Daily Discovery 2nd September 2020 Devotional – Ye Olde Fake News
TODAY’S TOPIC: YE OLDE FAKE NEWS
Opening Prayer: Jesus, speak Your truth to me today.
Read 2 Peter 2:1–10a – False Teachers and Their Destruction
2 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. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 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.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness[b] to be held for judgment; 5 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; 6 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;
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Daily Discovery 2nd September 2020 Devotional
7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 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. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh[c] and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;
Footnotes
a 2 Peter 2:4 Greek Tartarus
b 2 Peter 2:4 Some manuscripts in gloomy dungeons
c 2 Peter 2:10 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 18.
New International Version (NIV)
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Reflect: Daily Discovery 2nd September 2020 Devotional
Consider the media you engage with. How do you decide what to believe and trust?
Some of the most powerful people in the world appear to have utter contempt for the truth. They know we know they tell lies—and they just don’t care. It is easy to feel, then, that we are facing especially wicked times. To be sure, each age has its own challenges.
Today’s passage confirms that there is nothing new about corruption, heresy or deceit—and, alas, that’s just in the church! God’s people have never been a moral elite. Peter warns in verse 1 that some of those dealing in falsehood and evil are indeed among us. What is more, false teachers are not always brazen and stupid. Often, they act in secret (1). Their stories (3) may well be persuasive. How can we face them?
One key test is whether a teaching is ultimately centered on the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Peter uses a particularly strong term in verse 1: “sovereign Lord.” Take hold of it. Another clue may be in the lifestyle of dodgy teachers. Peter does not hesitate to call greedy leaders to account.
Then, ultimately, we will need to personally claim the promise in verse 9. On all scales, from the local to the cosmic (4), lies and wickedness work together. It was ever thus. The glorious truth is that we can be rescued.
Apply: Carefully think over what you believe about Jesus. Is there anything in your belief system that does not line up with the Jesus of Scripture?
Closing Prayer: Thank You, God, for the Bible teachers You have placed in my life who have chosen to be faithful to You and Your Word.
Through the Bible in One Year
Song of Solomon 7,8 / Psalm 102
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