In 1 Peter he uses the name Peter, the Rock. Here in 2 Peter he addresses himself as Simon Peter. And he also describes himself as a servant of Jesus. 

2 Pet 1:2
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Grace and peace in abundance are promised to us through Jesus. Only through Him do we get real peace. But we get that grace and peace through the knowledge of God and of Jesus. Peace increases as we know Him better. We cannot just know about Him, we must know Him.

2 Pet 1:4
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.

Peter lists the qualities necessary to go beyond knowledge and into love and he says, 

2 Pet 1:8

For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We certainly do not want to be ineffective and unproductive on our knowledge of Him.

2 Pet 1:15
…and I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.
Boy, did he ever!!! You are remembering them now…here…wherever you are at this moment.

2 Pet 1:18
We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
Peter is referring to the Mount of Transfiguration in which he, James, and John witnessed the appearing of Moses, Elijah, along with Jesus.

Peter, along with the other writers of the New Testament consistently warn of the dangers of false teaching. Peter uses the phrase, "exploit you with stories they have made up." We must be extremely careful of what we hear, see, or read. 

2 Pet 2:4
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

KJV uses “chains of darkness” in place of “gloomy dungeons”. Satan and his demons are like dogs on a chain. They are only allowed to move and do only what God allows them to do depending on the length of their “chain”.

2 Pet 3:1
Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.

If we read God’s Word we will be stimulated to wholesome thinking. If our minds are filled up with wholesome thinking, we won’t have room for unwholesome thinking. Peter tells us that this is his reason for writing both of the letters.

2 Pet 3:9a
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.
Or to quote my dad (Patti’s)…”I know you’ll keep your promises, Lord, I just wish you wouldn’t wait until the last minute.”

Peter addresses himself not as Simon but as Peter, “The Rock”, a name given to him by Jesus. He also acknowledges himself as an apostle, a “sent one”. He is writing to “strangers in the world”. Those to whom he is writing had been dispersed throughout a wide area. They are strangers, as we are strangers in an alien land. Our real home is in heaven. We are sojourners here, as they were there. It seems that Peter may be strengthening and building on what Paul had started. If that is the case, it is a great example of two aspects of the gift of apostleship. One characteristic is that an apostle can blaze new ground and establish new ministry. Another characteristic of an apostle is that of empowering a ministry that may be floundering and breathe into it new life. In either case, Peter certainly was using his gift of apostleship.

Peter tells us that we may suffer grief in all kinds of trials so that our faith may be proved genuine. Faith is proved genuine by persevering through many trials. If our faith crumbles under pressure, we probably haven’t had enough trials in our lives. 

1 Pet 1:12b
Even angels long to look into these things.
Angels are curious about the gospel and salvation through Jesus, but they have no need of it. They cannot receive salvation because they are not equal with believers.

1 Pet 2:2
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
We grow as Believers in Jesus much like we grow as babies and children. As we get nourishment from milk, we grow, and soon that nourishment is not enough. It isn’t healthy. It would not be healthy to give a child, or an adult, just milk. We need to move on to more solid food.

1 Pet 3:7b
…so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
What are some things that may hinder our prayers?

1 Pet 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
That’s why we all need to study the Bible, not just read the words, but really study.

Jesus "went and preached to the spirits in prison" during the days of Noah. When the people were destroyed by the flood those evil spirits who had inhabited people suddenly had no one to inhabit. The only place they could go was to the abyss. (see Jude)

1 Pet 4:7
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.
This was 2,000 years ago. The beginning of the end had begun.

“Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.”
We should not be distracted by anything, or as we are told earlier “so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

1 Pet 4:16
However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.
What a great responsibility we have as Christians! We bear His Name!

1 Pet 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
He didn’t say some things, or just the big stuff…he said ALL. He can handle it! He’s GOD!

1 Pet 5:8-9
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

There is nothing that Satan would like any better than to devour (Greek word  for devour is katapino and means  "to gulp entirely"). Satan seeks to devour our testimony, our witness. We must be alert to his schemes, and they are many. Peter tells us that we must “submit to God” and be “clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” and then we are told to “stand firm”!

Pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are undergoing sufferings just because they bear His Name.

Peter exhorts the people concerning suffering by telling them that they must suffer "a little while" and after that they will be restored and made strong, firm, and steadfast. Was Peter speaking from experience? Think of what Peter suffered during the three days between Jesus' death (after Peter had denied Jesus) and the time that He appeared privately to Peter. What agony must Peter have suffered and what joy he felt to be restored! No wonder Peter could be strong, firm, and steadfast!

Peter mentions "She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings...", a sentence that implies present tense. Does this mean that Peter was in Babylon (60 miles southeast of Baghdad in modern day Iraq) when he wrote this letter?

James was the brother of Jesus.  But notice James does not list that fact. He calls himself a “servant” of Jesus. Josephus says that James was the bishop of the church in Jerusalem. This would be the followers of the Way, made up mostly of the Messianic Jews there.

James 1:1-6
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
While James' letter is for all of us today, the writing of the letter is addressed specifically to the scattered tribes as far as Western Europe.

Greetings. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Quite a tall order to consider all these trials and testings pure joy! Testing that comes our way is not for God to see what we will do. It’s for us to see what God will do through the testing. Can we have faith that is mature and complete without the trials, testing, and perseverance?

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
God gives wisdom generously to those who ask, if they believe and not doubt.

James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
It's very easy to listen to a pastor on Sunday morning and be lulled into an assumption that we don't need to do anything more than that. We are deceived if we think that.

James 2:19
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-- and shudder.

James makes it very clear in the previous two verses that merely listening to the Word or just believing is not enough. Those who just believe are “shadow makers” in the pews. The idea is not to just believe there is a God but instead believe in the God that is just. We must believe in Him, not just acknowledge he exists, even the demons do that.

James 3:2a
We all stumble in many ways.
And yet our ever faithful God catches us as we stumble and sets us back on the right track.

James 4:1-4
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.

This scripture is often taken out of context. Look what comes after that.

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Ouch!Jude was most likely writing to Jewish believers and not to the Gentile churches. Gentile believers didn’t have the background of Hebrew and Jewish teaching to fall back on. Probably most of the Gentiles had had some deity they worshiped before being introduced to Messiah Jesus. This naturally polluted their ways of worship once they became “the church”. And they, no doubt were letting some of their pagan practices creep into their church. Jude was warning the Jewish believers, followers of The Way, of this. Are we any different in the church today mixing myths, fantasies, and pagan practices?

So Jude lays out a warning about false teaching and apostasy. But we all know that this apostasy or a falling away from the truth begins with apathetic people. Apathetic people are uninterested, unconcerned, lethargic, and basically lazy. Jude is saying to us that many will be led astray by this false teaching, especially if they are apathetic. However, we as believers in Jesus should not be led astray. We should be just the opposite of apathetic. We should be interested, concerned, enthusiastic, and energetic. While we will read about many warnings from Jude, we need to remember that we who are believers in Jesus as Messiah are different from the world. We need to act like we are!

During the writing of the second letter to Timothy, Paul is once again in Rome. This time he is a prisoner in chains, not under house arrest. While we may want to think of Paul as having some amount of freedom and humane conditions while in prison, most likely that was not the case. For information on prisons at the time of Paul, go to these websites.
http://www.mpumc.org/uploads/file/Prisons%20in%20Paul.pdf
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14354155/Life-in-Prison-in-1ad

2 Tim 2:9
for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained.
Praise God, His Word is not chained!

Paul warns Timothy (and all of us) about godless men who are teaching in the church. Some very stinging words follow. "Their teaching will spread like gangrene." Could he be talking about the myths that he mentioned earlier? Paul hoped that God will lead them "to a knowledge of the truth" and "escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will." Again Paul warns about quarreling over such matters. Arguing a case is one thing, but quarreling is going too far.

Paul warns us that there will be terrible times in the last days.
2 Tim 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
Sound familiar???

2 Tim 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
What a powerful piece of Scripture this is! Check out the definitive words ALL, THOROUGHLY, and EVERY. All Scripture is God-breathed! That would include the Old Testament - after all the only Scripture they had at the writing of this letter would have been the scrolls. And this mostly for the Jews. Many of the Gentiles had no background of the scrolls. The leaders of the early church really had their work cut out for them.

Paul mentions that he was "delivered from the lion's mouth". Was he delivered from being sent to the arena where Christians were thrown to the lions?

2 Tim 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
What a great statement of faith, from Paul or from any Believer in Jesus!

We would urge you to re-read 2 Timothy 4:9-18 and weep in remembrance of Paul!

Paul is no longer under house arrest when he wrote this letter to Titus. He made visits that are recorded in other writings that tell about Paul's travels to the furthermost reaches of the Roman Empire (which abruptly ended at Hadrian's Wall in Scotland). Monasteries, museums, cathedrals, and even the Vatican itself records Paul's travels into Western Europe. Paul went to other places, travels that are not recorded in the canonized Bible. In these other travels Paul established a faith in Jesus as the Messiah to the people of Western Europe.  There is a link to a website that tells a bit about Paul's other travels.

http://www.matthewmcgee.org/paultime.htm

"After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects" (The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, Chapter 5).

Clement lived at the same time as Paul and had knowledge of Paul and his travels.

The letter to Titus is full of warnings about false teachers and false doctrine. Titus was a Greek believer taught and nurtured by Paul, who later became the overseer of the churches on the island of Crete. This letter helps us know how to train others to lead and teach. The church there was most likely started in Jerusalem at Pentecost.

We must remember that Paul was preaching to the Gentiles and his letters were to the leaders and teachers of the Gentile churches. Most of them did not have the background of the scrolls (the Old Testament). Possibly many of them worshiped pagan gods before being introduced to Jesus. Most of the believing Jews did have this background in the Old Testament. The Gentiles didn't have a moral code from God or even from their pagan gods. They weren't even looking for a messiah like the Jews were.

Titus 1:2

a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

Eternal life was promised to us before the beginning of time. These plans were established before the creation, before time (as we know it) began on the fourth day of creation. What an amazing thought! But not only does God promise eternal life through Jesus, He has promised us wisdom, destined for our glory before time began.

1 Cor 2:7

No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

And not only does He promise us eternal life and wisdom and glory, He redeems us and He summons us by name!

Isa 43:1

But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

And not only does He summon us by name, He leads us out!

John 10:3

The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Totally AMAZING!

How do we “make the teaching about God our Savior attractive”? (Titus 2:10).  

There is a fine line between making the teaching attractive and compromising the truth.

Titus 2:15

These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise (disregard) you.

“Encourage and rebuke” is to build others up but to also hold others to account, as we should have someone to hold us to account. In other words, we need a Barnabas in our lives.

Believers should always be "...eager to do what is good.."

To be eager is to have a keen interest in something. In this case we should have a keen interest in doing good things. But, of course, it goes way beyond that. It also means that we should be burning with zeal, vehemently contending. So, not only should we have a keen interest in doing good things but we should be burning with zeal to be doing good things. That takes some effort!

Timothy was one of Paul’s young converts and one of his closest companions. Timothy had been sent to the church at Ephesus to counter the false teaching there. Paul gave Timothy practical advice about the ministry. Apparently Timothy struggled with a timid and reserved nature and allowed others to look down on his youth. I heard a pastor say once that every Christian should have in his life a “Paul” (someone to look up to and imitate), a “Timothy”(someone to disciple), and a “Barnabas”(someone to encourage us and to hold us to account).

Paul has already urged Timothy to command certain men not to teach false doctrines or devote themselves to myths. What myths do we devote ourselves to today - fictions, fables, false traditions, lies? Following such teaching results in controversies rather than bringing about unity by following the truth. How much energy is expended when believers attempt to defend the competing factions of myths? The pure truth has no factions, therefore no controversies.

1 Tim 1:18-20
Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
How can a person shipwreck their faith? What does “handed over to Satan” mean? Paul had already addressed this very thing regarding this discipline in 1 Corinthians 5. This person is to be handed over to Satan so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved.

Paul makes it clear that we are to pray for our leaders, even when we don't want to pray for them.

1 Tim 2:9-12
I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
In the culture of the day, for women to dress this way was disrespectful. Some also placed undue emphasis on the outward appearance. Women were not usually taught scripture in those times. Many of those who were learning of Jesus’ teachings were trying to teach others without being properly trained and were speaking in human wisdom and not led by the Holy Spirit wisdom.

Paul specifically states the requirements of the leaders of the churches (elders and deacons) for positions of authority. He certainly sets up a high standard, not only for the leaders but for their families as well. He mentions "not indulging in too much wine". Later he tells Timothy to "use a little wine because of your stomach"

Deacons "must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience."
A lesson for all of us today - when we know a deep truth we must not compromise. If we compromise or water it down we can't have a clear conscience.

Paul also warns what happens when we abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits. “…consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”
What happens when something is seared? Nerves are killed and have no feeling.  We sear our consciences when we allow untruths to permeate our acts of worship. There will come a time when truth will not be seen and only the myths remain and are understood and are celebrated.  God's truth and commandments will be ignored in favor of the traditions of men.

Paul again warns "Have nothing to do with godless myths..."
Myths would be an invention, something made up that may sound godly.

1 Tim 4:12
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
I remember one of our Sunday school second graders (now a college graduate) reciting this verse. He still sets an example!

In the next few verses Paul mentions a firm foundation. Jesus is the foundation. We build on our faith in Him. (1 Cor 3:11)

1 Tim 6:17-19
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
What a great way to end 1Timothy!

The city of Philippi received its name from Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. It is a tender letter written to a church with which Paul was very familiar.

Phil 1:14
Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
If we think of this verse in a worldly manner, what Paul is saying doesn’t make sense. God allowed Paul’s suffering so that others may be encouraged.

Phil 2:15-16a
so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—
We shine like stars in this dirty world. We hold out to the world the word of abundant life here and eternally. Remember yesterday’s blog entry about night light or flood light?

Phil 3:10-11
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
That word attain is loaded with meaning. Paul is saying here that he wishes to do something more than to obtain a resurrection. He aspires to something greater. Once we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we automatically obtain eternal life through resurrection. We obtain through belief. Attain means to reach in excellence or degree; to equal. Paul wants to equal Christ in suffering and death and so attain a better resurrection. (see Hebrews 11)

When Paul is speaking of perfection, he is saying he is “perfected” (fit) for the race. The "be perfect” is to be ready to receive the prize.

Phil 3:13
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
It makes no difference what has happened in the past, what really matters is what is ahead!
“…our citizenship is in heaven…”Once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, our destiny is sealed, our citizenship is transferred to heaven.

Phil 3:21
who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
We will not stay “seeds”. We will be “planted” only to rise again as a beautiful “flower”.

Paul ends this letter with "All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household". 
So Paul's work had made believers even in the household of Nero. Paul was under house arrest in Rome from 61 to 63 AD. Nero was Caesar from 54 to 68 AD.
What a great testimony to Paul's witness and work.