2 Peter 1:4

Are you careful to read the words of the Bible in the context of the verse and chapter? Why is that important? If we take words out of context, the message can come across completely different than intended.

An example is in 1 Corinthians 11:1 where the apostle Paul tells believers to imitate him. If we stop short of the rest of the verse, Paul might come across as arrogant. However, Paul goes on to say, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am imitating Christ.”

Why should we imitate Christ? Paul answers that question in verse 3, explaining, “I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man,….”

Speaking metaphorically, Paul says Christ is our “head.” As a body without a head is dead, so we are dead apart from Christ. He is our life.

Another important emphasis of Christ being our head is that just as a head sits at the top of our body, over our body, Christ as our head is over us; supreme, master, Lord.

If we want to be a faithful imitator of Christ, our Head, we must learn and submit to Him and His ways. We must pray and follow His lead.

Can we say as Paul, that we are imitators of Christ, our Head? If not, let’s begin today.

Lord Jesus, HEAD OF EVERY MAN, convict us where we need to submit to Your headship. Fill us with Your Spirit so we bring glory to You.

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Would you like to experience magnificence? Our Heavenly Father would like you to as well. He never intended our lives to be filled with angst, anxiety, and the consequences of sin. He created Adam and Eve in His image and placed them in the magnificent Garden of Eden. He created them to share life in and with Him, to live by His divine nature and experience His MAGNIFICENT GLORY. But now? We live in a sin-sick world that is experiencing the consequences of sin and of shutting Him out. But as believers, our hope is not lost. Rather, our hope is firm in Christ Jesus. After turning from sin and confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior, we can daily meditate on God’s Word. We can be emotionally, mentally, and spiritually grounded in God’s magnificent truths.  Second Peter 1:4  tells us that God…

 “has granted to us His precious and MAGNIFICIENT promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

Stop. Let that sink in. PARTAKERS of the DIVINE NATURE. Friends, corruption is not our eternal destiny, but neither is it to be our daily experience. Rather, Christ’s magnificence is to be our daily moment-by-moment experience. It can be IF we study and grasp what Peter is telling us. We can escape worldly entrapments of despair, hopelessness, powerlessness and so much more by means of Christ’s divine nature in us operating in accordance with God’s promises. In other words, believers have the joy and privilege of learning God’s Kingdom ways and experiencing them through Christ’s Divine Spirit who is in us. Never let the unbelieving world’s despair, anxiety, and hopelessness infiltrate your soul. Begin each day welcoming your Heavenly Father and Spirit’s presence, praying,

“Heavenly Father, thank You for this day. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, Your divine nature. Help me be increasingly sensitive to Your voice. Overflow in and through me. Help me be increasingly sensitive to Your voice.

The Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Bible, all MAGNIFICENT, are ours through the gift of salvation. Immerse your mind in the Father’s ways. Bathe your heart in His truths and promises. Walk by His MAGNIFICENT divine nature/Spirit. Learn more with “Living by the Divine Nature,“ my Bible study on 2 Peter.

LORD, You are MAGNIFICENT and Your promises are MAGNIFICENT. Thank You for salvation by which we become partakers of the divine nature. Help us walk out Your magnificent, divine promises so others see and believe.

Record your praise to God that He is “Magnificent” in Prayers of My Heart.  Pray for yourself and intercede for your family and others that they live by God’s magnificent nature and promises.

The word “but” is an important word and has significance. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, the apostle Paul encourages believers to imitate him. However he is quick to follow his statement in 1 Corinthians 11:3 saying, “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man,….”  In other words, Paul explains that he only tells us to imitate him because he is imitating Christ, who is the HEAD OF EVERY MAN. Christ is the One we are to follow. Isn’t it wonderful that we have Christ as our HEAD and He shows us and tells us how to live? Now to Paul’s point, to what degree do we imitate Christ in our daily lives?  I’m reminded of Peter’s words that we have the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4) once we become Christians. Are we living by Christ’s Divine Nature? Are we known to those closest to us as being like Christ because we imitate Christ and follow His lead? Ephesians 5 begins, “Be imitators of God…” I just reread the chapter and recorded in my journal ways I want to be mindful of imitating Christ and following His headship. Here’s a snapshot. (Sorry about the poor handwriting. I had Prayers of My Heart on my lap.) What about you? Would you want to also open Ephesians 5 and make your own list of ways you might better follow Christ, your Head? 

Lord Jesus, HEAD OF EVERY MAN, convict us of ways we need to better submit to Your headship and imitate You. Fill us with Your Spirit so we live by Your divine nature and bring glory to You. 

Would you like to experience some magnificence? Our Heavenly Father would like for you to, also. He never intended our lives to be filled with angst, anxiety, and the consequences of sin. He created Adam and Eve in His image and placed them in the magnificent Garden of Eden. He created them to share life in and with Him, to live by His divine nature and experience His MAGNIFICENT GLORY. But now? We live in a sin-sick world that is experiencing the consequences of sin and of shutting Him out. But as believers, our hope is not lost. Rather, our hope is firm in Christ Jesus. After turning from sin and confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior, we can daily meditate on God’s Word. We can be emotionally, mentally, and spiritually grounded in God’s magnificent truths.  Second Peter 1:4  tells us that God…

 “has granted to us His precious and MAGNIFICIENT promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

Stop. Let that sink in. PARTAKER. Of the. DIVINE NATURE. Friends, corruption is not our eternal destiny, but neither is it to be our daily experience. Rather, Christ’s magnificence is to be our daily moment by moment experience. It can be IF we study and grasp what Peter is telling us. We can escape worldly entrapments of despair, hopelessness, powerlessness and so much more by means of Christ’s divine nature in us operating in accordance with God’s promises. In other words, believers have the joy and privilege of learning God’s Kingdom ways and experiencing them through Christ’s Divine Spirit who is in us. Never let the unbelieving world’s despair, anxiety, and hopelessness infiltrate your soul. Begin each day welcoming your Heavenly Father and Spirit’s presence, praying,

“Heavenly Father, thank You for this day. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, Your divine nature. Help me be increasingly sensitive to Your voice. Overflow in and through me. Help me be increasingly sensitive to Your voice.

The Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Bible, all MAGNIFICENT, are ours through the gift of salvation. Immerse your mind with the Father’s ways. Bath your heart in His truths and promises. Walk by His MAGNIFICENT divine nature/Spirit. Learn more with “How to Live by the Divine Nature,” my Bible study on 2 Peter.

LORD, You are MAGNIFICENT and Your promises are MAGNIFICENT. Thank You for salvation by which we become partakers of the divine nature. Help us walk out Your magnificent, divine promises so others see and believe.

Record your praise to God that He is “Magnificent” in Prayers of My Heart.  Pray for yourself and intercede for your family and others that they live by God’s magnificent nature and promises.

The word “but” is an important word and has significance. In 1 Corinthians 11:1 the apostle Paul encourages believers to imitate him. However he is quick to follow his statement in 1 Corinthians 11:3 saying, “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man,….”  In other words, Paul explains that he only tells us to imitate him because he is imitating Christ, who is the HEAD OF EVERY MAN. Christ is the One we are to follow. Isn’t it wonderful we have Christ as our HEAD and He shows us and tells us how to live? Now to Paul’s point, to what degree do we imitate Christ in our daily lives?  I’m reminded of Peter’s words that we have the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4) once we become Christians. Are we living by Christ’s Divine Nature? Are we known to those closest to us as being like Christ because we imitate Christ and follow His lead? Ephesians 5 begins, “Be imitators of God…” I just reread the chapter and recorded in my journal ways I want to be mindful of imitating Christ and following His headship. Here’s a snapshot. (Sorry about the poor handwriting. I had Prayers of My Heart on my lap.) What about you? Would you want to also open Ephesians 5 and make your own list of ways you might better follow Christ, your Head? 

Lord Jesus, HEAD OF EVERY MAN, convict us of ways we need to better submit to Your headship and imitate You. Fill us with Your Spirit so we live by Your divine nature and bring glory to You. 

Are you tired of life as it is? Do you long for things to be different? God understands. He never intended our life to be filled with angst, anxiety, and the consequences of sin. He created Adam and Eve in His image and placed them in a perfect world. He created mankind to share life in and with Him; to live by His divine nature and experience His MAGNIFICENCE. Although we live in a sin sick world that is experiencing the consequences of shutting Him out, our hope is not lost. Rather, our hope is firm in Christ Jesus. After turning from sin and confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior, we must daily meditate on God’s Word. Why is this so important? To keep us emotionally, mentally, and spiritually grounded in truth.  Second Peter 1:4  reminds us that God “has granted to us His precious and MAGNIFICIENT promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” We need look no further than the latest news to see the corruption in the world. But that is not our destiny. It is not to be our experience. We, as believers, escape the world’s corruption through the means of Christ’s divine nature operating in accordance with God’s promises. In other words, believers have the joy and privilege of learning Kingdom ways and promises and experiencing them through Christ’s Spirit. At this time in our nation and world, we have a weapon against despair, anxiety, and hopelessness that unbelievers do not have. Begin the morning welcoming your Heavenly Father and praying, “Heavenly Father, thank You for this day. Please fill my spirit with Your Holy divine nature. Help me discern Your ways and walk through my day sensitive to Your voice. Christ, flow Your joy, peace, and love through me to others.”  Yes, the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Bible are MAGNIFICENT. Immerse your mind with your Heavenly Father’s ways. Bath your heart in His promises. Walk by His MAGNIFICENT divine nature and you’ll discover hope in your heart and a smile to share with others.

LORD, You are MAGNIFICENT and Your promises are MAGNIFICENT. Thank You for salvation by which we become partakers of Your divine nature. Thank You for the Bible and Your Spirit by which we walk out Your magnificent, divine promises.

Record your praise to God that He is “Magnificent” in Prayers of My Heart.  Pray for yourself and intercede for your family and others that they live by God’s magnificent promises.

Are you tired of life as it is? God understands. He never intended us to do “life” apart from Him. He created us to share life in Him and with Him; to live by His divine nature and experience His MAGNIFICENCE. We can get back on track. We can do life better. How? First, turn from sin and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior. Second, daily meditate on God’s Word to us. Why?  Second Peter 1:4  tells us “…He has granted to us His precious and MAGNIFICIENT promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”  In other words, we have the joy and privilege of learning Kingdom ways and promises. Third, begin our morning welcoming our Heavenly Father and praying, “Heavenly Father, thank You for this day. Please fill my spirit with Your Holy divine nature. Help me discern Your ways and walk through my day sensitive to Your voice.”  Yes, the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and Bible are MAGNIFICENT. Renew your mind with His ways. Saturate your heart with His promises. Walk by His MAGNIFICENT divine nature and you’ll soon discover a smile on your face.

LORD, You are MAGNIFICENT and Your promises are MAGNIFICENT. Thank You for salvation, by which we become partakers of Your divine nature. Thank You for the Bible and Your Spirit by which we walk by Your magnificent, divine promises.

Record your praise to God that He is “Magnificent” in Prayers of My Heart.  Pray for yourself and intercede for your family to learn and live by God’s magnificent promises.