2019 will be the ninth year for this Daily Quiet Time blog. I have read through the Bible nine years using this program. Praise God! I hope some of the 282 of you who are registered in this app have also been blessed over the years. I am convinced that there has been nothing more valuable to my spiritual growth than my daily quiet time in God's Word. 

Peter writes, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord... through the true knowledge of Him who called us... the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:2,3,8). At the heart of Peter's exhortation is an emphasis on the true knowledge of God. He wants them to know it and to remember it (2 Peter 1:12,13,15). This true knowledge is the key to faith and godliness. We find this true knowledge of God through the Word of God. Paul would write in is final letter: 

All Scripture s God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The Word of God, Scripture, is sufficient to equip us to do every good work God has for us to do. Therefore, the wise Christian will make spending time in God's Word the priority. 

God's Word instructs our attitude and perspective. It teaches us what is important and what is not, what is eternal and what is passing away, what pleases God and what does not. There can be a thousand things that draw our time, attention and resources, but God's Word can like a laser beam isolate the one thing that really matters.

From God's Word we understand Who our Creator is and Who our Redeemer is. We understand for what purpose we were designed and called. Through God's Word we can discern the greatest joy, extraordinary peace, and unfailing hope. 

God's Word is the only inspired and inerrant instruction manual we have been given to rightly know God and make Him known. It is not simply A truth. It is THE truth, by which every other claim to truth must be tested and measured. 

Therefore, dear friends, as you begin this new year (2019), I pray you will either begin or continue to do the most important discipline of your life: a Daily Quiet Time in God's Word. 

Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God (2 Peter 3:11-12).

Happy New Year, dear friends! It is amazing that the Apostle Peter tells us to look forward to and hasten the coming of the Day of God, which will bring about the destruction of the current heavens and earth. Yet, it is not so much the destruction that we look forward to as it is the "new heavens and new earth, in which righteosness dwells" (2 Peter 3:13). We will see Jesus, our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30)!

Therefore, dear friends, whatever else you resolve to do this new year, I pray that you may grow in your "holy conduct and godliness." I pray that you will be looking forward to that Day rather than looking backward. Let nothing discourage you. Let nothing worry you. As Peter writes elsewhere, we are those who experience "inexpressible and glorious joy," for we "are receiving the end result of our faith, the salvation of our souls!" (1 Peter 1:9). This is a promise from God that will "never perish, spoil or fade" (1 Peter 1:4). It is kept in heaven for us, and every new year we get nearer to receiving it.

Therefore, may the Lord banish every fear from your heart. May He fill you with His peace that passes all understanding. May you find joy even in trials and contentment through every adversity. May this new year fill you with unceasing zeal to faithfully live in and for the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope of glory!

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:19-21).

Peter affirms the full reliability of Scripture. His basis for this conclusion hinges on the nature of biblical prophecy. It never arises out of the human will, but is always from God. That is why prophecy can never be wrong. That is why there is no room for mistakes. The nature of this gift allows no room for maturation. There is no stronger prophecy or weaker prophecy. There is simply prophecy.

Now, consider the perspectives of these three self-proclaimed prophets today, Rick Joyner, Bob Jones, and Mike Bickle:

“Bob Jones was told that the general level of prophetic revelation in the church was about 65% accurate at this time. Some are only about 10% accurate, a very few of the most mature prophets are approaching 85% to 95% accuracy. Prophecy is increasing in purity, but there is a still a long way to go for those who walk in this ministry. This is actually grace for the church now, because 100% accuracy in this ministry would bring a level of accountability to the church which she is too immature to bear at this time. It would result in too many Annaniases and Sapphiras” (The Prophetic Ministry” Rick Joyner. Morningstar Prophetic Newsletter. Vol. 3, No. 2, p. 2).

Mike Bickle: “Now, obviously, probably about 80% of what's in the Body of Christ that's called prophecy is fleshiness. And so we're in a day when we're in such an immature stage of this. So much of what is called prophecy is not truly prophecy. So we realize that; so what's our reaction to that? We don't throw out the baby with the bath water. We say, "Lord, we don't throw out prophecy. We ask You to mature it." We don't take it as serious in the early days as we will in the days to come” (Media Spotlight- The Restoration of Apostles and Prophets and the Kansas City-Vineyward Connection by Albert James Dager)

These perspectives do not line up with the biblical teaching on prophecy. These men are quite adept in using biblical language to defend their wrong teaching and practices; therefore, I encourage you to be wary. Consider the following warning from Peter in the following verses:

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping (2 Peter 2:1-3).

Mike Bickle above mentions that 80% of prophecies today are "fleshy." That is a nice way to label false prophecies. The acknowledged percentage itself should be cause for concern since so many are led to take these prophecies seriously, but instead it is treated simply as an matter of Christian growth. What these men fail to understand is that manifestations of the Holy Spirit is not a matter of spiritual maturity. You either have the gift or you don't. It is like pregnancy. You either are or you're not. Likewise, a person can either miraculously heal or they can't. Otherwise, what would immaturity in healing look like? Would it mean that they can only partially heal the blind and the lame? What about speaking in tongues? Does immaturity mean they can only partially speak in tongues? Do you see how absurd and unbiblical this is? Mike Bickle, along with Bob Jones and Rick Joyner, feel that prophets, whose prophecies are inaccurate or wrong, are simply "immature". But Peter would call them "false prophets."

Therefore, friends, be wary of these men and the ministries (e.g. IHOP) they lead. Here's another note of warning from a reputed Christian website GotQuestions.org: What is IHOP?

-----------------------

This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the fleshand despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish (2 Peter 2:10-12).

When I read these words from Peter, I cannot help but think of those that encourage believers to "shout" at the devil, to "put him in his place," or something similar. I recall one minister doing a Haka, a New Zealand war dance, against Satan. These antics seem dangerously close to what Peter warns against, namely, "heap(ing) abuse on celestial beings." And Peter is not alone in this warning. Jude says much the same:

In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them (Jude 1:8-10).

Ministers do all sorts of things to make their messages interesting and to capture the attention of their listeners. But we should all be wary of those things that the Bible warns against. Christians are exhorted to be alert against the devil (1 Peter 5:8) and to resist the devil (James 4:7). But we are not called on to rebuke the devil, shout at him, nor "heap abuse" of any sort upon him. Angels, even the archangel Michael, do not do this. Peter and Jude write that those who do these things are like "irrational animals," without understanding and certain to bring destruction on themselves.

Friends, let us be wary and not imitate such foolishness.

Friends, right knowledge is better than vast knowledge, and virtue with a little knowledge is better than evil with a lot of knowledge. However, having both virtue and right knowledge would be best of all. Peter argues for this here in 2 Peter 1. Just as believers were saved through the knowledge of Christ and by His virtue (2 Peter 1:3), they are encouraged to grow in their salvation by adding to their faith this same "virtue" and "knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5). And since the primary vehicle of worldly corruption is lust (or lit. "desire," 1 Peter 1:4), Peter exhorts believers to add to their faith, virtue, and to knowledge "self control, and to self control perseverance, and to perseverance godliness" (2 Peter 1:6). 

The first six character builders that Peter exhorts believers to pursue relate to their spiritual and moral standing before God. The latter two, brotherly kindness and love (2 Peter 1:7), relate to their ministry to others. As a general principle, there is a priority to sharpening the instrument before wielding it in service, or in the words of Jesus, taking the plank out of our own eye so that we can see clearly to remove the speck from the eyes of others (Matthew 7:5).

Now, after Peter's catalog of character builders, which are very similar to Paul's "fruit of the Spirit"(Galatians 5:22), Peter writes both a promise and a warning. The promise is given in 1 Peter 1:8 and 10-11,

For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ... for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

What a remarkable promise! "If you do these things you will NEVER stumble." Talk about claiming promises. Here's one to really take to heart. If you want a strong spiritual and moral foundation, meditate and practice these faith-based character builders. But there is also a word of warning:

For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins (2 Peter 1:9). 

Peter does not say that a person that fails in these character builders are unsaved; however, he uses three words, "shortsighted," "blindness," and "forgotten" to signify that they are living as if they are unsaved. He also, by implication, suggests that they will be "barren" and "unfruitful" (1 Peter 1:8).

In view of the advantages to practicing these character builders and the disadvantages to neglecting them, Peter says twice to be diligent to do them: "giving all diligence" (1 Peter 1:5) and "be even more diligent" (1 Peter 1:10). 

I want to key in on the second exhortation to diligence. Peter writes, 

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure (2 Peter 1:10)

We have argued in the past that because faith and salvataion are the work of God, we are eternally secure; however, you may not always "feel" secure. But just because you sometimes doubt or feel insecure, does not mean you have, thereby, lost your salvation. If you believe that your salvation is totally a work of God, trusting that Jesus has paid the price for your sins and given you His righteousness, that is, He died for you and rose again, then you are saved (1 John 5:2; 1 Corinthians 15:1-5).

Now, 2 Peter 1:10 identifies our security and also gives us a means of assurance by using the words "call and election" and the verb "make sure." Calling and election speak of God's sovereign choice of believers for salvation. This is the believer's eternal security. And believers give themselves and others the assurance of their salvation by living out the catalog of character builders that Peter has just described. 

How do you know that you are among the elect? You know by the promise of God in His Word, namely, that whoever believes in Jesus has eternal life (e.g. John 3:16). You know by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit (e.g. Romans 8:16). And you know by the good works (i.e. these character builders) that you do for God (2 Peter 1:5-11). The works do not save you, but they confirm your election. As James writes, "I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18).

----------------