“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: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (2 Peter 1:1-4 NIV)

The more I learn about God, ( and I am still learning about Him every day), the more I am amazed at His great love and provision for us. The more I come to understand about His nature and character, the more I am stunned by His patience with us—with me! The more I gain knowledge and understanding of Him, the more I sense the grace and peace that is ours in Him.
On one hand, you’d think that understanding more and more about this incredible God who has created all there is, and holds it all together; who holds unspeakable power at His disposal, the more I would be in fear of Him. But on the other hand, the more I learn about His love for us demonstrated through His Son, Jesus Christ, and that His “great and precious promises” are for us, the more comfort that brings me. When things on the surface seem to go awry, I know that He holds us in the palm of His hand, and only allows what He deems best for us.
At a time of the year when we are urged to reflect on our blessings, and return thanks to Him who has given us so much, may “His love for us” top the list of things we are grateful for, knowing that such favor is undeserved and unwarranted, except that He has chosen to love us in such incredible ways.
From Peter’s first letter, we have this rich promise as well: “In this [our salvation] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1Peter 1:6-7)
Even in the midst of difficult times, we are assured that God is working on our behalf, working to refine our faith into something more valuable than gold.
I pray that the more you learn about God, and the more He reveals Himself to you that this knowledge will bring grace and peace to your heart and mind as well.


By His Grace Alone,
Pastor Bruce Jacobsen