Gary Gleans

Bold and willful, they do not tremble   as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.    But these, like irrational animals,   creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction,   suffering wrong as   the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure   to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while   they feast with you.  They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts   trained in greed.   Accursed children!    Forsaking the right way,   they have gone astray. They have followed   the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved   gain from wrongdoing,   but was rebuked for his own transgress...

For if God did not spare   angels when they sinned, but   cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness   to be kept until the judgment;   if he did not spare the ancient world, but   preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought   a flood upon the world of the ungodly;   if by   turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction,   making them an example of   what is going to happen to the ungodly; and   if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked   (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day,   he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);   then   the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,   and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,   and especially   those who indulge in the lust...

But   false prophets also arose among the people,   just as there will be false teachers among you, who will   secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master   who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.    And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth   will be blasphemed.    And   in their greed they will exploit you   with false words.   Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. Peter started this book demonstrating how we can be firm in our faith.  That foundation is so important because it is under attack.  There are false prophets that want to destroy the faith.  Satan seeks to deceive people and drive them far from the faith.  Believers must be prepared for this.  Peter warns us to be on the lookout and understand these truths about false teachers. THEIR CONSTANCE IS U...

For we did not follow   cleverly devised   myths when we made known to you   the power and   coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but   we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.    For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory,   “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”   we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on   the holy mountain.    And   we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention   as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until   the day   dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,   knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation.    For   no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God   as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. In the study of...

Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.     I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.     And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. We all desire to have an impact that goes beyond our own lives.  Peter gives us a very sound methodology of how he went about making sure that his readers would continue to stand firm in the faith long after he was gone.  If we want those we disciple to stand strong in their faith, this is a helpful example to follow. METHOD: PREACH GOD’S WORD: Peter had made sure to teach his disciples the Word of God.  The Scriptures are the truth, and we must make sure that we are not teaching from our ow...

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.     For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.     Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.     For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When we appropriate the resources we have in Christ and accept our responsibilities as followers of Christ; we can anticipate rewards from Christ.  These verses describe the ideals that God has planned for us to experience when we are firm in our faith.  God calls us to a life that produces much fruit, rejoices in salvation, is solidified, and richly rewarded....

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. Considering the amazing resources of God’s power and promises that believers are to appropriate, it could be easy for us to think we can just coast.  Dependence on the Lord and His Spirit is essential to our walk of faith.  However, diligence and discipline are fundamental aspects of our spiritual growth.  Dependence without diligence is hypocritical.  Diligence with out dependence is futile.  Lists in scripture are always great sources of information and wisdom.  This recipe for spiritual maturity no exception.  It gives us goals for which we must diligently strive in full dependence on the Holy Spirit. BE FIRM IN...

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. Not only do we fail to appreciate our relationship with Christ; we also fail to appropriate our resources in Christ.  The fact that we are in Christ produces within us blessings that are far greater than could be attained from any other source.  Prosperity and prestige in this world tend to be the blessings that pull at our heart strings.  God has far more valuable resources that should captivate the affections of our hearts. THE POWER OF GOD: It is hard to overestimate the value of the power of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe being available to us.  The...

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Too often we fail to appreciate that which we already have because we tend to focus more on the things we don’t have.  Perhaps, our relationship with Christ is one of the things we take for granted the most.  Peter wants his readers to understand the riches they have in the Lord Jesus Christ. THE POSITION OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST: Peter presents himself with two titles: servant and apostle.  We can all claim the servant title.  I don’t believe any of us should claim the apostle title.  However, we can all claim some sort of title that describes our position within the body of Christ.  Some are elders, deacons, pastors, Sunday school teachers, me...

By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.     She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.     Greet one another with the kiss of love. The final words of a letter can be especially meaningful.  This particular passage has some precious thoughts as well as some interesting personal references that I’m not sure exactly to whom he is referring.  The important implication is that in times of suffering we absolutely need to stay close to one another and help each other to remember and rejoice in the truth of the promises of God. STAND FIRM IN GRACE: God’s grace must be clearly understood, believed, and we must stand firm in it. Peter’s entire epistle was written to exhort his readers for this purpose.  The grace of God can be hard to see in times of ...