March 20th Daily Devotion

20 Feb March 20th Daily Devotion

 A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON PETER’S SECOND LETTER  

LIVING AS GOD’S CHILD  

2 Peter 1:4 “Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

In verse 4 St. Peter continues the message of verse 3 that assures you God has given you everything you need to live a godly life.  Verse 4 now speaks of the result of you having received this gift from God to live a godly life.  God’s gift enables you to “participate in the divine nature” and to “escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

God has given you the very gift to be His very own child and live with Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.  This is what prompted the thief on the cross to make his request of Jesus, “remember me in Your kingdom.”  You are, by God’s grace bought with a price to glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:20)

R.C.H. Lenski reminds you, “As a foreigner is naturalized, so (you) are fully transplanted into God’s kingdom and are naturalized in it so that what is in that kingdom is properly (yours.)”  You are God’s child.  You are, as Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:23 “begotten, not of corruptible seeds, but of incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever.”

Through faith in Christ, you are adopted into God‘s family as is states in Ephesians 1:4-8: “In love He predestined (you) for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given (you) in the One He loves. In Him (you) have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on (you.)” You are united, joined to and one with Christ.  Your union with Christ is the source of your strength, security, and life purpose.  “For you to live is Christ . . .” (Philippians 1:21)  Your union with Christ gives your life its purpose.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, lead me daily to live my life to God’s glory for Jesus’ sake.  Amen.

Renew me, O eternal Light, And let my heart and soul be bright, Illumined with the light of grace That issues from Your holy face.

Remove the pow’r of sin from me And cleanse all my impurity

That I may have the strength and will

Temptations of the flesh to still.

Create in me a new heart, Lord, That gladly I obey Your Word.

Let what You will be my desire, And with new life my soul inspire.

Grant that I only You may love

And seek those things which are above

Till I behold You faced to face, O Light eternal, through Your grace.

(LSB 704)