Do you want to walk in perfect peace? Then sow the Seed into your heart. It is written by THE SPIRIT in Isaiah chapter 29:
3 You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
We need to keep our minds focused on FATHER’S Word and protect our hearts from the influences of the world. Peter and the other disciples heard the parables Jesus spoke to the masses and also received the explanations of those parables from Jesus Himself. He wrote by THE SPIRIT in his 2nd epistle, chapter 1:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
Grace and peace can be multiplied to us and in us by The Word, some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred fold. Can you imagine walking in that level of grace and peace?
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,
FATHER has given us ALL THINGS that pertain to life and Godliness. In some households The Word is sitting on the coffee table gathering dust yet in It are the keys to life and Godliness. We have received The Holy Spirit to dwell in us yet some of us do nothing to activate the power of The Holy Spirit in us and minister grace and peace to others.
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.
The Word has been given to us so that we can be partakers of the Divine Nature. What is the value of “great and precious promises”? The value exceeds any worldly treasure man seeks after. I have personally seen the Crown Jewels of the British monarchy. They contain no life nor do they promote life. I saw the coronation chair with the “stone of scone” aka “the stone of destiny” aka “Jacob’s pillow”. It did not glow or radiate any of FATHER’S Glory… it is a rock and it won’t heal you or provide grace and peace. Those items will pass away but FATHER’S Word will never pass away.
The Word will protect us from the corruption that is in the world. That corruption allows the devil to steal, kill, and destroy, whereas The Word brings forth incorruption providing us life and its abundance. It is so clear that The Way of Jesus is the only path to take yet people are blinded through their own lusts.
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.
We are urge to “give all diligence” to add to our faith. We are to be diligent to the Divine promises and make every effort in exercising our faith. Are you making every effort by being diligent in studying, reading, and meditating on The Word? I look back at times when I wasn’t diligent and see the results or lack thereof. I allowed myself to focus in areas which have no relevance to producing fruit in my life. FATHER in HIS great grace and mercy showed me the error in my ways and redirected me back to planting good seed into my heart.
Notice that Peter provides us a progressive list of attributes as we give all diligence. The end result is Agape Love and we are to abound in those so we will neither be barren or unfruitful in our walk. The focus of these attributes centers around Jesus Christ and no other. Those who are lacking in these things is said to be shortsighted, even to blindness. Think about this warning. If we are not diligent, we can become blinded and forget His benefits.
Exceeding great and precious promises require us to be diligent in The Word. Those who are at best casual readers will not reap the fruits given to us in this passage. They want results but make no true commitment to making The Word their primary focus. They would rather be entertained by the world than to spend quality time planting The Word in a diligent fashion. It is our responsibility to protect this Word in our hearts and not allow the world to steal It from us. This treasure in our hearts must be protected from the adversary who would steal it from us if given the opportunity. These precious promises exceed anything the world has to offer so let us treat them as a valuable treasure in our possession.
Peter continues:
10 Therefore, believers, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you [be sure that your behavior reflects and confirms your relationship with God]; for by doing these things [actively developing these virtues], you will never stumble [in your spiritual growth and will live a life that leads others away from sin];
11 for in this way entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly provided to you. AMPL
Amen!