Graphic: Martha G. Brady
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This Benediction is not one you will commonly hear at the end of a worship service. However, it has many of the ingredients found in those spoken. It is in the list of 25 to be memorized that I have been drawing from and I think it is a good one to know for a variety of reasons. It is definitely encouraging as I will discuss soon. It also has some specific promises included that we can grab for ourselves. So let’s move on.
We can’t lightly pass over the mention of grace and peace being multiplied to us as we get to know God and specifically Jesus, the One who came in the flesh to earth. Have you ever wondered why there are so many who call themselves Christians…and actually may be Christians, that are not full of grace and peace? Could it be that their/our lives are so cluttered with everything except making time to get to know God through His Word? If we don’t spend time in His Word and spend time talking to Him in prayer, we will not have much understanding of grace or awareness of peace…shalom: that sense of peace with myself and God.
His divine power has granted all things that pertain to life and godliness
The next line is a powerful promise. I heard this a few years back and it has stuck with me when I want to make excuses for why I can’t do something. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness…” Once again, we must make time to get to know this God who has called us to glory and excellence! But what a promise! We have His divine power available to us for whatever is needed to live a life of Godliness. What an amazing promise! How often do you feel weak in faith or weak in the outworking of your faith? This promise is that if you are in Christ, you will have the power needed to live the life God has called you to and that power will be from Him.
Of course, this is only part of the sentence. It’s a big part, but only part of it. So this week as you think over this Benediction, remember that as a child of God, you have available to you the power of almighty God to live a life that will bring glory and excellence to His name as you live out Christianity in your everyday life.
As His children, we have escaped the power of corruption from sin to have power over us because Jesus won the victory over sin on our behalf. We don’t have to sin. We are now able to resist it because of what Jesus did on the cross. We don’t have to live weak, ineffective Christian lives. We can now live in the power of God as we get to know Him better through His Word and prayer.
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,
through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises,
so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature,
having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.II Peter 1:2-4 ESV
Changepoint: Choose a book of the Bible to work through. If this is your first time, start with a short book. If you have a study Bible, it would be helpful for background information and the setting of the book. It will also tell you about the human author. Stop to pray and ask God to open your eyes to truth as you read His Word.
Read a paragraph or two at a time, then ask yourself questions about what you are reading. What does this tell me about God? Jesus? the Holy Spirit? Jot them down.
Are there promises? Warnings? Commands? Jot them down. Is there anything or anyone you need to forgive or repent of? Jot it down.
Close in prayer for situations you thought of or people who came to mind. Thank God for at least one of His attributes. As areas of weakness come to mind, ask Him for His power to be applied to that area and open your eyes to ways He can better use that power in your life.
