“Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.” (2 Peter 1:12-15 NASB1995)

Have you ever noticed how much the Scriptures repeat the same messages over and over again? And do you ever have the tendency to skip over those repetitive messages, thinking, “I already know that”? But did you know, too, that as human beings, we can easily be distracted, and we can easily get off course if we do not have those regular reminders? And we can begin to take in other messages, and then find ourselves not where we ought to be?

So, what specific things was Peter reminding the people of? He was speaking of a faith in Jesus Christ that was equal to the faith of the apostles. And this faith was to result in the believers in Christ partaking of the divine nature of our Lord Jesus, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. So this is a faith resulting in us being crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as servants of God and of his righteousness, in his power.

And this faith is to be producing in us such things as self-control, godliness, perseverance, brotherly kindness, and love. And love prefers what God prefers, which is all that is holy, upright, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands. And if we have these qualities, in practice, in our lives, they render us neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.

So, we need these reminders to keep us on course, especially in today’s world where we are getting so many messages fed to us daily from so many different sources, many of which are contradicting the Scriptures. We need to be reminded that faith in Jesus Christ must result in us denying self, dying to sin daily (in practice), and us following our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands (in practice) – all in the power of God and not in our own flesh, and all to the glory of God, and not to our own glory and praise.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Acts 26:18]

Myopic

Based off 2 Peter 1:3-11
An Original Work / August 19, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Jesus has given ev’rything
Needed for life and godliness.
His great and precious promises
Free us from our sin and distress.

Add to your faith His goodness;
Knowledge; patience; godliness;
Brotherly love and mutual affection;
Kindness and unselfishness.

If you possess these qualities,
Growing in your maturity,
They will keep you from vanity.
You will bear fruit effectually.

Nonetheless, if you lack them;
Forget you’ve been cleansed from sin,
Nearsighted are you; you can’t see Jesus.
You have closed your heart to Him.

Therefore, beloved, confirm, then,
Your calling and your election.
Do this by showing diligence:
Obey your Lord; be repentant.

Practice all these qualities
God provided on a tree.
He died for our sins so we’d be given
Life with Him eternally.

By Way of Reminder
An Original Work / March 12, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love