Surrender: A devotional on desperation, humility, and giving over

 "They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness." — 2 Peter 2:15-16 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Speaking of these same false teachers and ungodly people, Jude 11 says "they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error." Balaam was a "prophet for hire" who was seduced by financial gain from King Balak to curse Israel. The Lord wouldn't permit it and 'an angel of the Lord' stood in Balaam's way. This angel of the Lord was the pre-incarnate Jesus. You stood in his way. You even opened the donkey's mouth to rebuke Balaam. Your own words to him in Numbers 22:32 are chilling, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me....

 "How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?" — 1 Thessalonians 3:9 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Of the very long list of that for which I am thankful, at the top of the list are the people You have called me to pastor. There are moments when I feel what Paul is describing in his letter to the church in Thessalonica. How can I thank my God enough when He has given me this much joy in His presence because of the people I pastor? When I see this church worshiping boldly and passionately, I am filled with joy. When I see someone surrender their lives to You, I am filled with joy. When I hear Your church growing in maturity as they share what You are teaching them, I am filled with joy. When I see Your church living in faithful, loving community with each other, I am filled with joy. Lord, how can I thank You enough for all the joy I have received in Your presence because of this church? This Tha...

 "They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!" — 2 Peter 2:13-14 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Peter spends twice the words describing the sin and the character of these false teachers than he does describing their destruction. As my blood begins to boil reading how terrible these corrupt and arrogant false teachers are, verse 13 finally brings justice and calms my fury. They will be paid back. God will bring justice. They will receive harm for the harm they have done. This really brings to light the consequences of false teachers' sin. The bride of Christ is harmed. I have seen this. I have had to work long and hard to rebuild trust that others have broken, to restore what others...

 "This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not heap abuse on such beings when bringing judgment on them from the Lord. But these people blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like unreasoning animals, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like animals they too will perish." — 2 Peter 2:10-12 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Those who follow the corrupt desire of their sinful flesh are creatures of instinct. They are running after sin without reason and with no forethought. They despise any authority that would warn them or divert their path. They are daringly presumptuous. They are not afraid to blaspheme and bring accusation against heaven's majestic beings and upon God's glory. They blaspheme ignorantly in matters they ...

 "and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment." — 2 Peter 2:7-9 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Genesis 19 recounts the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities in the plains of the Jordan. Genesis 13:13 says, "Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord." Ezekiel 16:49-50 describes this city's sin. They were "arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before Me." Lot chose to live and remain in this wicked city and even become a civic leader ("seated at the gateway of the city," Genesis 19:1). But Lo...

 "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;" — 2 Peter 2:4-6 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Peter is beginning an if-then statement that doesn't conclude until verse 9. But here at the front, I see God's righteous judgment and three examples of his judgment. David Guzik explains it this way: - God judged the angels who sinned, so no one is too high to be judged. - God judged the ancient world before the flood, so God doesn't grade on a curve, only comparing man among other men. - God judged Sodom and Gomorrah, so even the prosperous can be judged. Therefore the ungodly h...

 "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." — 2 Peter 2:1-3 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, What's most disturbing about this passage is not that there are false teachers among us, but that there are many who will follow them. Lord, my heart aches for those who seemingly never had a chance to hear the true Gospel and have been swept up by sweet-sounding lies. I hurt for those who heard the Gospel and chose to follow You, but were swayed by false teaching that tickled their ears.  Gracious God, I'm thankful ...

 "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." — 2 Peter 1:20-21 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, The mystery of Scripture is this: written over a period of 1400 years by 40 different authors from all walks of life, written from three continents and in three different languages. Yet, despite the diversity of its human authors, the Bible has a single, unifying message—salvation is through Jesus Christ the Messiah. Peter underscores this by saying no prophecy of Scripture came by human understanding, private interpretation, or personal creativity. Prophecy never originated in human will. Rather, each human prophet spoke and wrote as, "they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." The word translated "carried along" is the Greek word p...

 "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." — 2 Peter 1:19 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Peter is emphasizing his point that this Gospel is not a myth, fable, or cleverly devised story. He says, "If you don't believe me, go to the Scriptures." the Old Testament's 353+ prophecies of the Messiah were completely fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The odds of one man fulfilling only eight Old Testament messianic prophecies is 1 in 100 quadrillion (10 to the 17th power). To understand this, picture silver dollars two feet deep covering the state of Texas. Now mark one silver dollar with a red X and have a blind-folded person find that marked silver dollar. That's the chance of one person fulfilling just eight prophecies. Jesus Christ, You fulfilled them all, which makes the prophet...

 "For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain." — 2 Peter 1:16-18 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Peter is giving eyewitness testimony that what he is proclaiming is not a fable or a myth. This is not a cleverly devised story, but a true account of Jesus Christ in power and glory. He saw You transformed into all your glory, beholding You in brilliant white light, too bright to look at. Peter heard the Father's voice thunder from the heavens, "This is my Son whom I love." He heard the Father exhort, "Listen to him!" He recalls how he and James and John fell facedown when ...

 "So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me." — 2 Peter 1:12-14 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, Peter is writing to remind his readers of the basics of their Christian faith, even though they know them, so that they will be made stable, strengthened, made firm, and set fast in the truth they now have. He is doing this to stir up their minds as if to awaken them or arouse them from sleep. The word he uses isn't just a reminder, like "don't forget to pick up milk on the way home," but more like to rise up and be activated. John uses the same word to describe the sea being stirred up and agitated, "A strong wind was blowing and waters grew rough" (John 6:18). Peter wants his readers...