to what some grandparents think, lol). They have been taught not to steal and lie, right? If there were no rules, how do you think your children would act? I think we all know the answer to that.

Rules are given for a reason. Without rules, anarchy erupts. We’re seeing that right now on the streets throughout our country. The beautiful thing about the gospel is it writes the “rules” on our heart. Jesus fills us with the desire to obey Him. Your children need to hear that. And when they obey Him, they obey you.

So, are you hearing what the Lord would have you to do and turning the other way? Maybe you have never asked Christ to be your Savior even though You believe He is just that. Maybe you are a believer, but you live like the world. Turn to Him today. Let Him live in and through you.

Father, forgive me when I turn from You. I want to follow You each day and live for You.

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Accountability, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Devil, Direction, Encouragement, Following, Light, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture

PAY ATTENTION

2 PETER 1:19

So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

Does your mind ever wander when someone is trying to tell you something? I think men have an extra gene that causes that sometimes, lol. Seriously, since my chemotherapy I find myself having to concentrate harder to accomplish some things. I either forget what I’m doing or get distracted by something else. I even go into rooms sometimes and forget why I went in there.

Peter is telling us to pay close attention to the words he has written, to the prophetic word. We have been warned. We have been taught. We have been given the truth through the Word of God to live by. What we do with that is our choice. What we can’t choose is the consequences for disobeying it. The lamp truly is shining in a dark place.

APPLICATION

Kids love flashlights and candles. There is just something about getting in a dark room with all the lights off and lighting a candle or turning on a flashlight. It’s amazing how even the smallest light in a completely dark room can chase away the darkness. Try this with your child. They will love it.

Show them this verse and explain how the light of His Word does the same thing to the darkness in our world. Satan cannot stand up to God’s Word. He has no power over it. When we feel the darkness, we need to strike the match of truth to drive it away.

How are you walking? Are you walking in light or darkness? It really is your choice. But don’t blame God when you stumble in that darkness because you refuse to use the light of His Word to guide you. And the beauty of His light is it never dims. It is always bright.

Shine Your light on me, dear Lord. Light up the path I am traveling today. 

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Accountability, Advice, Bible, Commands, Courage, Direction, Encouragement, God's Will, Inspirational, Joy, Modeling

STIR ME UP, LORD

2 PETER 1:13

“I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder,”

Have you ever been stirred up about something? I have seen large crowds stirred up over a bad call by a referee on the ballfield. I have been stirred up over bad news that I received about something. I did a little digging on this Greek word for “stir up.” I found a couple of interesting things.

This word is only used 6 times in the New Testament. Four of those times refer to Jesus or His actions. Check them out at Mark 4:39, Luke 8:24 (twice) and John 6:18. In three of these Jesus is stirred and in one He stirs the water (I believe He did that to teach the disciples). The other two times the word in used is here in 2 Peter (1:13 and 3:1).

Listen to me. Jesus is involved in all this stirring. He stirs us up for a purpose. The Holy Spirit inspired Peter to pen these words stating that through the Spirit he would stir them up to godly living. Don’t we all need that?

APPLICATION

I don’t know why, but I have this image in my head of children riding one of those little teacup rides at the carnival. You know the ride. You sit in a curved seat enclosure and the seat spins around on a circular track while the whole ride spins around. That’s what I call getting stirred up.

Now, God doesn’t want to make us sick, like that carnival ride. But He does want us to get out our complacency and get enthused about living for Him. We need someone to stir us up. We need someone to shake us up sometimes.

Are you finding yourself in need of being stirred up? Ask the Holy Spirit to send someone into your life to do that. It may be your spouse. It may be a friend from church. Whomever it is, listen to them. Let the Spirit speak through them to get you stirred up for Jesus.

Lord, thanks for stirring me up. Thanks for “unsettling” me at times to move me on to serving You.

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Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Direction, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Faith, Godliness, Inspirational, Knowledge, Mentoring, Modeling, Parenting, Perseverance, Scripture

GET INTO IT

2 PETER 1:5

“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,” 

There’s a Greek word that is really missing in the English translation of this verse (at least in the NASB). It’s only used right here in the whole New Testament. It’s the Greek word  pareispheró, and it means real personal involvement or energy. The Lord is telling us through Peter that we have to be involved in our spiritual growth. It doesn’t just happen.

Now, I am not inferring we need to be “works” minded. However, we need to be focused on our faith. Peter begins in this verse and continues in verse 6 to list several areas that will help us grow as believers. You need to exhibit moral excellence which only comes through God. Through that you gain knowledge of God, a personal experience of Him. Those two are listed first. Do you have those in your life?

APPLICATION

Your child’s faith in the beginning is normally a reflection of yours. They mimic your spiritual walk. They do what you do. However, they can’t stay there. Usually, around the middle school years, they begin to develop their own spiritual understanding of God. Along with that comes doubts. That’s normal. Our job is to help them work through that and keep pointing them to Christ.

We can’t grow them spiritually. What? Yep, that’s what I said. We can only provide the spiritually rich environment for growth. It’s the same as growing a garden. We can’t make the seed grow, but we can prepare the soil and add in the nutrients needed. We can water the seed when it’s dry. But only the seed can germinate itself. Make sure your children are involved in their own spiritual growth process.

Too many believers want to be spoon fed when it comes to growing spiritually. Often times, the Lord chooses trials and hard times to grow us. We complain and bicker and fail to see these as opportunities to develop moral excellence and knowledge of God. Get involved in your spiritual development. Seek out ways to grow and become more like Him.

Thank You, Lord, for growing me. I want to be more like You each day. Help me see each challenge as an opportunity for growth.

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Advice, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Commitment, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, God's Will, Grace, Holy Spirit, Mentoring, Parenting

STAND FIRM

1 PETER 5:12

“Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!”

Paul is closing this letter and gives some final kudos to Silvanus, believed to be the one who penned this for Peter. Can you imagine listening to Peter and being his scribe? I am sure Silvanus had no idea the words he was writing, inspired by the Holy Spirit through Peter, would one day be canonized as part of the Holy Scriptures.

But the point Peter makes in this verse is in the last part. He tells us to “stand firm in it.” In what? The true grace of God. The word means to be placed or set. It implies to stand so as to not be moved. Peter is telling us to hold these truths about God’s grace forever. Don’t be swayed. Don’t be led astray.

APPLICATION

Did you ever play “King of the Mountain” when you were growing up? It’s a fun, rough and tumble game. You have to find a hill and gather some friends who are willing to play. One person starts out on top of the hill and the rest of the players try to push him/her off.

Our children need to be reminded that there are people who are going to try to “push them off” the hill of truth. Some will come at them face to face, but others will come at them from behind or out of their peripheral view. They will be sneaky and forceful. However, nothing can move them from God’s truth, if they will stay firmly rooted. That is only done by daily commitment to His Word and following God’s Will for their life.

Are you standing firm today? Can you be moved? I pray you are relying on the truths of God’s grace to guide you and hold you steady. There are way too many distractions out there today to lure us away from following the Lord. Stand firm!

I will stand firm for Jesus. I will trust Your truths, Lord. Hold me fast.

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