2 Peter 1:12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have.
We often have short term memory problems when it comes to spiritual matters. We forget the concepts we read about in the Bible. We also forget what pastors preach. Why is that? Some of it may be due to physical limitations and that our brains cannot remember the details. But I think there are other reasons. One is that we are constantly bombarded by the messages of the world. These messages drown out God’s words to us unless we pay careful attention. Another reason is that we do not focus our lives in the right direction but are easily distracted by selfishness and unconfessed sin. Finally, we need to keep our lives constantly nourished by Scripture reading. The reason is that we will face new situations and choices every day. If we keep our faith development our first priority, then we will grow in the truth. If we neglect our faith formation, we will struggle on in our own understanding. Peter reminds his readers of the qualities in verses 5-7 because he knows that people are forgetful and distracted. The readers know all this already, but they grow weak because they are not practicing them. We need constant spiritual nourishment to grow into Christlikeness.
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