March 12, 2019
2 Peter 2:4-10, 19b-21 New Living Translation (NLT)
Today is the sixth day of our 40-Day Lenten Series, “Praying for a Kingdom Heart.” Lent should be a time of prayerful reflection, repentance, and restoration as we draw closer to the heart of God. A Kingdom heart develops and flourishes as we recognize any sin in our lives—which is rebellion against God’s loving character and authority—and invite the Lord to rescue us from it.
Sin is always present in this fallen world. We must live with an awareness of God’s presence with us and turn from those things God condemns. Do you believe God condemns certain actions because he is trying to control you or keep you from enjoying life? Or, do you believe God sees the power certain actions have to control or enslave you, so he is trying to help you maintain the freedom and loving fellowship in Christ he has provided?
Knowing God in fellowship brings amazing discernment and wisdom to each individual. We can know the heart of God and discern when the enemy is trying to rob us. Trials and temptations will come, but if we understand the heart of God behind his instructions, we can trust and obey him. In our passage today, Peter teaches us about God’s consistent response when it comes to sin.
During Lent, we will be using the acronym P.R.A.Y. as we pray for a Kingdom Heart. P=praise, R=repent, A=ask, and Y=yield. May God bless you as you spend time in God’s Word and in prayer today.
2 Peter 2:4-10, 19b-21
4 For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment. 5 And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood. 6 Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. 7 But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. 8 Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. 9 So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. 10 He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority.
For you are a slave to whatever controls you. 20 And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. 21 It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.
Prayer: Lord, I praise you for being my sinless example; love for the Father, love for others, and love for myself. I repent for the times I saw your authority as restrictive rather than liberating to my love walk. I ask you to continue to shine your sinless presence in my life; draw my attention to your heart for righteousness each day. I yield to the ongoing work of your sinless love in my life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.