Monday, December 2, 2013

Ericka McCoy
Vestry, Restoring Eden Garden

Listen to this Devotional.

2 Peter 1:1-11

1Simeon* Peter, a servant* and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:*
2 May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by* his own glory and goodness. 4Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature. 5For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, 7and godliness with mutual* affection, and mutual* affection with love. 8For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. 10Therefore, brothers and sisters,* be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. 11For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

Devotional

Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

A simple sentence we often take for granted as it becomes rote. But if we stop and listen carefully to the words, we can begin to grasp the magnitude of the meaning.
Lord, I am not worthy to receive you...

Of course, I am not. I am a flawed human. Most of the time I don’t even ask for the grace you are so willing to give me.

But only say the word, and I shall be healed.

Isn’t it interesting that word is healed, not forgiven? How many times do we “forgive” or ask for “forgiveness?” Wouldn’t we all rather be healed or heal someone, instead? What a generous gift to give. What a beautiful gift to receive.

And as this flawed human, what can I do in return? I can take the time to know my Lord and to understand the way He works in our lives. And isn’t that something we all want deep down? To be known and understood. So little to ask, really...

Additional Readings

Amos 2:6-16; Psalm 1,2,3; Matthew 21:1-11