Have you ever become sleepy in a church service? It's easy, isn't it? Then something happens to make you alert again, a hymn or a song or even a good nudge! Peter wanted to give his readers a good nudge - to awaken their memories of the things they knew and believed but which they could easily forget. We often need that same nudge. Why? It is sad to say that well-known truths often become commonplace and tend to lose their impact on our lives. How did Peter start to warn his readers against false teachers? First he reminded them of the truth he himself had seen, heard, and told about. He himself could never forget the three years he had spent in the earthly presence of Christ. He could remember Christ's patient teaching and how often He had reminded the disciples of the things He had told them. Then Peter reminded them of the reliability of the Scriptures. These were the foundation of their faith. They had been given by God the Holy Spirit Himself. Peter wanted to stir any of his readers who might have become slack in their Christian lives. They knew these truths but needed to be stimulated again by them. He also planned to leave behind a record of them as a continuing reminder. Not only this letter but possibly the Gospel of Mark was part of that plan. The last few words of our reading form one of the greatest passages in the Bible regarding its inspiration. Read them (vv. 19-21) again slowly. If the Bible is such a wonderful Book, we had better pay attention to what it says. No one can ever outgrow or neglect the Scriptures. While the world around us is in spiritual darkness, the Bible is the only light that can show us the pathway to God. Are we sharing that light with the world? A VERSE FOR TODAY: "Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105) |
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