A weekday morning devotional series written by Aaron Marcarelli and hosted by Chad McBeam
“Beloved, this is now the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of a reminder, to remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.”
2 Peter 3:1-2 NASB2020
If we are following Christ in the way in which we should, then why do we need to be reminded to follow Christ the way we should? If we truly have the Holy Spirit in us, why do we need to be reminded we have the Holy Spirit in us and we should act according to His will?
It’s like knowing another language if we don’t use it we lose it. Or the mathematical equations we learned in Algebra, Geometry and Calculus, again if we don’t use those equations we forget them. This is why Jesus continued to remind the disciples to “seek first the kingdom”, “love the Lord with all your heart…” and love your neighbor as yourself.” This is why Peter, James and John and Paul continued to do the same in their letters to the church as it grew, often reminding us of how we must follow Christ in an active, meaningful, and loving way.
These reminders are not just in the New Testament they are all over scripture and they would do us well to remember as many as we can. Here are two from David in the Psalms:
“I waited patiently for the Lord; And He reached down to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud; And He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the Lord.”
Psalms 40:1-3 NASB2020
“Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. But You, God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.”
Psalms 55:22-23 NASB2020
We need to be reminded so that our hearts and souls can be rooted and grounded in the words of our Lord. We need to be reminded to know we don’t do this alone, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Ester, Ruth, Elijah, Elisha, Elizabeth, Mary, The Disciples, The Martyrs then and now. None are alone we have fellow followers and we have the power of scripture through the Holy Spirit. So no matter what we are going through we can say: “it is well with my soul” and “I will continue to follow the will of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!”
Gracious and perfect Heavenly Father we worship and adore your Holy Name. We thank you for Jesus sacrifice which gave us forgiveness of sins and we thank you for the resurrection which gives us eternal life with you! Give us rest, and restoration as we seek to do your will. Thank you for the reminder of those that went before us and their faith and that they did not follow you alone. Thank you for resilience and reconciliation! We are all in because of what you have done, what you are doing and what you will do! We pray all these things In Jesus Name Amen…
Shalom Shalom Blessings Press in and Press on!