The Thursday after Populus Sion Sunday, The Second Sunday in Advent
Posted on December 12, 2024 by under
Scripture: 2 Peter 1:2-9 (NKJV)
1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 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, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
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.
Devotion
The struggle of the Christian to contend with the desires of the old Adam is a fight that can often feel more than exhausting. It can feel as though the believer takes two steps forward and then three steps backward. Some days are filled with joy, while others are filled with temptation. The Apostle Peter reminds us of the foundation for the life of the Christian even through the struggle: that you are cleansed from your sin.
Peter says that, “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,…” We are made partakers of the divine blessings, not through anything we offer to God, but through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. If any Christian lacks, he or she must remember the free gift of God in Christ. Remember your baptism. Know that you receive Christ’s true Body and Blood under bread and wine. Know that you are forgiven and have the assistance of the Holy Ghost to strengthen you and move you closer to Christ.
The struggle is difficult. The spirit is willing, yet the flesh is weak. Even in our weakness, the promises of God are not broken. The Lord loves His children, even at their darkest moments. He provides the means of grace to sanctify and cleanse us by the merits of Christ. As long as you have Christ, He is enough to carry you forward.
Collect: Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Thine Only-begotten Son, so that by His coming we may be enabled to serve Thee with pure minds; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Season of Advent
Stir up, we beseech Thee, Thy power, O Lord, and come, that by Thy protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins, and saved by Thy mighty deliverance; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
