Text: II Peter 3:14-18

Charles H. Spurgeon asked this question: “Do I know more of Christ today than I did yesterday? Do I live nearer to Christ today than I did a little while ago?”

Your growth in the sweet grace of God is directly in proportionate to your growth in the knowledge of Jesus. The Apostle Peter started off his last letter with these words, “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2).

Growing in the grace of God

Let’s first define Grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. It is through God’s grace displayed in Jesus that we are justified, made righteous before God (Romans 3:24, Titus 3:4). God’s grace saves us when we received it as a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). Paul writes, “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (Romans 11:6). God’s grace is the unearned and undeserved love of God, if not, it is not grace!

Theologian R.C. Sproul wrote, “Grace should never cease to amaze us. God has an absolute, pure, holy standard of justice. That’s why we cling with all our might to the merit of Jesus Christ. He alone has the merit to satisfy the demands of God’s justice, and He gives it freely to us. We haven’t merited it. There’s nothing in us that elicits the Lord’s favor that leads to our justification. It’s pure grace.”

So, grace is not earned. In light of our faith in Jesus we can now stand in grace (Romans 5:2) and live our lives by grace (Galatians 1:6). We can experience strength through grace (Hebrews 13:9), we can find grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16) and the Apostle James tells us we can experience more and more grace (James 4:6). In this context, Peter at the end of his life calls God’s people the grow in grace and desires that they experience grace abundantly in and through their lives (2 Peter 1:2).

So how does one grow in grace? When we think about grace, we need to realize that the nature of God’s grace never changes. God’s grace is just like God, infinite, eternal and transcendent. God’s grace toward humanity never changes, yet our experience of God’s grace fluctuates. Tony Evans uses juice concentrate as a good illustration. When the juice from an orange is concentrated it means all the excess water is remove leaving all the essential nutrients that make up orange juice in place. In that small can is the essence of orange juice. Adding water to concentrate expands its effect yet never changes its essence. So, it is with grace. God’s infinite grace was deposited in our lives through our faith in the Jesus as the Risen Lord and Only Savior. The limitlessness nature of God’s grace is experienced through our appropriated faith. Just as water expands juice concentrate to satisfy our bodies so does faith expand God’s grace into the deepest parts of our lives.

Dallas Willard writes, “To ‘grow in grace’ means to utilize more and more grace to live by, until everything we do is assisted by grace. The greatest saints are not those who need less grace, but those who consume the most grace, who indeed are most in need of grace—those who are

When we think about grace, we need to realize that the nature of God’s grace never changes. saturated by grace in every dimension of their being. Grace to them is like breath.”²

Growing in Knowledge

Peter tells us that growing in grace is only one part of the equation. The second part in growing in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The two great hindrances to a devoted life are scattered thoughts and a lack of true intimacy with the character, person, and work of Jesus Christ. The knowledge that Peter is referring to here at the end of his life is not simply knowing about someone, but it is an intimate awareness of Jesus and His living presence in our lives. It is an experiential knowledge that is deeply personal and profoundly relational in nature. Can you imagine Peter at this moment in his life going back to the words of the Lord Jesus when he prayed: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

Did you get that? Eternal life is not only a home for the future but is a quality of life, here and now, that comes through an intimate knowledge of God and Jesus Christ. As we saw earlier Peter directly associates our experience in grace and peace with our depth of our knowledge of God and Jesus. “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2).

Let’s go back to the question we started with, “Do you know more of Christ today than you did a month ago or a year ago?” As I began researching the characteristics of Jesus, I discovered that there over six hundred titles or names describing Jesus in the Bible. I thought to myself, am I really growing in my knowledge of Jesus if I only know a handful of his names? So, I began studying them and their implications on my life. This study expanded my awe of Jesus, it revealed my shortcomings, it fueled a deeper level of gratitude, and it drew me intimately closer to Jesus day after day.

The noted theologian, J. I. Packer warns us of the mere pursuit of theological knowledge, “If we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake, it is bound to go bad on us. It will make us proud and conceited. The very greatness of the subject matter will intoxicate us, and we shall come to think of ourselves as a cut above other Christians because of our interest in and grasp of it… To be preoccupied with getting theological knowledge as an end in itself… is the direct route to a state of self-satisfied, self-deception.”

Our hope is that during these 21 days that you will not just get to know more about Jesus, but that you will get to know Jesus intimately and the Father who sent him— that your devotion, love and passion for the person and work of Jesus Christ will grow in a life changing manner.

Illustration: Share your testimony of when you met Jesus and your personal desire to get to grace in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Application: Do know Jesus more today than you did a year ago?

Invitation: Over the next 21 days we seeking to develop a deep relationship with the person and work of Jesus Christ as we study 21 of his names and titles. We would love for our whole church to join us on the journey.  You can get Jesus: 21 Days towards a deeper Relationship with Jesus Christ through Amazon Kindle for $1.  Or you can pick up a hard copy the church has secured for you but the church for a $5 donation. We trust God will meet you in a life-transforming manner. We pray that you will not be the same and that your family, neighborhood, workplace, and church will be impacted because you personally have met with God.

Practice advice for using this devotional book:

1. Don’t do it alone

   • Do it as a couple

   • Use as a family devotional

   • Share it with a friend who is exploring Jesus

2. Set up a daily appointment with Jesus

   • Find a quiet spot to read each scripture, the daily devotional and to journal your prayers.

3. Look for opportunities to share what you are learning with others.

   • People love to talk about Jesus.

Text: Matthew 1:18-25

What makes Christianity unique from all other world religions? It categorically teaches that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world.

The exclusivity of God as the only Savior is a theme throughout the Bible.

Out of the mouths of the prophets, God declares, “I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior” (Isaiah 43:11) and “You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me” (Hosea 13:4).  The Apostle’s preached, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The Apostle Paul taught, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5).  In Jesus own words he declares, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Through an angelic vision to a distraught newlywed, God revealed his purpose for sending Jesus into this world. The angel said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus…” (Matthew 1:20-21). The name Jesus means ‘the Lord saves’ or ‘Jehovah is salvation’ so every time we hear or say the name Jesus, we are reminded that he is the Savior. But what does he save us from? He saves us from our sins.

The angel was very direct about this in his message to Joseph, “…because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). He did not come to save them from political oppression or military threats but mankind’s willful opposition towards God and rejection of his love towards them. Sin is tyranny against God because we were born in a sinful state (Romans 5:19); we are by nature prone towards rebellion against God and we are powerless to save ourselves (Romans 3:23).

My father once asked me, “Why would a person who lives a good life go to hell because he didn’t trust Jesus as his Savior and a serial killer go to heaven because he trusted Jesus to save him?” My response was, “Dad, I think the question isn’t: “How can God keep people from salvation?” but “Why would God offer salvation to any of us at all?”

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).

Illustration:  Share a live or video testimony of someone who recently embraced Jesus as the Risen Lord and Only Savior.

Application: When and where did you embrace by faith that Jesus is the Risen Lord and Only Savior?  Let us humbly worship Jesus as our only Savior for he is the only means of salvation.

Invitation: Over the next 21 days we seeking to develop a deep relationship with the person and work of Jesus Christ as we study 21 of his names and titles. We would love for our whole church to join us on the journey.  You can still get Jesus: 21 Days towards a deeper Relationship with Jesus Christ through Amazon Kindle for $1.  Or you can pick up a hard copy the church has secured for you but the church for a $5 donation. We trust God will meet you in a life-transforming manner. We pray that you will not be the same and that your family, neighborhood, workplace, and church will be impacted because you personally have met with God.

Practice advice for using this devotional book:

1. Don’t do it alone

   • Do it as a couple

   • Use as a family devotional

   • Share it with a friend who is exploring Jesus

2. Set up a daily appointment with Jesus

   • Find a quiet spot to read each scripture, the daily devotional and to journal your prayers.

3. Look for opportunities to share what you are learning with others.

   • People love to talk about Jesus.

Text: Revelation 22:12-21, II Peter 1:12-21

The book of Revelation is a challenging book to understand in its details and imagery. Yet the theme is a simple one: Jesus Wins! In the end, Jesus is the one who comes out victorious, along with all those who have put their trust in him and his gospel.

In this last chapter of John’s Revelation, we see six titles for Jesus. He is called the “Lamb” (v. 2). He refers to himself as the “Alpha and Omega” (v. 13), as “Jesus,” as the “Root and Offspring of David,” as the “Bright and Morning Star” (v. 16), and he is called “Lord Jesus” (vs. 20-21).

All these titles are designed to bring comfort and confidence to God’s people.

They speak profoundly to both the deity and humanity of Christ. They provide a divine assurance, a blessedness that can only be experienced through complete trust in Jesus as the Risen Lord and Only Savior.

The last title Jesus’ used for himself is the “Bright and Morning Star.” The significance of this title loses its power in our high-tech security camera age. Yet in a “watchman” culture, those posted on the walls of a city or on the edge of a camp to guard people from enemies or predators is significant. If you have ever worked third shift (11pm to 7am), you can understand that those hours between 3-6am can be the longest hours of the day. And yet when the morning star appears on the horizon, there is a hope and expectation that brings life to one’s exhausted body and fatigued mind. A new sense of alertness and energy fills one’s whole being as the expectation of daylight brings on a new day.

In this title, we see the greatness and glory of Jesus along with his overwhelming care and compassion. The word ‘bright’ can be translated radiant, brilliant, or magnificent. The author of Hebrews writes, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory…” (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). There is nothing more brilliant in the universe than Jesus, the author, and creator of light. Yet in his care and compassion, he promises, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). The phrase ‘morning star’ speaks of the anticipation for Christ return and the dawn of a new era.

The Apostle Peter wrote, “We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (II Peter 1:19).

1. Edmond Hiebert writes, “In this phrase ‘in your hearts’ Peter seemed concerned about the inner attitude of those who await the glorious day of Christ’s return. The truth that Christ is coming again must first arise in their hearts, like the morning star, giving assurance of the coming day. Assured of his anticipated return, they will be alerted to detect the gleams of dawn breaking through the darkness…Such a living hope must have a transforming impact upon daily life.”

The Apostle John offers this passionate and tender appeal, “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming (I John 2:28).

Illustration: Tell a personal story or illustration that reveals a time when you were or were not prepared for someone’s return.

Application: How prepare are you for Christ’s immanent return?

Invitation: Over the next 21 days we seeking to develop a deep relationship with the person and work of Jesus Christ as we study 21 of his names and titles. We would love for our whole church to join us on the journey.  You can still get Jesus: 21 Days towards a deeper Relationship with Jesus Christ through Amazon Kindle for $1.  Or you can pick up a hard copy the church has secured for you but the church for a $5 donation. We trust God will meet you in a life-transforming manner. We pray that you will not be the same and that your family, neighborhood, workplace, and church will be impacted because you personally have met with God.

Let us focus our eyes on the Jesus today who is our bright Morning Star and Living Hope.

Text: Matthew 1:18-25 & Selected Text

God met him at his kitchen table.

In January 1956, after a long day of ministry, Dr. Martin Luther King came home well after midnight, with his wife and children already in bed, he received yet another life-threatening phone call. During this time, he was receiving 30 to 40 calls of this nature a day, but this one he could not shake. He kept hearing those hateful words from that ugly voice replaying in his head. So, he warmed up a pot of coffee and sat at the kitchen table. Burying his face in his hands, he began wrestling with God.

Crying out in utter weakness, he knew he needed to experience God’s power and presence in his life. It was in the midst of those wrestling prayers that God showed up at that kitchen table.

“Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness, stand up for justice, stand up for truth; and low I will be with you even until the end of the world!”

He recalls God speaking to him in that moment. “Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness, stand up for justice, stand up for truth; and low I will be with you even until the end of the world!” Then he quotes a powerful hymn, “I’ve seen the lightning flashing, and heard the thunder roll; I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, trying to conquer my soul; I’ve heard the voice of Jesus, telling me still to fight on; He promised never to leave me. Never to leave me alone. No, never alone.”

In that moment Jesus became his Immanuel – God with us. Just as God met Joseph in the midst of his confusion and fear, so God met Martin Luther King at that kitchen table. Mary’s supernatural pregnancy not only brought forth Jesus, who would save us from our sins, but it was also the fulfillment of the promised presence of God to his people (Isaiah 7:14).

The moment we put our faith in Jesus as the Only Savior and Risen Lord, he promised to work in us and through us; never leaving us or forsaking us (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus, in commissioning his disciples, promised to be with them always, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

For the Apostle Paul, he had many Immanuel moments, they came in the midst of fierce persecution (Act 18:9-10), again in the prison barracks of Jerusalem (Act 23:11) and again in a ship off the Island of Crete (Acts 27:23-24). This is why at the end of his life he sums up his relationship with Jesus with these words: “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength…The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom” (II Timothy 4:17-18). Today, let Jesus become your Immanuel!

Illustration: Tell a personal story where Jesus met you with his transforming presence that strengthened you in that moment.

Application: When and where did Jesus become your Immanuel?

Invitation: Over the next 21 days we seeking to develop a deep relationship with the person and work of Jesus Christ as we study 21 of his names and titles. We would love for our whole church to join us on the journey.  You can still get Jesus: 21 Days towards a deeper Relationship with Jesus Christ through Amazon Kindle for $1.  Or you can pick up a hard copy the church has secured for you but the church for a $5 donation. We trust God will meet you in a life-transforming manner. We pray that you will not be the same and that your family, neighborhood, workplace, and church will be impacted because you personally have met with God.