Grace And Peace
How Grace and Peace Is Multiplied to You
by Jon Bloom
Staff writer, desiringGod.org
Every morning at
8:45 the Desiring God staff gathers for a 15-minute devotional. We read a small
portion of Scripture, apply it to God’s call on us, and then pray for various
outreach efforts, needs, and prayer requests. It’s our daily reminder that
apart from Jesus we can do nothing.
We’ve
been reading through Second Peter. And two things in Peter’s opening greeting
blew us away.
First,
he addressed his letter
“To those
who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of
our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
“Equal standing” with
Peter? Think about that.
Peter
was a capital “A” Apostle.
Jesus
had handpicked him as a disciple. He was the first to confess Jesus to be the
Christ. He saw Jesus transfigured on the mountain.
He
was the first Apostle to see the resurrected Jesus. He preached the first
evangelistic sermon at Pentecost.
He
boldly confronted the Sanhedrin when they questioned him about healing the lame
man.
He
was the first to preach to the Gentiles.
Sick
people used to line the streets where Peter walked, hoping that his shadow
might fall on them and heal them.
Peter
actually wrote Scripture.
And
we ordinary Christians have obtained a faith of equal standing with Peter’s?
Absolutely yes!
There
is nothing ordinary about the faith we’ve received. It has been given to us as
a gift from the Lord Jesus, the same Lord who gave Peter his faith.
Peter
had no illusion about who he was. He was an ordinary man chosen by an
extraordinary Savior to fulfill an extraordinary calling through the power of
an extraordinary Spirit.
All
that had made Peter extraordinary had come to him as a gift of grace from God.
Apart from Jesus he was nothing.
That’s why when Cornelius fell at his feet and
worshiped him, Peter quickly pulled him up and said, “Stand up; I too am a man”
(Acts
10:26).
If you are a Christian, the same amazing Savior has
chosen you, cleansed you from all your sin, given you His perfect righteousness,
and filled you with His Holy Spirit. “What the Lord has made clean, do not call
common” (Acts
10:15).
Jesus
has made you extraordinary, more than you know.
Jesus
has called you by name, appointed you to faithfully steward a particular
calling, has a unique name for you that only He knows, and has prepared a place
in His eternal kingdom especially for you.
Peter
considers you a peer, his sibling in God’s family.
Secondly,
Peter pronounced this blessing on his readers:
“May
grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our
Lord.”
Doesn’t
the thought of grace and peace being multiplied to you sound refreshing? Isn’t
it just what you need right now, a bath in God’s grace and peace?
It’s
available to you. The more you know of God, the more familiar you are with His
promises, the more your thinking is shaped and saturated by the words of the
Lord Jesus, and the more grace and peace will be multiplied to you.
Your
Bible contains the source of the grace and peace you need. Jesus intends for His
words to abide in you, because they are the words of life.
Peter,
who had experienced unprecedented signs and wonders and empowerments of the
Holy Spirit, knew that people experienced the grace of God through the message of
the gospel.
It’s
the truth that sets us free. And he knew that peace didn’t come from merely
witnessing phenomena, but from believing what Jesus said. He remembered Jesus’
words:
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may
have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have
overcome the world” (John 16:33).
That’s
why Desiring God is a teaching ministry.
Jesus
intends for His gospel to be preached. In His Great Commission He instructed
his disciples to go to the nations and teach them to observe all that He had
commanded them (Matthew
28:20).
So
the apostles first filled Jerusalem (Acts 5:28).
And
then turned the world upside down with their teaching (Acts 17:6).
Now
we want to be a part of turning the world upside down in our generation.
So
we’re going to continue to press to find new ways to spread this teaching
freely to as many people in as many nations as possible.
We
want you to be encouraged, my friend.
You
have obtained from the Lord a faith of equal standing with the greatest
apostles.
And
you have been given the very same promises by the Lord Jesus.
So keep “grow[ing] in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
And
may grace and peace be multiplied to you. That the earth may be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
Jon Bloom Executive Director
Jon Bloom (@Bloom_Jon) serves
as author, board chair, and co-founder of Desiring God. He is author of three
books, Not by Sight, Things Not Seen, and Don’t Follow Your Heart. He and his wife live in the Twin
Cities with their five children.
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Standing on the
Promises
Russell K. Carter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56e3XFRtmY8 WorshipVideos
CLICK HERE . . .
lyrics
1. Standing on the
promises of Christ my King,Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.
o Refrain:
Standing,
standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.
2. Standing on the
promises that cannot fail,When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.
3. Standing on the
promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.
4. Standing on the
promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.
5. Standing
on the promises I cannot fall,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call,
Resting
in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises of God.
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