Heavenly promises for those whom he has called – 9 May 2025 Ewald Schmidt
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life 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. 2 Peter 1:3-4a NIV
The Lord provided everything we need to live a godly life. We have come to know him who has called us to follow him. He has sent us into this world to shine his light into the darkness. And he never asks anything of us that he did not provide beforehand. Today’s verse says that he has given us great and precious heavenly gifts.
What is so precious and great about the calling of Jesus in our lives, and what did he provide for us to live a godly life? In this series, we have seen that our lives are a precious first gift. In Ephesians 1:4-6, we read: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” In Psalm 139:13-18, we read that we were woven together in our mothers’ wombs, we were fearfully and wonderfully made by God, and all our days were ordained in his book before they came to be. Life is a precious gift from God’s hand to us.
Peter said that our faith is a gift from God. We have received it by God’s grace. We received the message of God’s love for us and we replied with joy. The most beautiful promise is our Lord Jesus himself. John 3:16 says: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Years later, John added in 1 John 5:12a: “Whoever has the Son has life.” The Lord has also promised us his Spirit, who will be with us always and lead us into the truth. John 14:16-17 The Holy Spirit has given us his gifts that we may be the body of Christ in this world, serving him and one another 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. And God has given us his Word to lead us on the path of life. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
When God calls us to follow him, he promises us his Son as Saviour and his Spirit as our Counsellor. By the power of the Spirit, we bear witness to him. Acts 1:8 The Lord has given us life and faith, and then he asks of us like to the prophets: “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah 6:8. May we take the promises of God to heart and reply like Isaiah: “Here I am, Lord, send me!”
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your promises and the amazing life you have given me. Help me to trust and honour you with my life. Amen
Because I know Christ, I am a new person! – 8 May 2025 Ewald Schmidt His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 NIV God’s children are called to be different from the people of the world. In the world, a person’s success is measured by what they can achieve with their money. Peter Drucker has famously described it as: “he who has the most toys when he dies, wins.” However, it is also a fact that no person takes anything with them to the grave. We leave all our earthly possessions behind when we die. If it is true that we were created by God for eternity, but our earthly possessions are temporary, then gathering things is not what life is about. Peter has taught us in the first part of this verse that the Lord provides everything we need to live a godly life. In the second part of this verse, he gives the reason why, because we know Jesus as Lord! There was a day in our lives when we met Jesus, and we came to know his grace, glory and goodness. He became Lord of our lives. We do not belong to ourselves anymore, but to him who saved us on the cross. Peter heard the voice of the Lord that day at the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus said: “Follow me!” And so every believer bears witness to that day when we came to know Christ as Lord of our lives. We all heard Jesus calling us by name to follow him and to share the rest of our lives with him. We became aware of his glory. He is so different from any other good person in history; he is Lord. He is the Son of the living God, as Peter confessed in Matthew 16:16. Jesus’ disciples from the first century lived with him. They saw his glory. Peter was an eyewitness on the Mount of Transfiguration. They saw Jesus basked in heavenly light, with the Father’s voice sounding from heaven, saying: “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him” Luke 9:35. Peter and the other disciples have seen many such instances where Jesus’ identity as the Son of God was proclaimed. They had seen his power in times when he ruled even over nature, when he walked on water and stilled the stormy seas. When they saw this in Matthew 8:23-27, they asked: “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” We know our Lord Jesus by the words of the apostles, who lived with him and were taught by him, like Peter. We trust in their eyewitness reports as given to us in the Gospels. They bear witness to Christ’s glory and goodness. They were willing to trust Jesus with their lives and their eternal future. They were prepared to be obedient to his commands and were willing to die for him. The greatest deed of Jesus’ glory was his resurrection from the dead; they were eyewitnesses of seeing him alive after his death on the cross. Jesus lives today. He continues to reveal himself with glory and power in our lives. He calls on people to trust and follow him today. For us who know him personally, he is the foundation on which we build our lives. We believe that he knows what we need and provides for it all. He still calls on us to follow him and to make a difference in this world by living out our faith in a practical manner every day. Prayer: Lord, thank you for your Word bearing the eyewitness reports of disciples who have seen your glory and goodness. This was enough for them to trust their lives into your care. Your voice also calls me today to follow you. Lord, fill my heart with faith and trust in you. Guide me to where you want to use me today, for your glory. Amen
God provides for everything we need – 7 May 2025 Ewald Schmidt His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 NIV When do we have enough in life? This remains one of the most difficult questions to answer. Deep in our hearts, our human desire cries out: “Just a little bit more.” We live in a world where there are so many things to desire. The whole advertising business was created to induce needs in us for products we don’t really need. When I buy an article of something I truly want, there is work already being done on a younger, better-looking, ego-pleasing model to replace it soon. The goalposts of success and perceived happiness are always shifting further away. We tend to measure our own worth by what we own and we measure our success by comparing ourselves to our peers. If my neighbour has newer, better-looking toys than I do, I feel like a failure. Comparison leads to a never-ending cycle, in which we never attain contentment. Our Lord Jesus came to give us a new life. This new life works on a totally different set of principles from our old life. The world measures a person’s worth by what they own, their address and their toys. We are called to be different. We are the people who have received God’s grace and peace, because we know Jesus Christ as Lord. The foundation of our lives is not what we could buy anymore, but belonging to him who has bought us dearly and who cares for us. The secret to life that Peter shares with us is to trust in the Lord. Our Lord Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:8 that our Father in heaven knows what we need, even before we ask him. He has promised us that all things we need will be given to us when we seek his kingdom first. Matthew 6:33 When we belong to Christ, our focus in life needs to shift. The old person in me is still unhappy about what I cannot possess. The new person in Christ is grateful for what the Lord provides today. Peter promises that God will provide for every need we have to live and to serve the Lord. The Lord does not ask anything from us that he has not provided beforehand. Therefore, the challenge of faith is to trust the Lord for what I need. We also have received the gift of prayer. Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:11 to ask God for our daily bread. And Paul teaches us in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Today’s verse takes away all our excuses we use to justify why we cannot serve God. It teaches us to live a life of gratitude, for the Lord provides in everything I need to live a godly life. Prayer: Lord, I need your hand of sustenance in my life every day. The world around me has become an expensive place and, sometimes, I lay awake thinking about some accounts I need to pay. Teach me to trust you for everything I need to live a godly life. Teach me to pray for my daily bread. Help me to be grateful for everything I receive, giving thanks to you for every small mercy in my life. Renew my heart, and lead me to a new way of thinking and acting, honouring you in all I do. Amen
Two of God’s most beautiful gifts for those who know Christ – 6 May 2025 Ewald Schmidt Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2 NIV Every person has a deep desire to experience peace. We were created by God to be relational beings. We need to live in relationship with God, with our fellow man and we desire peace in our own hearts towards ourselves. Joy in life stems from healthy and wholesome relationships. This gives us a greater joy than earthly treasures ever could provide. Broken relationships cause our deepest pain. One can have all the treasures one desires, but without peace in your home and heart, life is not enjoyable. Relationships have been the biggest target of evil since the fall of man. With the rebellion of man in paradise, the relationship with God was broken. Sin has damaged the relationship between man and his fellow man, and where we lack peace with God, there is also no peace in our own hearts. That which we desire most in life is peace. We cannot attain it by ourselves. We need the grace of God to be restored in our relationships. God has the heart of a father, and he wishes to heal us and walk the journey of life alongside us. He knows that we are not able to mend the broken relationship with him by ourselves. That is why he has sent his Son, the Prince of Peace, who came to bring us God’s grace. Jesus took all our inequities upon himself and paid the price for all our transgressions on the cross. The apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 5:1-2: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” What is grace? Microsoft Copilot says: “Grace is an unexpected gift from God that we cannot buy, achieve or earn. It means that there is nothing you can do that will make God love you more, and no sin is severe enough to make you less loved.” By grace, God has given us his Son to bring us the true life he intended for us. By believing in him and by following him, Jesus restores the peace in our lives with God, with our fellow man and in our own hearts. Prayer: Lord, thank you for your unexpected grace in my life! Thank you for loving me so much that you sent Jesus to this world, so that I do not have to perish but have life everlasting. Lord Jesus, thank you for being my Prince of peace. Thank you for working in my life through your Spirit, bringing me peace. Amen
Precious faith as a gift of God – 5 May 2025 Ewald Schmidt To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours. 2 Peter 1:1b NIV Simon Peter was an ordinary fisherman in Galilee in the first century AD. He would have been born just a stone’s throw away from the Sea of Galilee and under normal circumstances, he would have spent the rest of his days there as a fisherman. It would have been a hard life, being exposed to the whims of the weather. There would have been times of abundance when the catch was good and the fish prices were high. And there would have been trying times when they caught nothing. This was the life he had known and he did not expect any other life. He would grow old near the water and the boats, and he would die there and be buried nearby. But on a sunny day, the Son of God crossed his path. He sensed immediately that there was something different in Jesus; he was unlike any other spiritual leader that Peter had met before. We read that Jesus came to meet him specifically. In John 1:42, we read: “Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’, which, when translated, is Peter.” Jesus had known Peter long before his brother Andrew came to introduce them. Andrew was excited; he had met the Messiah! The Messiah, the anointed of God who would free his people, was expected since the days of the exile. When Peter meets Jesus, we see that God was at work long before that moment. The Lord has chosen Peter, and went out of his way to see Peter, and call him: “Follow me!” Peter would discover that his faith was a precious gift of God. It was not something he worked hard for or earned in any way. He did not have to complete a certain number of good deeds before Jesus reached out to him. Peter also met the Messiah that day on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. He came to faith in Christ that day. And it changed the course of his life. Many years later, he would write a letter. I do not think he could have ever imagined how far that letter would travel and be read by all generations of Christians. But as a spiritual father who has walked a long path of faith with Christ, he is also writing to you and me. We were invited, by the righteousness of Christ, to become part of God’s family. Before we could ever choose to follow him, Christ had chosen us. There came a day when we met him for the first time; he called us and we put our trust in him. Peter reminds us in today’s verse that our faith is a precious gift of God. It bears witness to the foundation on which we build our lives. Jesus knows us before we discover him. Paul would also rejoice in this with the words of Ephesians 1:4-6: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for knowing me, long before I came to know you. Thank you that I could find the Messiah and get to know you as my Saviour. Thank you for the gift of my faith, it is more precious than gold to me. Amen
Because I know Christ, I am a new person! – 8 May 2025 Ewald Schmidt His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 NIV God’s children are called to be different from the people of the world. In the world, a person’s success is measured by what they can achieve with their money. Peter Drucker has famously described it as: “he who has the most toys when he dies, wins.” However, it is also a fact that no person takes anything with them to the grave. We leave all our earthly possessions behind when we die. If it is true that we were created by God for eternity, but our earthly possessions are temporary, then gathering things is not what life is about. Peter has taught us in the first part of this verse that the Lord provides everything we need to live a godly life. In the second part of this verse, he gives the reason why, because we know Jesus as Lord! There was a day in our lives when we met Jesus, and we came to know his grace, glory and goodness. He became Lord of our lives. We do not belong to ourselves anymore, but to him who saved us on the cross. Peter heard the voice of the Lord that day at the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus said: “Follow me!” And so every believer bears witness to that day when we came to know Christ as Lord of our lives. We all heard Jesus calling us by name to follow him and to share the rest of our lives with him. We became aware of his glory. He is so different from any other good person in history; he is Lord. He is the Son of the living God, as Peter confessed in Matthew 16:16. Jesus’ disciples from the first century lived with him. They saw his glory. Peter was an eyewitness on the Mount of Transfiguration. They saw Jesus basked in heavenly light, with the Father’s voice sounding from heaven, saying: “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him” Luke 9:35. Peter and the other disciples have seen many such instances where Jesus’ identity as the Son of God was proclaimed. They had seen his power in times when he ruled even over nature, when he walked on water and stilled the stormy seas. When they saw this in Matthew 8:23-27, they asked: “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” We know our Lord Jesus by the words of the apostles, who lived with him and were taught by him, like Peter. We trust in their eyewitness reports as given to us in the Gospels. They bear witness to Christ’s glory and goodness. They were willing to trust Jesus with their lives and their eternal future. They were prepared to be obedient to his commands and were willing to die for him. The greatest deed of Jesus’ glory was his resurrection from the dead; they were eyewitnesses of seeing him alive after his death on the cross. Jesus lives today. He continues to reveal himself with glory and power in our lives. He calls on people to trust and follow him today. For us who know him personally, he is the foundation on which we build our lives. We believe that he knows what we need and provides for it all. He still calls on us to follow him and to make a difference in this world by living out our faith in a practical manner every day. Prayer: Lord, thank you for your Word bearing the eyewitness reports of disciples who have seen your glory and goodness. This was enough for them to trust their lives into your care. Your voice also calls me today to follow you. Lord, fill my heart with faith and trust in you. Guide me to where you want to use me today, for your glory. Amen
God provides for everything we need – 7 May 2025 Ewald Schmidt His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3 NIV When do we have enough in life? This remains one of the most difficult questions to answer. Deep in our hearts, our human desire cries out: “Just a little bit more.” We live in a world where there are so many things to desire. The whole advertising business was created to induce needs in us for products we don’t really need. When I buy an article of something I truly want, there is work already being done on a younger, better-looking, ego-pleasing model to replace it soon. The goalposts of success and perceived happiness are always shifting further away. We tend to measure our own worth by what we own and we measure our success by comparing ourselves to our peers. If my neighbour has newer, better-looking toys than I do, I feel like a failure. Comparison leads to a never-ending cycle, in which we never attain contentment. Our Lord Jesus came to give us a new life. This new life works on a totally different set of principles from our old life. The world measures a person’s worth by what they own, their address and their toys. We are called to be different. We are the people who have received God’s grace and peace, because we know Jesus Christ as Lord. The foundation of our lives is not what we could buy anymore, but belonging to him who has bought us dearly and who cares for us. The secret to life that Peter shares with us is to trust in the Lord. Our Lord Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:8 that our Father in heaven knows what we need, even before we ask him. He has promised us that all things we need will be given to us when we seek his kingdom first. Matthew 6:33 When we belong to Christ, our focus in life needs to shift. The old person in me is still unhappy about what I cannot possess. The new person in Christ is grateful for what the Lord provides today. Peter promises that God will provide for every need we have to live and to serve the Lord. The Lord does not ask anything from us that he has not provided beforehand. Therefore, the challenge of faith is to trust the Lord for what I need. We also have received the gift of prayer. Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:11 to ask God for our daily bread. And Paul teaches us in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Today’s verse takes away all our excuses we use to justify why we cannot serve God. It teaches us to live a life of gratitude, for the Lord provides in everything I need to live a godly life. Prayer: Lord, I need your hand of sustenance in my life every day. The world around me has become an expensive place and, sometimes, I lay awake thinking about some accounts I need to pay. Teach me to trust you for everything I need to live a godly life. Teach me to pray for my daily bread. Help me to be grateful for everything I receive, giving thanks to you for every small mercy in my life. Renew my heart, and lead me to a new way of thinking and acting, honouring you in all I do. Amen
Two of God’s most beautiful gifts for those who know Christ – 6 May 2025 Ewald Schmidt Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 2 Peter 1:2 NIV Every person has a deep desire to experience peace. We were created by God to be relational beings. We need to live in relationship with God, with our fellow man and we desire peace in our own hearts towards ourselves. Joy in life stems from healthy and wholesome relationships. This gives us a greater joy than earthly treasures ever could provide. Broken relationships cause our deepest pain. One can have all the treasures one desires, but without peace in your home and heart, life is not enjoyable. Relationships have been the biggest target of evil since the fall of man. With the rebellion of man in paradise, the relationship with God was broken. Sin has damaged the relationship between man and his fellow man, and where we lack peace with God, there is also no peace in our own hearts. That which we desire most in life is peace. We cannot attain it by ourselves. We need the grace of God to be restored in our relationships. God has the heart of a father, and he wishes to heal us and walk the journey of life alongside us. He knows that we are not able to mend the broken relationship with him by ourselves. That is why he has sent his Son, the Prince of Peace, who came to bring us God’s grace. Jesus took all our inequities upon himself and paid the price for all our transgressions on the cross. The apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 5:1-2: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” What is grace? Microsoft Copilot says: “Grace is an unexpected gift from God that we cannot buy, achieve or earn. It means that there is nothing you can do that will make God love you more, and no sin is severe enough to make you less loved.” By grace, God has given us his Son to bring us the true life he intended for us. By believing in him and by following him, Jesus restores the peace in our lives with God, with our fellow man and in our own hearts. Prayer: Lord, thank you for your unexpected grace in my life! Thank you for loving me so much that you sent Jesus to this world, so that I do not have to perish but have life everlasting. Lord Jesus, thank you for being my Prince of peace. Thank you for working in my life through your Spirit, bringing me peace. Amen
Precious faith as a gift of God – 5 May 2025 Ewald Schmidt To those who through the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours. 2 Peter 1:1b NIV Simon Peter was an ordinary fisherman in Galilee in the first century AD. He would have been born just a stone’s throw away from the Sea of Galilee and under normal circumstances, he would have spent the rest of his days there as a fisherman. It would have been a hard life, being exposed to the whims of the weather. There would have been times of abundance when the catch was good and the fish prices were high. And there would have been trying times when they caught nothing. This was the life he had known and he did not expect any other life. He would grow old near the water and the boats, and he would die there and be buried nearby. But on a sunny day, the Son of God crossed his path. He sensed immediately that there was something different in Jesus; he was unlike any other spiritual leader that Peter had met before. We read that Jesus came to meet him specifically. In John 1:42, we read: “Jesus looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas’, which, when translated, is Peter.” Jesus had known Peter long before his brother Andrew came to introduce them. Andrew was excited; he had met the Messiah! The Messiah, the anointed of God who would free his people, was expected since the days of the exile. When Peter meets Jesus, we see that God was at work long before that moment. The Lord has chosen Peter, and went out of his way to see Peter, and call him: “Follow me!” Peter would discover that his faith was a precious gift of God. It was not something he worked hard for or earned in any way. He did not have to complete a certain number of good deeds before Jesus reached out to him. Peter also met the Messiah that day on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. He came to faith in Christ that day. And it changed the course of his life. Many years later, he would write a letter. I do not think he could have ever imagined how far that letter would travel and be read by all generations of Christians. But as a spiritual father who has walked a long path of faith with Christ, he is also writing to you and me. We were invited, by the righteousness of Christ, to become part of God’s family. Before we could ever choose to follow him, Christ had chosen us. There came a day when we met him for the first time; he called us and we put our trust in him. Peter reminds us in today’s verse that our faith is a precious gift of God. It bears witness to the foundation on which we build our lives. Jesus knows us before we discover him. Paul would also rejoice in this with the words of Ephesians 1:4-6: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for knowing me, long before I came to know you. Thank you that I could find the Messiah and get to know you as my Saviour. Thank you for the gift of my faith, it is more precious than gold to me. Amen
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