Day 355, or December the 21st. The truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Our thoughts
today come from 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 20.
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy
of Scripture came about by the prophet's own
interpretation of things. And now the big picture
surrounding this verse. Peter writes a second,
shorter letter, but this time he concentrates
on problems inside the church rather than the
persecution from outside that dominates his first
letter. It is probable that Peter doesn't have
a long time to go before his crucifixion. Tradition
has it that he has to be crucified upside down
as he was not worthy to die like Jesus. Doesn't
that just sound like Peter? This letter is dominated
by the harsh facts that negativism, from outside,
is hard to take, but when it originates on the
inside it's quite insidious, and so much harder
to bear. Of course it's part of spiritual warfare,
but it's still hard to understand, especially
when it comes from folk who previously were seen
as your brothers and sisters in Christ. Peter
encourages his fellow believers with three suggestions.
First, do all you can to cultivate a Christian
character. Second, make sure you condemn false
teachers. And third, have total confidence in
Christ's triumphal return. And now, our action
step for today. The Bible is so much more than
a special book or series of writings. It is the
revealed, inspired Word of God, and not the musings
of men and women. Peter believed this, and so
do I. Why else do you think it has been attacked
over the centuries? Some criticism has come from
those outside the church who don't know any better,
but think they do. Sadly, however, some has come
from within the church, from people who should
know better, but insist on God's word being second
to their own convictions. So they turn somersaults
and all sorts of contortions, rather than admit
that the Bible really does say what it says.
It can sound narrow -minded, but I prefer to
describe it as focused. It's a tried and tested
foundation, and there's room for more to stand
on it.