2 Peter 1:5-8

I still have 2 Peter rolling around in my mind. I am still listening to the same 2 or 3 sermons and I swear I hear something different every time I listen to it. Is that possible or I'm just weird?

I hope this doesn't come out as random thoughts that don't make much sense. There is so much that I have heard and I just want to share some of the highlights.

Let me remind you of the verses...

2 Peter 1:5-8

"For this reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

And remember I am sharing things I heard from the sermon...not trying to plagiarize!

The verse starts out with the phrase "for this reason"... Well, what reason....for the "reason" you have to go back to verse 3 which says that as Christians we have absolutely everything we need because of HIS divine power that resides within us. I think too often I forget that. I get scared about issues that come up, I worry way too much, I try to fix things, and I over analyze things. I just need to slow my mind down and remember that God is with me all the time and I have everything I need at all times.

These verses talk about character qualities that I should pursue. Actually the Bible says that I should make EVERY EFFORT to pursue these qualities so I will not be ineffective or unfruitful in my Christian walk. That thought led me to this question...am I working really hard, making every effort, being diligent in my character development and letting God change me from the inside out? Some days I am, some days I'm not. I work hard at a lot of things, but the most important thing that I can pursue is being a godly person and getting to know my Savior. That will affect everything else...the kind of wife I will be, the kind of marriage Gene and I will have, the kind of mother I will be, the kind of woman I will be, and the kind of friend I will be. Character is pretty important, don't you think?

Think about what you pursue with all of your heart. If you are a believer, is it God? Is it letting Him mold you and change you from the inside out? We have the promise of the Holy Spirit living inside of us and because we "are partakers of the divine nature" we can be different. We can each become a man or woman after God's own heart. That excites me! I get to change. I get to become a better person. It isn't that I "have to" change, but I honestly want to change. I have some strongholds in my life. Worry is a big one for me and I want to lay it down. I want to trust God more and live His way.

What about you? Do you think things like this....
Do I HAVE to forgive that person?
Do I HAVE to submit to my husband?
Do I HAVE to apologize to my child for losing my temper?
Do I HAVE to quit drinking?
Do I HAVE to stop smoking?
Do I HAVE to stay with my spouse?
Do I HAVE to lay down this addiction?
Won't I still get into heaven?

Or, do you think Praise God I GET TO forgive that person. I GET TO submit to my husband. I GET TO apologize to my child....etc, etc. I "get to" because of the divine nature within me and because I am making every effort to become a stronger woman of God. Of course, I will fall off course again and so will you. That's because we live in a fallen world and none of us are perfect. But, I want to make sure that I don't quit because I blow it from time to time. Because of the grace of God and His forgiveness I can became even stronger in spite of my mistakes.

Think back to the character qualities listed....I get to be a faithful, virtuous, knowledgeable, self-controlled, steadfast, godly person who genuinely loves other people because I can...all because of the power that is at work within me. I love that!

In my next entry, I am going to talk about each character quality and how they should be shown in my life. Convicting stuff!

On a side note, I took Gracen to her 1 year well visit today and she received a clean bill of health. She is 22 lbs. and 29 inches long, placing her in the 50th percentile. Her urine sample was perfectly clear so that means that so far the preventive antibiotic is working. She only recieved one shot and only cried for a minute or two. She stopped as soon as I handed her a cookie. She may look like Gene, but she has my sweet tooth. The cookie made her smile.