1 I, Simon Peter, am writing this letter. I serve Jesus Christ. I am his apostle.
I am sending this letter to you. You are those who have received a faith as valuable as ours. You received it because our God and Savior Jesus Christ does what is right.
2 May more and more grace and peace be given to you. May they come to you as you learn more about God and about Jesus our Lord.
3 God’s power has given us everything we need to lead a godly life. All of this has come to us because we know the God who chose us. He chose us because of his own glory and goodness. 4 He has also given us his very great and valuable promises. He did it so you could share in his nature. You can share in it because you’ve escaped from the evil in the world. This evil is caused by sinful desires.
5 So you should try very hard to add goodness to your faith. To goodness, add knowledge. 6 To knowledge, add the ability to control yourselves. To the ability to control yourselves, add the strength to keep going. To the strength to keep going, add godliness. 7 To godliness, add kindness for one another. And to kindness for one another, add love. 8 All these things should describe you more and more. They will make you useful and fruitful as you know our Lord Jesus Christ better. 9 But what if these things don’t describe someone at all? Then that person can’t see very well. In fact, they are blind. They have forgotten that their past sins have been washed away.
10 My brothers and sisters, try very hard to show that God has appointed you to be saved. Try hard to show that he has chosen you. If you do everything I have just said, you will never trip and fall. 11 You will receive a rich welcome into the kingdom that lasts forever. It is the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
12 So I will always remind you of these things. I’ll do it even though you know them. I’ll do it even though you now have deep roots in the truth. 13 I think it is right for me to remind you. It is right as long as I live in this tent. I’m talking about my body. 14 I know my tent will soon be removed. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made that clear to me. 15 I hope that you will always be able to remember these things after I’m gone. I will try very hard to see that you do.
16 We told you about the time our Lord Jesus Christ came with power. But we didn’t make up clever stories when we told you about it. With our own eyes we saw him in all his majesty. 17 God the Father gave him honor and glory. The voice of the Majestic Glory came to him. It said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.” (Matthew 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35) 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven. We were with him on the sacred mountain.
19 We also have the message of the prophets. This message can be trusted completely. You must pay attention to it. The message is like a light shining in a dark place. It will shine until the day Jesus comes. Then the Morning Star will rise in your hearts. 20 Above all, here is what you must understand. No prophecy in Scripture ever came from a prophet’s own understanding of things. 21 Prophecy never came simply because a prophet wanted it to. Instead, the Holy Spirit guided the prophets as they spoke. So, although prophets are human, prophecy comes from God.
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