Like An Anchor

How Do You Grow in Grace?

17 October, 2026

At the end of his second epistle, Peter said, “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, NET). How to grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ seems fairly straightforward. We read the Bible to study Jesus’s life and the word of God, thus increasing our knowledge about Him and about the things that He knows and chooses to share with us. But how do you grow in the grace of Jesus Christ?

The End of Peter’s Letter

Let’s start with some context for this verse. First, textual context. In other words, how does this fit into the rest of Peter’s letter?

Peter addressed this second letter to “those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, have been granted a faith just as precious as ours” and prayed “May grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!” (2 Pet. 1:1-2, NET). His goal in writing was “to stir you up by way of a reminder” (2 Pet. 1:13, NET see also 2 Pet. 3:1-2). This “stirring up” included warnings, many focused on challenges within the church including false teachers. It is vital that we be on guard against such dangers, which is why Peter wrote to stir-up faith and remind his readers of the truth.

The stirring up also included encouragement. Peter emphasized our reasons for hope, pointed us to God’s promises, and reminded us that Jesus will indeed return just as He said. Having reminded his readers of Jesus’s return and the importance of holding fast to the scriptures, Peter ended with this exhortation:

Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for these things, strive to be found at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, speaking of these things in all his letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on that eternal day.
2 Peter 3:14-18, NET

Instead of twisting scriptures or being ignorant and unstable as we wait for Jesus to return, we should “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” That’s the context for Peter’s admonition to grow in the grace of Jesus.

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What is Grace?

Secondly, let’s consider the historical and linguistic context. Our modern understanding of grace as a free gift or unmerited favor doesn’t make it sound like something you can grow in. However, in the first century people had a different understanding of the Greek word charis. Several centuries before Christ’s first coming and until at least the 4th century after, charis was understood as something that involved obligation and reciprocity to the point that everyone knew “receiving charis implied entering into reciprocal covenantal relationships” (Brent J. Schmit, Relational Grace: The Reciprocal and Binding Covenant of Charis, 2015, p. 63). This fits in nicely with the Biblical teaching that Christian conversion is a process and that relationships with God require continued faithfulness.

When you receive God’s grace, you enter a covenant relationship with Him that includes things God promises to do for you and things you are expected to do as a recipient of His charis. You don’t earn the grace by what you do; you do these things because of grace.

Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.
Colossians 1:5-6, NET

Hearing the gospel and understanding the grace of God makes us bear fruit and grow. Growth as a Christian and bearing the fruit that naturally results from being filled by God’s spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) are part of our obligations under the covenant of grace. Here is one possible explanation for what it means to “grow in the grace of Jesus Christ.” It may mean to grow as a Christian and so better uphold our part of the covenant of grace.

Abounding Grace

As I researched verses for this study, I was surprised to realize how often Paul talks in 2 Corinthians about God making grace abound and multiply.

For all these things are for your sake, so that the grace that is including more and more people may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 4:15, NET

But as you abound in everything—in faith, utterance, knowledge, all earnestness, and in your love to us—see that you also abound in this grace.
2 Corinthians 8:7, WEB

And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8, NET

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The picture Paul paints here is one of God giving grace to more and more people, and then of us abounding in grace related to giving and receiving gifts between church groups (2 Cor. 8-9). God has shown us “extraordinary grace” and we “know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich” (2 Cor. 9:14; 8:9, NET).

Because of the grace God has shown us and Jesus has modeled for us, we should learn to show grace to others by giving to them and building relationships within the church. Here is another possible explanation for what it means to “grow in the grace of Jesus Christ.” It may mean to learn how to show grace to others the way Jesus shows us grace–by giving to others in His body, building relationships, and generously loving people.

Like Peter’s original readers, we are also charged with staying faithful while awaiting Jesus’s return. We should also strive to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, NET). As recipients of God’s covenantal grace, we should strive to grow as a Christians and be more like Jesus, including learning how to show grace to others the way Jesus shows grace to us.

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Song Recommendation: Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) by Chris Tomlin

Click here to learn more about these books or to order a copy.
“Sheep and Shepherds” Scripture Writing Plan

3 October, 2026

I have a new 30-day scripture writing plan for you. This one was inspired by my toddler. When I first started reading the Bible to her, she latched onto Psalm 23 and the “baa-baas” so I started looking for other verses that talked about sheep and shepherds. That grew into this scripture writing program.

As I put this list together, I was struck by the progression from God appointing human shepherds like Moses and David, to God being disappointed with human leaders, to God’s promise that He will take over directly as the Good Shepherd. Then, that leads to Jesus as both Shepherd and sacrificial lamb who saves God’s people/sheep from their sins.

Sheep and Shepherds Download

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Learning From What is Lacking in the Sufferings of Christ

19 September, 2026

There is a strange verse in one of Paul’s letters where he says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body—for the sake of his body, the church—what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ” (Col. 1:24, NET). I describe it as “strange” because it seems odd that Paul would say there is anything lacking in the suffering of Christ. Jesus suffered a lot, and His perfect sacrifice cleansed sin for all time. There was nothing deficient about it.

Yet, Paul says there was something missing and he had a role in helping the church by suffering in a way that “filled up” what was “lacking in the suffering of Christ.” And other verses indicate we may play a role in that as well.

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Learning To Comfort Others

“Why does God allow suffering?” is one of the biggest questions people ask. We won’t tackle that entire question today, but we will talk about one facet of the answer.

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort that you experience in your patient endurance of the same sufferings that we also suffer. And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7, NET

Sharing in the sufferings of Christ is directly related to receiving and giving comfort. Much of Christian life is meant to be lived in community, and here we see another example of this. The church (meaning the body of believers) is supposed to give comfort to one another in the same way that God comforts us. Suffering produces patient endurance and it also produces compassion.

I think this might give us a clue as to what Paul meant when he said there was something “lacking in the sufferings of Christ.” Jesus experienced the same types of temptations and sufferings that are common to humans and has deep sympathy for all of us (Heb. 4:14-16). He did not, however, experience every specific type of suffering that human beings can. He has no first-hand experience of pregnancy symptoms, childbirth, or losing a child. He didn’t get to experience growing old and having his body and mind fail him. He didn’t live with the specific stress of global warming, AI, and atomic bombs hanging over his head. Those are things other people in the church can experience, though, and then we can empathize with others going through the same things.

Taking Comfort Into The Future

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The more experiences we have, including suffering, the better equipped we are to comfort others and build up the church. Suffering is an uncomfortable way to learn, but it is effective and it is a way that Jesus learned (Heb. 5:8). He’s not asking us to do anything He didn’t do.

Dear friends, do not be astonished that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in the degree that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice and be glad.
1 Peter 4:12-13, NET

When Jesus returns, we will rejoice that we had the chance to share in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. That seems a strange idea, but perhaps the idea that suffering teaches us compassion for others can help explain why.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Chag Sukkot) begins a week from today. Keeping this Feast with a Messianic mindset points us to the time after Jesus returns when He sets up God’s kingdom on earth for 1,000 years. The “firstfruits” will be spirit beings, part of God’s family and serving alongside Jesus (see “Rethinking Heaven: Capturing A Vision Of The Resurrection“). During that time, scripture indicates that one of the things God’s people will be doing is teaching and working with people who came through the great end time tribulation (see article “What Will God’s People Do In The Future?“).

This isn’t directly stated anywhere in scripture, but I suspect that just like we are comforted now by Jesus’s role as our sympathetic Hight Priest and the empathy of other believers, those people in the future will be comforted by the experience-based empathy of those serving in the Family of God. What we all learn from suffering in our lives today benefits the entire church now, and it will continue to make us more effective and sympathetic helpers in the future.

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Song Recommendation: “Praise You In This Storm” by Casting Crowns

Click here to learn more about these books or to order a copy.
Meeting God At The Mercy Seat

5 September, 2026

One of the Bible verses that I find both intriguing and frustrating is found in the book of Hebrews. When talking about Jesus’s role as high priest, the author reminds readers of how the earthly sanctuary in the temple was laid out. The author describes the ark of the covenant, then says, “And above the ark were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Now is not the time to speak of these things in detail” (Heb. 9:5, NET).

I would very much like to know what the author would have said if they had taken the time to “speak of these things in detail.” Unfortunately, we are left with questions that we really can’t answer. We can, however, look at what else the Bible has to say about the mercy seat.

Mercy and Atonement

Our pastor made a comment in a recent sermon that prompted me to take another look at this topic. He read from Exodus 25:17-22 and pointed out that the mercy seat was centralized in the tabernacle. It’s where God met with Moses. God wanted them to remember that He speaks from the mercy seat (not a judgement seat).

You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two and a half cubits shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its width. You shall make two cherubim of hammered gold. You shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end. You shall make the cherubim on its two ends of one piece with the mercy seat.The cherubim shall spread out their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the covenant that I will give you.There I will meet with you, and I will tell you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the covenant, all that I command you for the children of Israel.
Exodus 25:17-22, WEB

Here, “mercy seat” is the traditional English translation and has been since 1530. However, the modern NET version uses “atonement-lid” because the noun kapporet “is formed from the word ‘to make atonement.’ The item that the Israelites should make would be more than just a lid for the ark. It would be the place where atonement was signified. … The value of this place was that Yahweh sat enthroned above it, and so the ark essentially was the ‘footstool.’ Blood was applied to the lid of the box, for that was the place of atonement” (NET footnote on Ex. 25:17).

You don’t see it in English, but the connection with atonement is there in the Greek as well. In Hebrews 9:5, “mercy seat” is translated from hilasterion (G2435). This word is “related to an appeasing or expiation, having placating or expiating force, … a propitiation” (Thayer). Thayer’s dictionary further explains the word is “used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement … hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory.”

Linguistically, the Hebrew or Greek words for “mercy” aren’t linked to the part of the ark of the covenant we now call the “mercy seat.” However, the atonement or propitiation of our sins happens because of God’s mercy. He does not need to lift the consequences of sin off of humanity; He does it because of His great love, grace, and mercy.

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Jesus at the Mercy Seat

We’re fast approaching the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) on God’s sacred calendar. This year, it falls on September 21. That makes this month a particularly appropriate time to consider the role of the mercy seat in God’s temple and the connection with atonement.

As my pastor pointed out in Exodus 25:17-22 , the mercy seat was centralized in the tabernacle as part of the Holy of Holies and that is where God met with and spoke to His people. The author of Hebrews tells us that “the place where” earthly priests “serve is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary” (Heb. 8:5, NET). This means there is a mercy seat/atonement-lid in God’s heavenly realm. The tabernacle and later the temple were patterned after a “heavenly sanctuary,” and that is where Jesus performed His duties as High Priest.

And above the ark were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Now is not the time to speak of these things in detail. So with these things prepared like this, the priests enter continually into the outer tent as they perform their duties. But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the Holy Place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing. This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper. They served only for matters of food and drink and various ritual washings; they are external regulations imposed until the new order came.

But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation,and he entered once for all into the Most Holy Place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption.
Hebrews 9:5-12, NET

Jesus is the fulfillment of all those atonement sacrifices in the Old Testament and the final High Priest needed. We still keep the Day of Atonement as God commanded, but now instead of looking forward to the Messiah atoning for our sins we give thanks that Jesus serves as the only High Priest over God’s people and that the atonement He made on the heavenly mercy seat covers all sin for all time.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed. This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness.
Romans 3:23-26, NET

Meeting With God

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It’s significant that God chose to meet with His people from the mercy seat or atonement lid. It was so much a part of ancient Israel’s conception of God that He is frequently called the one who “sits enthroned above the cherubim” (1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2; 2 Kings 19:15; Psalm 80:1; 99:1; Isaiah 37:16).

Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the atonement lid that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim. Thus he spoke to him.
Numbers 7:89, NET

Remember, normal people couldn’t just walk in to see the Holy of Holies. God could choose to appear to people outside of this space (and occasionally did), but people couldn’t just waltz in whenever they wanted to have a talk with God. There were rules separating the holy and common, rules for who could enter the temple, and rules keeping everyone but the high priest from going in where the ark was kept and even he only went in once a year. Sin separates people from God (Is. 59:1-2) and it cannot be removed except by atonement sacrifice. When Jesus died, the veil in the temple ripped in half from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45).

Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.
Hebrews 4:14-16, NET

Access to God opened up at the moment Jesus made the ultimate atonement sacrifice as the propitiation for the sins of all people. Through Jesus’s atoning sacrifice, we can boldly approach God’s seat of mercy and grace whenever we want. We get to meet with God freely, going directly to the Father in prayer through the name of Jesus Christ. That is an incredible privilege and gift.

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Song Recommendation: “Mercy” by Casting Crowns

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Grace, Obedience, and Noah’s Ark

22 August, 2026

Almost a decade ago I wrote a blog post called “Grace to Build An Ark” inspired by a sermon I’d heard on grace. Even now, whenever I think of grace I think of the story of Noah.

Many Christians struggle to understand the relationship between grace and obedience, and between mercy and law. Some say that the law is done away with and grace is all that matters, while on the other extreme some say that law-keeping and obedience are the key to salvation. The story of Noah helps us understand that grace and mercy are linked with, not separate from, obedience to God’s commands.

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Received Grace

Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil. Yahweh was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart. Yahweh said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the surface of the ground—man, along with animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky—for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in Yahweh’s eyes.
Genesis 6:5-8, WEB

Verse 8 can also be translated, “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” The word “grace” or “favor” comes from the Hebrew word chen (H2580). In this context, the “expression ‘find favor [in the eyes of]’ is an idiom meaning ‘to be an object of another’s favorable disposition or action,’ ‘to be a recipient of another’s favor, kindness, mercy.’ The favor/kindness is often earned, coming in response to an action or condition” (NET translation note on Gen. 6:8). This might not sound like what you think of as “grace,” but it actually aligns with the New Testament well because “grace” was originally understood as part of a reciprocal covenant relationship.

The idea of “grace” as a free gift that God is obligated to give without having any expectations of the recipients was not originally part of the Greek language or of Christianity. Several centuries before Christ’s first coming and until at least the 4th century after, charis (the Greek word translated “grace” in the Bible) was understood as something that involved obligation and reciprocity ( Relational Grace: The Reciprocal and Binding Covenant of Charis, 2015, Brent Schmidt, ch. 2 and 3). This meaning infused Greek, Roman, Jewish, and later Christian society to the point that everyone knew “receiving charis implied entering into reciprocal covenantal relationships” (Schmidt, p. 63).

With that background, we can see the similarities between us and Noah. We live in a world full of people who don’t follow God, but God has offered us grace and a relationship with Him. This grace is not something we could earn and God offers it freely, but He does expect a specific response after He makes the offer.

Received Instruction

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Noah found favor/kindness/grace in the eyes of the Lord. God then moves to provide Noah with salvation, and He does it by giving Noah specific instructions to follow.

This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time. Noah walked with God. …

God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth. Make a ship of gopher wood. You shall make rooms in the ship, and shall seal it inside and outside with pitch. This is how you shall make it. …

Everything that is in the earth will die. But I will establish my covenant with you. You shall come into the ship, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. …

Thus Noah did. He did all that God commanded him.
Genesis 6:9, 13-15, 17-18, 22, WEB

God told Noah exactly how to build the ark and what to put in the ark. This is very much like what He does with us when He tells us what He expects from people who accept salvation through Jesus Christ. The salvation would not happen without God, yet at the same time He expects us to be active participants in the process of our salvation.

Learning about how God extended grace to Noah, brought salvation to him and his family, and expected obedience to His commands help us understand the similar process that God invites us into. Grace and salvation come to us through Jesus Christ, and we need to accept that salvation the way Noah did: by trusting God, listening to His instructions, and doing what He says.

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Featured image by Greg Reese from Pixabay

Song Recommendation: “Grace Upon Grace” by Matthew West

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New Book Announcement

12 August, 2026

I am so excited to announce my first Christian Historical Fiction book release (though if you’re subscribed to my newsletter or follow me on Facebook you already know about it). As some of you may know, I’ve written fiction for years but mostly only published my non-fiction. That is all changing on September 1 with the release of Down to the Sea.

Boston in 1699 is a haven for pirates, but only if they keep a low enough profile that the authorities can pretend not to notice. Unfortunately for Red Flag Raphe, he drew the wrong sort of attention. Executions for maritime crimes must happen in England, though, and the merchant who testified against him is sailing there on the same ship. With Raphe’s crew still at large, it is the perfect opportunity for escape and revenge.

Healer-in-training Miriam Nevell hopes this trip to England will help her father leave behind his dealings with pirates for good. It seems she can’t do the same, though, when harsh treatment of the condemned pirate traveling on the same ship prompts her to stand up to both the ship’s captain and her father.

Raphe hadn’t believed there was any genuine kindness left in this world. When his pirate crew and their allies arrive, Raphe vows that Miriam won’t suffer as a result of his rescue. Even if that means spending his entire fortune to ransom her and then coercing her into a hasty marriage that just might save her reputation or endanger both their hearts.

Preorder ebook on Amazon

Coming September 1, 2026. Down to the Sea will be available through sellers other than Amazon, but that is the only one with a live pre-order link so far. I will share links to other sellers as they become available.