信仰的基础
彼得后书一章12至21节
12你们虽然晓得这些事，并且在你们已有的真道上坚固，我却要将这些事常常提醒你们。
13我以为应当趁我还在这帐棚的时候提醒你们，激发你们。
14因为知道我脱离这帐棚的时候快到了，正如我们主耶稣基督所指示我的。
15并且我要尽心竭力，使你们在我去世以后时常记念这些事。
16我们从前将我们主耶稣基督的大能，和他降临的事告诉你们，并不是随从乖巧捏造的虚言，乃是亲眼见过他的威荣。
17他从父神得尊贵荣耀的时候，从极大荣光之中有声音出来向他说：“这是我的爱子，我所喜悦的。”
18我们同他在圣山的时候，亲自听见这声音从天上出来。
19我们并有先知更确的预言，如同灯照在暗处。你们在这预言上留意，直等到
天发亮，晨星在你们心里出现的时候，才是好的。
20第一要紧的，该知道经上所有的预言没有可随私意解说的；
21因为豫言从来没有出于人意的，乃是人被圣灵感动，说出神的话来。
信息分享
彼得在这里，正是想推醒他的读者，要他们回想他们已经知道并相信，却可能忘怀的事。我们经常需要别人的提醒。为甚么？因为我们很容易把一些耳熟能详的真理视为平常，以致失去对我们生命的影响力。
彼得怎样提醒他的读者防备假教师呢？首先，他提醒他们紧记他曾耳闻目睹，又曾告诉他们的事实。对他来说，追随基督的那三年光阴，是他永志难忘的。他清楚记得基督如何耐心教导他们，并提醒他们不要忘记这些教导。
接着，彼得便提醒他们紧记圣经的可信性。这是他们的信仰基础，是神借着圣灵亲自赐给他们的。
彼得想激励信徒，不要在基督徒的生命成长中变得闲懒。信徒懂得这些真理，但需要不断用真理来提醒自己，彼得还想留下一些白纸黑字的记录，来不住提醒他们；不止这封书信，马可福音或许也是其中一项写作计划。
这段经文的最后几节，是告诉我们圣经是圣灵默示的重要经文。请慢慢再读一遍（19至21节）。圣经若是这样宝贵，我们当然要用心细读了。再怎么熟读也不过份，当然，也没有人可以忽略圣经。
现今的世界正陷于属灵的黑暗中，圣经便是唯一的亮光，能够引导我们直达神的面前。我们愿意与其他人分享这真光吗？
经文反思：
「你的话是我脚前的灯，是我路上的光。」（诗一一九105）
FOUNDATIONS FOR OUR FAITH
2 Peter 1: 12-21
12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.
13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,
14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.
15 Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.
16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,
21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Message
Peter wanted to give his readers a good nudge - to awaken their memories of the things they knew and believed but which they could easily forget. We often need that same nudge. Why? It is sad to say that well-known truths often become commonplace and tend to lose their impact on our lives.
How did Peter start to warn his readers against false teachers? First he reminded them of the truth he himself had seen, heard, and told about. He himself could never forget the three years he had spent in the earthly presence of Christ. He could remember Christ's patient teaching and how often He had reminded the disciples of the things He had told them.
Then Peter reminded them of the reliability of the Scriptures. These were the foundation of their faith. They had been given by God the Holy Spirit Himself.
Peter wanted to stir any of his readers who might have become slack in their Christian lives. They knew these truths but needed to be stimulated again by them. He also planned to leave behind a record of them as a continuing reminder. Not only this letter but possibly the Gospel of Mark was part of that plan.
The last few words of our reading form one of the greatest passages in the Bible regarding its inspiration. Read them (vv. 19-21) again slowly. If the Bible is such a wonderful Book, we had better pay attention to what it says. No one can ever outgrow or neglect the Scriptures.
While the world around us is in spiritual darkness, the Bible is the only light that can show us the pathway to God. Are we sharing that light with the world?
A VERSE FOR TODAY: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105)