John 15:2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Lord I am not worthy to receive You but only say the word and my soul will be healed. The measure that we believe in Your power to overcome the sins in our lives the more that we can receive Your wisdom and Your truth into our lives. Holy Spirit directs, guides and explains the ways of God to us so that we can change. Our flesh will always fight against the Spirit while we are in the earth but Jesus says it is finished and I take Him at His Word. God loves the world and wants no one to live without Him in their lives. Jesus takes away the sins of the world. Carla
2 Peter 1:5-9
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. (NKJV)
This exhortation begins a section (verse 5–11) in which Peter describes the responsibilities that result from possessing the godly resources described in verses 1, 3, 4. Faith marks the beginning of the Christian life (Acts 3:16; Romans 3:28; Hebrews 11:6). Through genuine faith, God grants eternal life to a spiritually dead person (Ephesians 2:1). Virtue is the same word used in verse 3 in reference to Christ’s character.
We cannot produce virtue ourselves; but we can choose to obey the virtuous promptings of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Knowledge (practical wisdom) is obtained by dedicating ourselves to learning God’s truth in the Scriptures and putting that truth into action.
Self-control means mastering one’s emotions rather than being controlled by them. The false teachers whose views Peter was exposing believed that knowledge freed people from the need to control their passions. A person who exercises self-control will not easily succumb to discouragement or the temptation to quit. Viewing all circumstances as coming from the hand of a loving Father who is in control of all things is the secret of per-severance.
The Greek word for godliness was used by ancient pagans to describe a religious individual who kept in close touch with the gods. Here Peter uses the word to speak of the need for Christians to be continually aware of God’s presence. Knowing that all of our life is in His hands should influence every aspect of our life. We should live for God and not for ourselves.
Brotherly kindness is so closely linked with godliness that 1 John 4:20 says, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar.” As Jesus taught in John 15:12–17, love involves serving one another, sharing with one another, and praying for one another. Love here refers to God’s kind of love, which originates not in the one loved but in the one who loves.
God loves because He is love; we are to love because we are from God.
The presence of the qualities listed in verses 5–7 marks a healthy Christian and assures productivity in our lives.
The lack of fruitfulness (verse 8) in a believer’s life may be caused by two factors: blindness and forgetfulness. A shortsighted person is one who looks only at earthly and material values—what is close at hand—and does not see the eternal spiritual realities. Concerned only with this present life, such a person becomes blind to the things of God, forgetting the wonderful sense of cleansing that comes from turning oneself over to Christ. The NKJV Study Bible
In verses 5-7 Peter uses a literary device called sorites, in which each virtue leads to the next one in a stair-step structure. Peter’s audience would have been familiar with this style. Virtue lists, like vice lists, were common devices in Graeco-Roman rhetoric.
The idea of knowing about God is preceded by the principle of living a life of integrity, making the point that the disciplines of a faithful life lead to further understanding of God. Faith is not just a matter of obtaining salvation; it is a matter of life transformation—overcoming sin demonstrates the power of Jesus in a person’s life.
A person who lacks the disciplines of the Christian faith has failed to understand one of the primary purposes of salvation—the freedom to live apart from the bondage of sin (2 Pet 2:19; Hebrews 6:4–6). This principle will surface throughout 2 Peter, as one of the distinguishing ways someone can tell the difference between a truthful, godly teacher and a false teacher.
Patient endurance against daily opposition, as believers were forced to explain their choice to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Living as part of society without synchronizing their beliefs with those of the Roman Empire would have required incredible endurance. The believers who received the letter of 2 Peter would have found the principles of their faith at odds with the general practices of Graeco-Roman culture.
In a culture that primarily accommodated sin, believers had to choose to live by the principles of Christianity. Christians felt social pressure to worship various gods and particularly the Roman emperor, who claimed to be god’s son. Believers may have also been experiencing direct persecution. If the audience of 2 Peter is the same as 1 Peter, then Christian persecution—certainly through social pressure and perhaps through physical abuse—is in view.
Knowing that his death is quickly approaching (2 Peter 1:14), Peter exhorts his audience to examine their faith continually so that they will remain established in the truth and truly be part of Christ’s kingdom.
Christians should not just possess the virtues in verses 5–7, but be growing in them. It is possible to have some knowledge of Christ and yet be unproductive. Faithlife Study Bible
2 Peter 1:2–3
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
1 John 2:9–11
He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him…
Acts 24:25
Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”
Ephesians 5:26
that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
“What is Real?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”
“Real isn't how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn't happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”
(The Velveteen Rabbit, Margery Williams)
It is easy to say. And easy to read.
And it is most certainly true.
But saying and doing are two different things.
I do know this: Some days I do “mind” being hurt.
And I want to run away.
Or I want someone to fix it.
Or I want to tell whoever or whatever to “go away.”
And on those days, I need the reminder and the invitation and affirmation that self-love is a radical act of healing, resilience and well-being.
There is no doubt, uncertainty and “broken things” are very real. But here’s the deal: I don’t want to shut down. An essential reminder that care of any kind—engagement, service, kindness, generosity, ministry, teaching, compassion, gentleness, encouragement, healing—is predicated on, and fueled by, self-care.
And so I’m grateful for those in my life who have said, “Take my hand, we’ll find our way together.”
“Take my hand” is a way of saying, “I see you. You are Real. And you matter.”
Presence does not distinguish.
Or judge.
Presence just is.
Meaning that presence makes space. For healing, and restoration, and grounding, and recovery.
Because in the touch, we can be present.
In the touch, we create heart space.
In the touch, we’re in the mending business.
Sabbath Moments
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