Waist Deep 2018 - A Daily Dip in the Bible

II Peter 1: 16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses to his majesty. (NIV) Personal testimonies are more powerful than we believe.* When someone acts like they don’t believe what I’m saying, I am sometimes pushed to exclaim in exasperation, “I’m not making this up!” I don’t know if Peter was to the point of exasperation, but he was not making up a story to entertain his listeners. We read history books which were written by people who have read other history books and we believe what they wrote – even though we never met Napoleon or Alexander the Great – and neither did they. Peter isn’t asking for even that level of credibility – he just asks us to take the word of genuine eyewitnesses. And what did they see? The power and the coming of the Lord, and his majesty. They saw Jesus demonstrate his power through his teaching and his miracles. They witnessed the m...

II Peter 1: 5-8 Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV) It is no one grace which makes a Christian.  . . . Nor does any number of excellences united make a Christian, unless they be excellences added to faith.* In this passage, do we find a recipe to be followed step-by-step, or do we add ingredients to the mixing bowl at different intervals and in varying amounts according to our individual personalities and experiences?  In the “step-by-step” camp, here are two samples of what others had to say:  · “Each of these several steps begets and facilitates the next.”*  · ...

I Peter 5: 6, 7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (NIV) If we humble not ourselves under God‘s grace, he will humble us under his judgments.* Upon first glance, it would seem that these verses contain two unconnected thoughts: humble yourselves , and cast your anxiety on him . But a closer look reveals that they really do go together. The “bottom line” here is actually found in the first line: humble yourselves . If you intend to cast your worries on God, you first have to admit that you can’t handle them yourself. Peter reminds us that God is powerful and he has promised to lift us up when the time is right. Why would we not bow down in surrender? If it is your plan to humble yourself so that later on God will exalt you in this life, you may be misunderstanding the phrase. And if you’re thinking, “Well, yeah. When I die and go to heaven, I’ll be ‘lif...

I Peter 4: 10, 11 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. (NIV)  God doesn’t call us to “good enough.” He calls us to “best.”* I have a friend who was not blessed with superior intelligence, good looks, or outstanding skills, but right out of high school he started working for an agency who rewarded his hard work and plodding faithfulness with promotions and bonuses. He had been in a supervisory position for several years by the time he retired. He did not always get the respect he deserved from his colleagues but he continued to do his best and give his employer what they paid him for. I think my friend is a shining example of what God expects from us. Not many of us are blessed...

I Peter 3: 15 Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (NIV)  Most people are not looking for someone with all the answers. They just want to hear from a fellow pilgrim a couple of steps in front of them on the journey. When all is said and done, evangelism is as simple as that.* When I took the CPR certification class, it was clear to me that I would never be able to perform the life-saving procedure under the pressure of an emergency. I worriedly asked the instructor, “What if you do it wrong?” His answer was reassuring – and not: “If you don’t do anything, they’re going to die anyway. Don’t worry about doing it wrong.” Rather than fearing that we aren’t properly prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have, we should remind ourselves that people are going to hell if we say nothing; so worry less about saying the wrong thing. I say this, not...

I Peter 3: 3, 4 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment. . . . Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. (NIV) It’s our differences from the world that makes us attractive, not our similarities. If we look just as grungy as the world, what’s our draw?* Some people get all caught up in the first part of these verses and get the idea that outward beauty is ungodly. As someone has observed, tongue in cheek, if Peter was prohibiting all “adorning,” he would be prohibiting clothing!*   Surely we shouldn’t believe that Peter meant that it is wrong to look good. His goal was to caution us about our priorities, not to discourage us (women and men) from making the most of what we have to work with. And, as Peter points out, we all have more work to do than can be seen from the outside. For myself, I am somewhat successful in putting on the mind of Christ in my at...

I Peter 2: 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God. (NIV) A Christian should do good works, not to be seen of men but because we are seen of men.* When my sister was a toddler, she got mad at me once and, having a limited vocabulary, she announced that I was “decent.” She did not mean it as a compliment.   In this world, I would like for people to speak well of me – but, if they can’t speak well of me, then I wish that they would at least speak the truth. I think this is what Peter is telling us. Your life can be a testimony even when it is being criticized and belittled. I read somewhere that early Christians were accused of being atheists because they didn’t believe in gods . By denouncing them for not believing in multiple gods, their accusers were testifying to the Christians’ belief in the one true God. But Peter’s admonition is about more than how we look to...