Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

2 Peter 1 - Power of Vulnerability

 

2 Peter 1 -  Power of Vulnerability 

Jumping into the second letter from Peter, we are reading this letter written by Peter, who was imprisoned in Rome by the emperor Nero. Generally, the first letter Peter wrote to the churches in the Roman Provence was to encourage and assist them with being persecuted. This letter is a bit different, Peter understands his life is coming to an end, Peter will soon be executed, and he wants to bring clarity to the ministry of Jesus. These churches and the pervasive culture was navigating extreme false teaching. 

I will break this chapter up into a few days; there is so much good stuff that I just do not want to breeze by it, like the deep wisdom in this opening. 

“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:” - ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

First, what is interesting to me is that in the opening and greeting of the first letter, Peter just referees to himself as Peter. But here, Peter uses his original birth name Simon as well as Peter, the name that Jesus gave him representing his “rock-like” thinking and behavior. Scholars are not sure why this is; many have theories of why Peter would change his introduction. I just find it interesting, and I mostly connect with those thoughts that him this introduction Peter just wanted to start with the roots of his journey. Connecting his audience with this life, the transformation where he came from, and bring empathy with this life. 

The Christian life is not just about our destination; it is more about our transformation and our walk and living out our life with Jesus. This can not happen without our full journey, where we came from, and who we were before we knew Jesus and all along the way. Our sin, mistakes, fumbles, and mishaps along the way forge us into who we are today, we do not need to forget them, ignore them or try and hide them - we must remember them and share more of them in a vulnerable and transparent manner, this is what will highlight the power of our transformation. The contrast of who we were to who we are today highlights the love and strength of our Holy God. 

I love reading and listening to Brené Brown. She tackles the topic of vulnerability very well. This is not easy for me and an area I must continue to grow in. 

“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.” - Brené Brown

You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.”  - Brené Brown

Connecting with others works best when we are real and transparent. We are not perfect, and we struggle, as Brown says above. Sitting across from someone and being more real, more open and vulnerable will always produce a deeper connection and be a better way to express love in a purer sense. Remember where we have come from, remember the transformation of our lives is a process and we need to be more open with what that process has looked like, and is currently looking like. 

Ok, I am this far in and only hit one verse. Sorry about that! Let’s take verse two, then we will call it for today. 

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” - ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Abundant grace and peace be yours. YES! I desire this, and I am not sure I have ever met anyone who would not desire an abundance of grace and peace. Peter made the direct connection and correlation of acquiring the abundance of grace and peace with the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. A straightforward sentence that we need to take in and reflect upon today. What does our life look like, what are our habits, what are the routines that point us to growing in our knowledge of God? If we so desire grace and peace, are we doing the things daily we need to have a growing knowledge of God? What about the first point, our vulnerability, how does this shape our connection with God? Are we open and transparent with our relationship with God, he already knows our struggles and issues, and junk. Are we opening up to him and seeking Him amid those struggles. 

Finally, let me close with this. Just the other day I was having coffee with a long time friend. Our discussion turned towards a more in-depth more vulnerable topic where we had a solid moment of empathy and connection around struggles that we both navigate. In these discussions, I can truly sense the Holy Spirit, and I feel more connected with my friend but, at the same time, more in step with God, experiencing His grace and His peace. These types of connections and relationships are what we deeply desire, but so few people open up to allow them to happen. Let me close with another great quote from Brené.

Staying vulnerable is a risk we have to take if we want to experience connection.” – Brené Brown

This is with the people in our lives, but this is also with our Heavenly Father and creator. God desires our full heart, and we must open up to Him to truly experience the connection we were built for. 

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch