Hard To Understand

Good morning all!

Father, we know our understanding on our best day is limited but Your wisdom is infinite. Help us Lord to trust You when we lack understanding, when we lack vision, when we lack patience. We know that You will open our eyes and open our ears and set us free to live by Your truth, Amen.

2 Peter 3

14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
My good friends, see to it that you look for the best in one another, always looking to live in peace without seeing problems and blame.

15 And account [that] the longsuffering of our Lord [is] salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
And remember, our Lord will suffer a long time until WE are saved; just as our loving brother Paul who with the wisdom God gave him has written letters for us;

16 As also in all [his] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as [they do] also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
The same is true of all of his letters. Some of his preaching is HARD to fully comprehend, and those who are ignorant of His grace live unstable lives when they twist scripture to mean something else, just as they do with other scripture and this leads to a critical and judgmental lifestyle.

17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know [these things] before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
And because some twist the gospel, dear friends. Watch out so you will not be carried away with the same error of these folks that just got it wrong and fall from what is true.

18 But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Instead of falling backward GROW in grace, and understand the Jesus really is Lord and Savior of our lives. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.

Bottom line

Have you ever twisted God’s word for your own benefit? Sure, most of us have either knowingly or not but here’s the problem, do you think we can control which way we twist it? I mean if I’ve done it for my benefit then I can also do it to my own hurt. Peter of course wrote this letter and he was definitely considered one of Jesus closest friends along with James and John. Don’t you find it strange that he says Paul’s epistles are hard to understand? I mean Peter walked on water with Jesus, he was on the Mt. of transfiguration, Jesus specifically told him to go feed His sheep, NOT Paul and Peter find it hard to understand? YIKES! Is it any different today for you and I? But isn’t that true? Can anyone fully understand God or His word?

[Rom 11:33 KJV] O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out! I absolutely love this verse…O the depths of God, His ways are beyond our comprehension even if we spent a lifetime trying to understand it all…we can’t grasp it all…they are past finding out…beyond all our mind and thoughts can handle. So what’s the answer? GRACE!!!

[Gal 1:6 AMP] I am astonished and extremely irritated that you are so quickly shifting your allegiance and deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different [even contrary] gospel. Are you as shocked as Paul at how quickly we can shift from living by grace to a performance-based gospel? I mean this life is either God’s gift or it requires work on our part?

[Rom 5:16 KJV] And not as [it was] by one that sinned, [so is] the gift: for the judgment [was] by one to condemnation, but the free gift [is] of many offences unto justification. God’s FREE gift is for MANY offenses, MANY sins, MANY wrong doings and it is God alone that declares us innocent. Now that is hard to understand, I can be hot mess and God’s grace says otherwise…definitely past finding out that one. Our thinking says A+B=C but God says not so, I make it equal whatever I say and you are FORGIVEN always…it’s called grace. We twist the word of God, we think when you sin you must go fix yourself, I might even tell you to seek professional help depending on how bad I think you are but that’s NOT grace. Why do you think Peter reminds us that God is LONG suffering? When you live by grace you quit counting offenses, instead you GROW in grace. How do we grow in grace?

[1Pe 4:8 NIV] Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. What did you think the depths of His riches are? Money? That’s not a motivating factor for God, what is? Love DEEPLY, reach deep down inside of you and find the riches of the kingdom. Don’t be led away, the power of His grace covers sins by loving one another more deeply. God says it is ABOVE all your reasons and excuses NOT to love, you must dig DEEPER…ABOVE all is ABOVE all, nothing else has a greater priority in our life. This is the mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ; we can’t fully comprehend God’s grace and yet He simplify it all with one word…LOVE! I don’t care what you believe or where you go to church, we all know what love looks like and we know how to give it.

[1Co 13:8 NIV] Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. The performance-based life of faith will CEASE, it will be STLLED and it will PASS AWAY. You know why? It’s NOT eternal, what is? Only that which can stand the test of time, that which can’t be measured, that which can’t fail, the only pure and true character of God…LOVE…ain’t nothing hard about it!