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A Devotional Styled Study of 2 Peter

I'm posting the missing parts of my series on 2 Peter in four parts. So if you enjoy these you can go back and finish the rest. It is my hope that you will benefit from this study I wrote years ago. Enjoy!
 2 Peter, Verses 1-4
1 Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:  
Welcome to my devotional study of 2 Peter. Hopefully those that read this devotional will be blessed as we open up God's word. I will attempt to explain the text when I feel like that is required, but I will also make comments, offer commentary, and give insight as I do my own personal study on this book. I fully understand that I may make errors as I go through, and I welcome discussions and correction if needed. Here we go.
As we read this letter, we should be aware of the context. Peter is most likely writing this from a Roman prison and most likely written shortly before his execution. So, this would be Peter's last words to the Christians. I wonder what I would write if I knew I was going to die tomorrow and had one chance to get my final thoughts out. Knowing that these are Peter's final words helps me to get a sense of the importance of this letter.
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  
Peter here does not mean to differentiate God, and Jesus. Apparently, in the original language, the words used for God and Jesus refer to the same thing, namely His divine power (v3). It is truly comforting to know that, as Christians, we have everything we need to live a Godly life. Peter describes this power as coming through "true knowledge of God." This phrase sets the tone for the rest of the letter. Peter's final words are mostly concerned with the preservation of the true message of God.
4 For by these (His own glory and excellence) He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
This verse is a marvelous depiction of what happens to us when we become a Christian. It is important to know that he is not saying that we become a god, but that we get a taste of the divine when we are "born again" into a new life in Christ. This new birth allows us to escape the fallen (corrupt) world. A lot of meat in this opening statement, but we'll press on...
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