Reading your Bible for Today April 21

April 21: 2 Peter 3:18

KJV Key Verse: 2 Peter 3:18
18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever*. Amen.

Devotion:
We are living in God's age of grace. An age set up by Christ when He willingly gave His life on the cross for our sins. When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we enter into a personal relationship with Him. That relationship is based on a covenant, or promise, that He has already lived up to. We need to carry out our side of the promise by bringing all our sins to Him openly so He can forgive us of those sins. Our relationship is also based on knowledge. We have the knowledge that He has given His life for us, the knowledge His love for us knows no bounds, and the knowledge He has promised never to leave us.

Our personal earthly relationships go through the same things as well. If either side does not have the grace to accept the others faults or enough knowledge about the other, then strain is put into the relationship. We often get intimate before we actually get to know our partners leading to heart-ache when we find out truths about them. We try to bypass the knowledge route and go directly to the pleasure parts. The best place to learn about our partner (or future partner) is with them where they can show us what they are like. That takes time! We will not often find the perfect partner because we will always find things wrong in others, but if we have grace to accept faults, habits and even some personal dislikes, and if we have a willingness to exercise that grace, we can enter into long, lasting and meaningful relationships.

Christ has invited each of us to enter into a relationship with Him. In that relationship, He promises to give us the Holy Spirit as our teacher whilst we learn more about Him. He has promised to forgive us of all of our sins, covering them with His grace which He has already shown through the death, burial and resurrection. Our bibles are the centre of our knowledge where we can study to find out more about Him and what He has already done for us. He is our perfect spiritual partner. Our relationship with Him knows no bounds! And it is forever!

Points to Ponder:
Are you struggling in a relationship with someone?

Have you asked God for advice recently?