Be Strong in the Lord

Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”

Paul tell these Ephesians that each one of them, which are seated in Christ in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6), and still walking in this world must now also take a stand against the wiles, the methods, or stratagems of the Devil.

In order to do that, Paul tells them that they must be empowered, or enabled in the force of His might.
The original word means to be constantly empowered.

Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Put on, Paul exhorts them, the whole armor of God.
While God has provided this, the individual Christian has the responsibility of putting it on.
We must consciously appropriate the power the Lord Jesus Christ makes available to us.
This armor is not so many imaginary pieces you put on; but it the truth of what that piece sets forth.
Ephesians 6:13 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Paul stresses this again; that we must put it on.

Ephesians 6:14 “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”
Paul says the Christians foundation piece to stand, is the Truth. It is the truth of our Salvation, first. Then a growing knowledge of the Scriptures and how they apply to life; our life.

God wants us to have defensive armor against the wiles of the Adversary.

A soldier does not put on his armor after going into battle, but in preparation for the battle.
The belt of truth must be secure, or everything else will fall off.
It is given to us, we must put it on; but it is God’s armor, it is not of ourselves.

Connected to it is the Breastplate of Righteousness. This is, of course, Christ’s Righteousness. We are covered with the very righteousness of Christ.
But there is a little more to it than that.
If you want the protection of the breastplate, over the heart, that you must live righteously. You must practice righteousness.
Your life must be clean, there must not be hidden sin, or unholy thinking tolerated.
They must be confessed and forsaken.

God wants to empower. He wants us to be protected by His Truth and Righteousness. And He wants us to live in that truth and in obedience to His righteous commands.
Then we will have the sure footing of peace.
Ephesians 6:15 “And your feet shod with the gospel of peace;”

There is a rest and peace of mind for every Christian. And we need it, for we are to walk, and resist our Adversary, the Devil.
He will knock us off balance and have us down before we know it, by worry, tension, and fear.
But the sure footing of the Gospel of Peace, given by the God of all peace, will keep us standing. He has given us His promises to use. We need to use them.
He wants to guard or garrison you about with His Peace (Philippians 4:7). It is by the Holy Spirit, that we are so kept, against the methods of the Devil, to make us fall.
As we stand, we will need the extra protection of the the Shield of Faith.

Ephesians 6:16 “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
The Adversary is always trying to get inside our head, or heart with some accusation.
(Many of which are true.) But the fiery darts can be quenched or put out by lifting up our faith in God and His Word.
Did we sin? Yes, but it is confessed and I have forsaken it.
This is removing the ground of accusation.

(Some of the fiery darts are: “Why you big phony, you don’t really believe that!”
“You witness for Christ? Are you kidding? You’re the biggest sinner around!”
“You don’t want to deal with that person; they will make fun of you, or make trouble for you.”
“No really saved person would think such a thought as that.”)

Which leads us to the armor for our heads:
Ephesians 6:17 “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

If we have any doubt as to our Salvation, we will not have the confidence in God and His Word that we should. We need to think saved. Simply trust that the Holy Spirit, which has borne witness in our spirits that we are a child of God (Romans 8:16); does not make mistakes.
If we are saved, will wrong thoughts present themselves to our mind? Yes, but it is what we do with them that makes the difference.
If you allow wrong thoughts to stay in your mind, contemplate them, then they will have wrong effects upon your walk; and you will not be able to stand against the Adversary.
Confess the sin, and forsake it. Remove wrong thoughts as soon as possible, and seek that power of God to overcome them.

To stand against the wiles of the Devil, which is all defensive, so far; we must have an offensive weapon. And that is the Sword of the Spirit.
This is the Word of God. (This is not throwing the Bible at him.)
This is a “saying” of the Bible. Something given you as a promise, or right at the time when the Adversary is attacking you.
And this is by the Holy Spirit; and by saying it, in your mind, or out loud; the power of God, the Holy Spirit will be at work, right then.

Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereinto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
The Sword of the Spirit and prayer are a Christian’s offensive weapons.
As James said:
James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse ye hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.”
Submit yourselves to God….Know you are saved, and confessed up to date
Resist the Devil….Stand against the wiles of the Devil by using the truth of the power He gives you, wherever the Adversary attacks: heart, head, or will.
Draw nigh unto God…use prayer; All-prayer…every kind of prayer to bring down the help you need, now.

The Called According to His Purpose

Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

If I am one of the called, when did He call me? And for what purpose, did He call me?

2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began;”
If you are born again: before anything that is, was; God saw you in Christ Jesus.

The. “Who” is most important. It is not according to our works, we are saved. He hath saved us.
Yes, now that we are born again we can say that.
But He could say that before times eternal, as the American Standard says.

It is a holy calling, not anything we earn. To be holy means to be separated unto the Lord.
He brought us into being; not to live to ourselves, or to do what we want.
We are God’s, bought with a price, and are not our own.

1 Peter 1:18-20 “For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, for your vain conversation received by tradition by your fathers;
But with the precious blood of Christ; as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Who verily was ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”

It is His calling, His saving, His purpose and grace for us.

What is His purpose?
First, His purpose for us, is that we know Him, Whom to know aright is to have Eternal Life. (Eternal Life is that condition of Life, now, and for eternity. It is how are life is to be in Christ Jesus, Who is our Life.)
We are to come into a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and grow in that knowledge. He is life, and as we know Him more, we experience His life, within our life, more. His joy, His peace, His hope, His correction, and His satisfaction.
This is most important. He wants fellowship with His saved, loved ones.

Second, His purpose is for our conformity to His Will; for as He is life, His Word is Truth.
This is the cleansing we need to receive from Him all He has for us.
If there is unconfessed sin, that comes between He and us. Therefore we are to:

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
His purpose is that we should walk before Him, follow after Him, and walk as friends with Him.
Colossians 2:6-7 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:
Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

His purpose for us is, Christ in you, the hope of glory.
He purposed your place in Christ Jesus, before the world began;
Shall we not yield to His purpose for us, and honor His love for us?
It is to set yourself aside to Him. To yield to Him. He is our life, let us embrace it and Him.

Eben-ever, The stone of Help

1 Samuel 7:12 “Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ever, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”

The story here is:
Israel had sinned, following strange gods. Because of this, Israel had been beaten by the Philistines, and were now in a state of fear.

Samuel then told Israel that it was their sin, which had caused this. But if they would put away these idols and “prepare their hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 7:3)
So they put away their idols, and began to serve the Lord, only.

Samuel then gathered all Israel together to pray for them.
1 Samuel 7:6 “And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.”

An Awakening Meeting was going on! They were getting things right between themselves and God, and the rest of Israel.

Then the Philistines heard of the gathering, and came up to fight with Israel.
This caused Israel to be afraid, and so asked Samuel:
1 Samuel 7:8 “And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.”

Because of their former sin, they were not only afraid of the Philistines, but also that the Lord would not hear their cry for help.
Samuel then offered a lamb for a whole burnt offering, and prayed to the Lord for Israel; “and the Lord heard him”.
1 Samuel 7:10 “And as Samuel was offering the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomforted them; and they were smitten before Israel.”

As the armies came together, the Lord thundered and caused fear among the Philistine ranks. And they were defeated, and chased out of Israel.

1 Samuel 7:12-13 “Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ever, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.
So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.”
This stone was put there to remind all who would see, that the Lord is the greatest help, in all our troubles.

This story shows how the prayer of the righteous, is heard.
The sacrifice of the lamb as a whole burnt offering showing forth Christ; and that we are accepted in Him.

Psalm 34:17-18 “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

Israel was beaten in the first place, not by the Philistines; but by their sin.
When they repented and worshipped God again; He heard the cry for help.
And He helped.

Are you Willing?

If any man will do His Will:

Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples,   If any man will come after me,  let him deny himself,  take up his cross and follow me.”

The are two things we need to know about the will.

First:  It is the faculty of choice:   To choose is to will.

We choose to do either the Lord’ s  Will,  or to do self-will;  which, since the fall, has been motivated by the Devil, and sin.

Second:  The will is the real power of our life.  What we will,  we do.      (Think weight loss.  Something I have wanted to do.   So I want,  which is my heart’s affection for, chips, candy, or that burger that is a foot high.  If I go along with my “want to”,  I. will eat it.        If I “deny myself”,  and go along with the head’s  “want to”  to lose weight;  I will refuse it.)

The will, wills;  and then we act.

Now when we think of doing God’s  Will,  it is the same principle.

We will with God, because our hearts want to please our Lord Jesus;  or our minds know He knows the best course of action for us.

Or,   We will with self,  because we wanted to do something else more (heart). Or thought our idea was better that God’s (head).

Jesus says the anwer to will,  if you are a Christian, and want His Will, is to deny yourself.

When the Lord’s Will and your will cross purposes,  then you deny yourself–say “no” to yourself, through the mind, and hearts affections for Jesus, and do His Will

As Christians we have the Holy Spirit within us; and He will bring His force of holiness and peace to influence the will.        He will not make us do;  but He influences our hearts and minds to convince the will to say “no” to self, and do God’s Will.

This is to deny self, and pick up our cross, and follow Him.     Your cross is anything that God will’s  that “crosses” our will; or our will does not want to do.

We are called to bear our cross, till we come to the place where we no longer resist His Will in anything.   Then we are surrendered to God.    That does not mean sinless perfection;  but it does mean that we will stop arguing about what we want;  for we have come to want the Lord’s Will above everything else.  We are being obedient to His Words to us.

John 15:9-11 “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you:  continue ye in my love.         If ye keep my commandments,  ye shall abide in my love;  even as I have kept my Father’s commandments,  and abide in his love.         These things have I spoken unto you,  that my joy might remain in you,  and that your joy might be full.”

As we do His Will,  we abide in Him, and He gives His joy to us.    As He says,  “Continue ye in my love.”    The closer we are to Him,  the more peace and joy we have in our lives.

The Importunate Widow

Luke 18:2-7 “Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
Yet because this widow trouble the me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?”

Here we hear the story of a widow, a Jewish widow before a Roman judge. (Jewish judges were usually in threes)

He would not care about her, for he thought she could do him no damage, for she had no money, or influence.
But she kept coming back, she was often in his court.
“Avenge me of my adversary”, is not a request for punishment of her enemy; but for a court appointed decree that would give her protection from her adversary.
To keep him from harming her, like a restraining order today.

Now he feared not God, nor regarded man; so anything he did, he did out of personal motives.
Her cry of, “Avenge me of my adversary”, he ignored, till he thought that she might ruin his reputation, because she was often in his court.

He, therefore, looked for a way to get rid of her; because she “weary me”. In the Greek, this means that she gives him a “black eye”. She will ruin his reputation, make him stand out to those in authority. She must be gotten rid of, before people get the wrong idea about this judge.

He cared for nothin but himself. Yet from purely self-involved motives he thought it best to give her the restraining order. Exactly what she asked for.

Jesus says that prayer is to be like this. We are to come to God our Father with the same importunate prayer as this widow came to this unjust judge.
For this parable was to teach his disciples about prayer.

Luke 18:1 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;”
We are not to give up on God, which is what “faint” means. After all the widow came to an unjust judge; but we come to our Heavenly Father, which for Christ’s sake hears our trouble and will “avenge his own elect.”

The Faithful and True Witness says of Us.

Revelation 3:18 “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

Consider this very carefully: All these things spoken of here, every Christian should have.
We should have the gold, which speaks of God in our lives; and how rich we are with Him in our lives!
We should have the white raiment of Christ’s righteousness, to cover us; and the righteous acts of our obedience to our Lord, to adorn His mercy to us.
We should have eyes that see, by faith; for darkness brings blindness. So Christ says to anoint our eyes ,by the Holy Spirit, using that honesty which removes the darkness, and brings us to the Light.
Yet the Faithful and True Witness says we lack these three essential things; and are not even aware of it.

How can this be?
It can only be if the letter of the promise is claimed; without the personal experience of that promise.

Christ promises Eternal Life to all who come and receive Him into their hearts and lives.
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

It is receiving Him, not heaven, which gives us the power to be saved.
In Christ is Life. We open our lives to Him, as sinners in need of a Savior from our sin.
We do not come to Christ to receive heaven, He will not give us “pretend” life, but real life, in Him.

In Laodicea, the Church is seen as gathered in a place which does not have Christ in it. It is not that He does not have first place there; He does not have any place there.

He is out side the door of His own Church asking that each individual that hears His knock and voice, will open to Him.
It is not the Church door they open, but the door to their hearts and lives; for He offers communion and power to “any man” who will open to Him.

Revelation 3:20″Behold, I stand the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
This “sup” is communion, and fellowship.

And then He says that all who overcome will receive throne authority.
Revelation 3:21 “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”

But what do we “overcome”?
We are to overcome anything which stands in the way of God’s Will for us. Just as Christ overcame everything which stood in the way of His Father’s Will for Him.

Diligence
Diligence means to eagerly, earnestly see the business done.

2 Peter 1:5 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;”

We think of effortless Christianity, which it is not. We are to keep our hearts with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”)

And we are to diligently “make sure” of our calling and election:
2 Peter 1:10 “Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things ye shall never fall:”

Our example is Joash, king of Israel.

2 Kings 13:14 “Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my Father, my Father! The chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.”

Here, in this example, the king of Israel is in need. The Syrians were coming against them, and he needed guidance, and victory over them.
He knew if that was to happen, he would have to go and see God’s Prophet, Elisha.
But Elisha was sick, so sick he would die; and in bed.
Still the king was diligent and came into him; weeping over him concerning Israel’s need.

He was in the right place for a blessing, and seeing the right person. If there was any help for Israel, here it was, in the person of this dieing Old Man.

2 Kings 13:15-17 “And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the kings hands.
And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.”

The king was told what to do for the deliverance he sought, and had Elisha’s hands on his hands to do it. And the deliverance was promised.
(And a promise is only a promise; until it is obtained)

The king is doing what he is told, so far so good. After all, this was a kingly thing to do. Open the window and shoot an arrow eastward; quite kingly.
Maybe he even thought of a Syrian out there, that he was shooting at.

He was receiving the answer he wanted! Victory was promised!

But now the kings diligence, without Elisha, is tested. After all, the battles were still to be fought; would the king continue in diligence?

2 Kings 13:18-19 “And he said, Take arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice and stayed.
And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: Whereas now thou wilt smite Syria thrice.”

Elisha tells the king to take arrows and hit the ground. Now this was not a very kingly thing to do. But the king, just going along with Elisha; for he thought he had the deliverance he came for; just hits the ground three times.
No diligence there.
His arm had already shot the arrow of deliverance (surely he could take credit for it); why did he need to do this beating the ground? Oh well, he would do it to please the old man, and get on with the Victory.

But the man of God was very angry. Why? Because a promise is just a promise, till we have obtained, or gotten it from God by the means He chooses to use.
And often those means are humbling to us, so that we will not get the idea that the Victory He gives, came by us.
It came to us, by His power, and means; but not by us.

The king came, seeking deliverance from Elisha and God; and got it. But when he had to show diligence toward God’s Word, himself; he failed. He also lost part of the promise; the part he refused to be diligent in obeying.

We are often the same. We are very enthusiastic for a while; especially when we can take part of the credit; but fail when we are called upon to diligently use means which we find humbling, or not to our liking.

Diligence is eagerly, earnestly, seeing the job done. God wants to deliver, wants to supply our needs, wants to place His hands on ours for the work; but will we diligently follow through, just because He says so?

If we will, we will be blessed with the full promises of God.

If we don’t, we will lose a part of the promises God wants to bless us with.

Diligence is eagerly, earnestly, seeing the job done. And I might add, our promises will be fulfilled completely, when we do all for Jesus sake.

Mile Markers for Spiritual Growth

Peter had determined to remind those he is writing, of the basics. So he began with the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ; and how that knowledge leads to spiritual growth. Now he continues with the mile markers, which come along the path to Spiritual Maturity. This is how you know you are going the right way.

2 Peter 1:5 “And beside this , giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;”

Faith is the foundation of our spiritual life. We are justified by faith (Romans 5:1).
But our faith is also to grow. As Peter says here, it is to be added to.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth:”

Virtue is to be added to faith. Virtue here is Artea or force. Virtue is the force of the Holy Spirit within you; the power of the Holy Spirit having freedom to influence and help.
Basically, by faith in God and His Word, we are to yield to the Holy Spirit’s direction and correction; and know the liberty that force within us gives us. To know that God knows all; and has chosen this way, at this time, is very liberating. It is to see the mile marker that says: He has guided me in the right way, and taken care of me so far; why should I fear what is coming next? My welfare is always before Him; why should I look for another way?

And when we have virtue, we get knowledge. This knowledge is the knowledge of what He will do for me.
What He has done in the Bible; great.
What He has and will do for me, personally; wonderful! This knowledge, stabilizes our hearts and minds in adversity, as well as good times.

Can you see us getting stronger in the Lord, by this path?

2 Peter 1:6 “And to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness;”

And to this knowledge, we grow into moderation. We’ve come to the place where we know God will take care of us; so we need not try and get more than He gives, or hate the fact others have “more” than we do.

And as we are temperate, we begin to exercise patience.
And this is how we possess our souls.
Luke 21:19 “In your patience possess ye your souls.”
As we come to this mile marker, we realize how much of ourselves we know. How much of ourselves we can now master. And how much of ourselves we have yielded to the Holy Spirit.

To patience, godliness.
This mile marker comes as our character is taking the shape of the character of Christ.
He came to save us, we should seek the salvation of others.
This is where we “Let your light so shine before men, that they many see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

2 Peter 1:7 “And to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity.(love).”

To godliness, the mile marker is brotherly kindness. How much do you love your “brother”?
1 John 1:10-11 “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.”

And to brotherly kindness, charity or love.
1 John 4:16-17 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as he is , so are we in this world.”

When we reach this mile marker in our journey toward Spiritual maturity, our affections are influenced by the Holy Spirit, and our thoughts are regulated by His good pleasure.
What liberty is this! To be free from the influences of the world’s anger and bitterness; and to follow Christ with joy.

Pete and Repeat

2 Peter 1:12-13 “Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle (body), to stir you up by putting you in remembrance:”

Peter is saying that those he writes to, know these truths, and practice them; but he is still going to remind them of the basics.
Why?
Because he remembers his denying Christ three times, even after he had walked three years with Christ, and after he vowed his faithfulness to Him.
Mark 14:29-31 “But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet not I.
And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.”

So, since he failed, he knows that it can happen, even to those who feel that they love the Lord so much, they would never deny Him.

So what are theses basic truths, Peter wanted to repeat?
2 Peter 1:2-4 “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
Grace and peace are not just greetings; but a real prayer for that grace of God in their lives which influences them to follow on.
And for the peace of God to be their fortress in times of trouble and fear.

He wanted them to obtain these promises. These exceeding great, and precious promises. That they might be partakers of the Divine Nature. But weren’t they? Weren’t they born again?
Yes, but the salvation of God for us, is a living thing. It begins with new birth and goes until we are in heaven, standing before God.
And Divine Nature is just not Christ’s life in our life (that we get at new birth); but His character formed in our character. That takes time; just like the forming of your child’s character takes teaching and discipline.
Salvation is to be:
We are saved from the love of sin: by conviction of the Holy Spirit, which turns the sin you love into a curse in your heart, so you begin to seek a Savior from it.

We are saved from the guilt of sin: by being born again.

We are saved from the power of sin: by the power of the Holy Spirit, delivering us from the influence it has on us. This is to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. (Corruption is to decay, shrivel up. Your heart, which has the Holy Spirit in it, becomes sick. The place you have for Him, becomes smaller. While the place and affections you give the world, grow larger. Lust is not just sexual lust. Lust of anything is inordinate affection for it. Your mind is always occupied with it. Your heart is drawn toward it. And then your steps will go after it; even if the way you do it is wrong.). This we are saved from by the power of the Holy Spirit within.

We are save from the presence of sin: when we are taken to heaven.

These verses cover that journey, promising His presence and power at every step.

And it is “through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord”.
This is, of course, personal, experiential knowledge of Him.
Knowledge through His Word; how important reading the Bible everyday is, for it’s guidance and help.
How can we best know how to pray? Listen to the prayers of those written of here.
Knowledge of what He wants to do for us, today, in the very circumstances we are in; with the very people we are called to be around.
Knowledge of His fearless, powerful, and encouraging Presence. What a blessing it is!
And knowledge of what we need to put aside as we grow in grace, and what we need to cast off.

But behind His promises, is His power, by the Holy Spirit.
We need to yield to this, and obtain these promises in our life; for He is with us and has these for us, if we want them.
Yes, it is a journey which takes time; but we have our lives to learn and develop into Spiritually Mature Christians.
And He accompanies us, never leaving us; and sends down His enabling, so we can go through anything with Him.

God’s Faithful Servant
Daniel was faithful to God, even after being taken captive into another land. Here he could have forgotten about God, and His law if he had thought it was troublesome; but Daniel didn’t.

Given an opportunity for real advancement, and maybe power; would he defile himself by the food that he was given?
Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the kings meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

The man in charge was afraid of the king, thinking that the food they wanted, would make them look weak before the king. That he might loose his head.

Daniel 1:12 “Prove thy servants, I beseech thee ten days, and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink.”
So he did, and it proved that being true to their God’s law, was more healthier than the richest food, and drink.

God gave Daniel and his friends wisdom and skill to learn. But Daniel, He gave understanding in visions and dreams. (It would come in handy)

Next, Daniel saves all the wise men in Babylon from the king wanting to destroy them, for they could not tell the king the dream which he had. They would gladly give an interpretation, but could not tell the dream; and the king had forgotten it.
Tell me, he said, or die.

Daniel went in and asked for time to get the answer for the king.
Daniel 2:17-19 “Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Misheal, and Azariah his companions:
That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.”
In praise to God, alone, Daniel speaks to the king, and tells him what his dream was, and the interpretation.
But makes it known that it is God in heaven alone, that can, and will reveal this dream.

Time after time, Daniel is faithful to God. Before the drunken Belshazzar, Daniel spoke the judgement on his kingdom that the finger of God had wrote on the wall.
Whether, reward or death, Daniel did not know what would come of his speaking the truth, but he was faithful to God and His Word.

Daniel 5:17, 25-28 “Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king and make known to him the interpretation.
And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.
This is the interpretation of the thing; Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
Tekel; thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting.
Peres; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”

So Daniel gave God’s Word, and it was exactly as the Word said. That night the city was taken and Belshazzar killed.

Yet he was also faithful to the people he was called to work for.
And this is shown under the Medes and Persians.
Under King Darius, Daniel was promoted above every one else. He saw that the finances of the king was correct. “And the king should have no damage.” (Daniel 6:2)
An honest man is hard to find, where wealth is concerned; but Daniel was.

Also shown, was the jealousy and hatred, his faithfulness occasioned.
For the ambitious princes got together and made a plan.
If they attacked Daniel, it would have to be because of his God.
So they flattered the king, and said that they thought it would be honoring to the king if a law was written that forbid anyone to ask anything of any deity or man, but the king, for thirty days.
Darius was flattered! (How careful we need to be when people start flattering us. When our ego is inflated, it blinds us to what is in front of us.)
The law was made, but Daniel kept right on praying to God. (It was at this time the remnant in Israel was in great need, and Daniel prayed three times a day for that need.)
Caught by these princes, Daniel was accused before Darius.

Now Darius was in a bind. He hated that he had been tricked, but he had to do what the law stated, even though he tried to free Daniel.

Daniel 6:16 “Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.”
This more of a hope of the king, than belief; but it was true.
Thy God who thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
And so He did.
Daniel 6:19-22 “Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever.
My God has sent his angel, and shut the lions mouths, that they have not hurt me: for as much as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.”
God sent an angel to close the mouths of the lions, and they did him no harm.

Daniel continued to serve the kings of Persia faithfully, until his death.
But behind it all was his faithful service to God.

He did not have to be in his home land to serve God. For God is the God of heaven and earth; and rules in every nation, kindred, and tongue.

As Christians, we are called to be faithful servants to God, and for Christ’s sake, faithful in our everyday lives to those we should minister to.