New? January 18 Devotional
January 18, 2025
2 PETER 1:4b | 4b 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.
This part of verse 4 shows the great impact God’s power can have on you and me. We can escape from the mess of unbridled desire, here rendered as lust. Peter faced a group called the antimonious who distorted the idea of grace to say that since God forgives sinners our moral lives did not matter. The more we sin, the more room for grace to act! But God’s grace is meant to conquer sin and not promote it. What we do with our time and treasure and with our bodies impacts us, shifting our inclinations and personalities. Lust, or the animus dominandi, is the desire to control, possess, and consume people and things. It is inherently unstable and unlimited, and never satisfied. Our desires, whether innate or culturally acquired, are not the best guides for our behavior or identity. The spiritual life involves confronting and mastering these desires; so that we can partake in God’s very nature.
Do you think we live in an antinomian world?
Gracious God,
Shape my desires away from self and toward your divine life. Show me worthy and good goals that lead to a clearer view, a stronger heart, and a deeper soul.
Amen.
