"Precious Promises"   2 Peter 1:3-4                          04/15/17

This reading starts out with the Apostle Peter talking about Jesus' Divine Power and how through it, Jesus gave us all things that pertain to or are related to life and Godliness. The only way you can receive these things spoken of here is through the knowledge of Jesus and believing what He has already done for you to have life and Godliness. This verse ends with the apostle Peter saying that Jesus has called you to Glory and Virtue and this again is through the knowledge of Jesus Christ and belief in His death and resurrection for your salvation. The next verse speaks of exceeding great and precious promises that have been given to us by Jesus. These promises are not only great but they are exceeding great and precious because the Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is so much more than you could even imagine. Many people including myself at one time, believe that the only thing Jesus' death and resurrection did for us, is forgive all of our sins so we could go to Heaven.  It is true that Jesus died for forgiveness of all sins for everyone forever as shown in Hebrews 10:12, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;." This verse proves that Jesus did die for forgiveness of sins but it does not capture a full picture of everything Jesus' death and resurrection did for you. The Salvation Jesus provided for you includes not only forgiveness of sins but also perfect health as shown in the First Letter of Peter 2:24 where it says, "By whose stripes ye were healed."  He also blessed you with prosperity as Paul wrote in his 2nd Letter to the Corinthians 8:9, "You through his poverty might be rich." Along with these, Jesus delivered you from all evil as Paul wrote in his 2nd Letter to Timothy 4:18, "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work," Deliverance from all evil does not mean you will not have problems but when you understand deliverance, you will know in your heart that Jesus always wins so no matter what your situation is currently, you will still come out on top a conqueror through Jesus! Included in this complete and all inclusive salvation, Jesus empowered you Himself to do the same things He did while He was here on earth which the Apostle John quoted Him saying in 14:12 of his Gospel, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." Jesus did so many awesome works that the Apostle John said in his Gospel 21:25, "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."  Hearing this would make many people cringe about doing the same things Jesus did, but Jesus said it Himself. So if you do not believe it, you either just choose not to believe it or you are simply calling Jesus a liar and everyone knows Jesus can not lie because He is Perfect and Holy. Jesus was quoted again telling you Himself that His Word is Truth in the Gospel According to John 17:17. Jesus gave you power again through His Words in the Gospel According to Mark 16:17-18 saying, "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; / They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." This is a short list of some blessings you have when you receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior but you must know that there are many more throughout the Holy Bible and Jesus wants to bless you with wisdom and knowledge of them through it. The Apostle James wrote in his letter 1:5 that God gives wisdom liberally to you, when you ask for it. You can receive much more insight and wisdom to these abundant blessings through the Word, all you have to do is what Jesus told you in the Gospel According to Luke 11:9, "I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."  The Apostle Paul spoke of these blessings from Jesus in his Letter to the Ephesians 1:3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:" This verse says that we are blessed with all Spiritual Blessings in Heavenly places. All means everything which makes this something you will need to understand better to be able to accept if you want to see them work full force in your life. Now going back to our reading, the Apostle Peter confirms these statements by Paul when he wrote "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:" This says you have been given all things through the knowledge of Him that has called us to Glory. This is speaking of you being given all things through knowing Jesus. How do you get to know Jesus? You get to know Him through His Word because the Apostle John told you this in his Gospel 1:14, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." You know Jesus through the Word because Jesus is the Word and He is full of Grace and Truth. When you believe in Him, you receive everything He has as Paul told you in his Letter to the Ephesians 2:6 "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" We are sitting together in heavenly places with Jesus through our Faith in Him. When you believe in what Jesus has done, you receive all these blessings. The only way to receive is through Faith that Jesus died and rose again for you to receive this salvation and it is all yours. If you desire this salvation and find yourself struggling to believe, take heed to what the Apostle Paul said in his Letter to the Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Your Faith comes through the Word of God the Holy Bible.  In conclusion, remember that Salvation is not only forgiveness of sins but it is an all inclusive Salvation of Precious Promises provided through Jesus that can only be received through Faith in what He has done for you through His death and resurrection.