“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 2 Peter 1:5-8

Do you know that you can have more than one father?

Let’s start with the obvious—you’ve got an earthly father. You can trace your ancestry all the way back to Adam if you got real serious about it. Hopefully you have had the opportunity, and taken it, to build on the relationship you have with your earthly father, to deepen it and make it truly significant in your life.

But not only do you have a father in the flesh, I also hope today that you have a father of the faith—someone who led you to Christ or discipled you in your faith. You could trace this lineage, if you wanted, all the way back to Abraham.

Here’s kind of the odd thing about that, though: Abraham was not only the father of the Judeo-Christian faith, but also the Islamic faith finds its father in Abraham. That’s kind of confusing.

This is why Peter, in our verses today, would want for you to add to that faith. Okay? Add to your faith some virtue. Add to your faith some knowledge. Just don’t camp out and say, “Well, I’m one of the faith.” Which faith?

Because now you have another father today who wants to be your Father of forgiveness. And that’s what we all need is a relationship with God that allows for Him to not just be our Father of faith, but our Father of forgiveness.

For all of us, this takes us to a whole new level. But many of us limit our identity. Some of us are still limiting our identity to that fleshly father that we have, saying “I’m the way that I am because of him, the genes that I was born with and the temper that came with it,” or whatever the case may be.

We’ll limit our identity, if we’re not careful, to this fleshly father that we were born from here on Earth. Or, from a faith standpoint, we’ll kind of cap it out there and say, “Well, yeah, I have faith.”

Everyone has faith. The question is whether your faith has now changed your identity. Have you made God your Father of forgiveness, confessing the guilt of your sin and allowing Him to wash you clean of it and come live inside of you?

Prayer—
Father God,
Thank You that You are so far beyond the example of earthly fathers that I have seen! You really are the perfect Father, and I need You today to become my Father of forgiveness. Take my sin away and live in me from this day on!
Amen

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity into the obedience of Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

I once met a girl named Zoe. It was at a church youth retreat up in British Columbia, and she was about as rough as they come.

Every time I spoke, she walked out on me. Her t-shirts cussed at me. She had so many piercings that it looked like she fell in my fishing tackle box. Her skin was covered in tattoos. She gave off such an unwelcoming feeling that even I, the camp speaker, avoided her until the last day.

And even though I should have been setting a better example, I might have avoided her for the whole week, except for one thing—I knew a guy who had a daughter named Zoe ripped away from him in a nasty divorce. His ex ran off and took his daughter to New Zealand, then to Australia, and he hadn’t seen her since. I had to find out, no matter how much of a long shot it might be, if she was his Zoe.

It was the last mealtime of camp and I got her to sit at my table. I asked her, “Hey, small chance, I know, but is your dad a friend of mine from San Diego named Rob Mel?” She started to cry. Turns out she was that Zoe, but she didn’t stick around long, running off on me again.

The next day was our seven-hour boat ride back to Vancouver, and I kind of cornered her, sitting next to her the whole time. And I threw ever Bible verse I had ever memorized at her, with her trying to get away from me the whole time. She finally said, “You’re a little thick! I want nothing to do with you, or my dad, or your God! Leave me alone!”

I felt like a failure, I mean, a complete failure. But the story ends well.

I called my buddy Rob and told him about his daughter. He somehow already knew she was there and had bought a ticket to go up there before she headed back to Australia. He found her completely cleaned up, not at all as I had last seen her, and they called me. “After the boat docked, I just stayed there all night,” she told me, “and I thought about everything you said at camp. When the sun came up that morning, it melted my heart and I invited God into my life. Jesus Christ has taken over my life and radically changed me from the inside out!”

Listen, maybe you feel like a Zoe, needing to let Jesus Christ take over your life, or maybe you know a Zoe. Maybe your marriage feels lost. Whatever it is, however far beyond reach you feel your “Zoe” is, remember today that it is not so lost or damaged that God isn’t able to redeem and save it.

His arm is not too short to save! Ask God to transform your life and the life of the “Zoe” you know.

Prayer—
Lord Jesus,
Thank You that no one is beyond Your reach! I pray for my “Zoe” today, that You would send someone to them, even if it’s me, to reach them and bring them home to Your love!
Amen

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.” – 2 Corinthians 13:5

It’s one of the saddest things I hear from time to time—that many people will fall short of Heaven by twelve inches, the distance between your head and your heart.

See, many people learn about Jesus intellectually, but fail to gain that emotional connection with Jesus that we all need. Other people stir themselves into a frenzy emotionally, but don’t even remember who they’re singing about.

I have three words for us today that can help you ensure that you don’t fall short of Heaven, but don’t jump to conclusions here, because they are not the three words you think they might be.

You might think the three words are, “God loves me.” No doubt that these are three wonderful words, but knowing that God loves you will not get you to Heaven. After all, He loves everyone, but not everyone’s going to Heaven.

Or they might be, “Yes, I believe,” but those don’t cut it either. I mean, demons believe in God, too, but we certainly won’t find them in Heaven.

How about, “Christ close by”? Nope, not this one either. If Christ is just close by, then it’s close, but no cigar.

Maybe “Christ on cross” will work. Well, it actually doesn’t, because it’s like, “Well, that’s nice that you know Christ died on the cross and wear that little piece of gold around your neck, but I see no evidence of your faith in your life.”

Let’s try, “Christ forgives sin.” Yep, you’re right; He does forgive sin. And? What about it?

Oh, I know, the three words must be, “He is risen,” right? Wrong. Many, many people have seen the empty tomb in Jerusalem, but they still aren’t heading to Heaven.

“Jesus is Lord,” that must be it! Again, it’s good, but it’s just another doctrinal, theological point that we could discuss and debate without any change taking place in our lives.

So what are those three words? I’ll tell you. The three words are, “Christ in you.” That’s it. You can take all the rest of these words and they’re all nice things to know, great things to believe and to have learned, but until Christ is in you then none of it matters.

Is Christ in you? I hope that He is today, because there’s nothing sadder to Him than someone who misses Heaven by twelve inches.

Prayer—
Jesus Christ,
Thank You so much for all the wonderful things that I have learned about You, and thank You even more for learning today that none of those are enough. Please come in me today and change my life now and for eternity!
Amen

“For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles. Even though I am untrained in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. But we have been thoroughly manifested among you in all things.” – 2 Corinthians 11:5-6

It seems like no matter what culture you go to, there’s something you never get away from: Status.

There’s always pressure for status, right? Across all age groups, income levels, and geographical locations, it can be easy to get caught up in the pressure to attain a certain level of degree, prestige, wealth, influence, or other marks of status.

Sadly, this pressure can invade church culture, too, and there’s no clearer example than the one we find in Corinth. Back in Paul’s day in Corinth, it was all about rank and privilege and position and title. It was about the doling out of the gratis of status.

Do you know what the gratis of status is? It’s like the praise of one’s position and title and status. It’s like you and I go to a doctor’s convention downtown. When you show up at the hotel where the convention is being held, you’re walking down the hallway and it’s like, “Good morning, doctor. How are you, doctor? Good to see you, doctor.” Doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor, and on and on.

It’s even worse than that in Corinth, because here’s what it is in Corinth: Apostle, apostle, good morning, apostle. Apostle. Apostle. Most eminent apostle. Apostle.

Paul tells them, “Nonsense. You’re doling out a bunch of self-ranking positions and titles.” Yes, for the record, when the church buys into that, the church is jacked up and doing it wrong. Any church that is into self-promotion, self-appointing, self-proclaiming, self-ordaining is wrong.

Where did you get ordained?

“I ordained myself.”

Really? How?

“Online. Just ordained myself.”

Well who holds you accountable?

“I do. I’m self-accountable.”

No you don’t, because “self-accountable” is an oxymoron.

Gosh, we’ve got too many examples of this, where someone is put in leadership, given a title, and all of a sudden they become a completely different person. Now they think they know everything, and it makes them talk and act differently, but not in a good way.

Listen, inside the church or outside of it, don’t get caught up in what people call you. You’re a son or daughter of God, and that’s enough of a title for any of us.

Prayer—
Father God,
Thank You for making me Your child! I’m sorry for any times that I have gotten caught up in the status of what other people say and think about me. Please forgive me for that, and help me to be secure in all that You say that I am!
Amen