Wednesday June 1, 2011

Read 2 Peter 1:7

Often when I drive around I see unfinished buildings or half build houses that sit and rot away slowly as the elements take their toll. I wonder how each building came to its point of stagnancy. There must be a rather interesting story behind each building.

Unfortunately I also see many believers who are like those buildings. A good work was begun, a foundation was laid, but stagnancy has set in. Like those buildings, each believer must have a story to tell. Were they hurt by someone? Were they burnt by their church? Did something horrible go wrong? Did the lusts of the world lure them away?   Take heart and build upon your foundation as God has called us to do. (The following definitions are taken from ‘The Bible Exposition Commentary’).

The first quality of character Peter listed is goodness. It basically means “excellence.” To the Greek philosophers, it meant “the fulfilment of a thing.” When anything in nature fulfills its purpose, that is “virtue—moral excellence or goodness.” The word was also used to describe the power of the gods to do heroic deeds. The land that produces crops is “excellent” because it is fulfilling its purpose. The tool that works correctly is “excellent” because it is doing what a tool is supposed to do. A Christian is supposed to glorify God because he has God’s nature within; so, when he does this, he shows “excellence” because he is fulfilling his purpose in life. True virtue in the Christian life is not “polishing” human qualities, no matter how fine they may be, but producing divine qualities that make the person more like Jesus Christ.

Faith helps us develop goodness, and goodness helps us develop knowledge (2 Peter 1:5). The word translated “knowledge” in 2 Peter 1:2–3 means “full knowledge” or “knowledge that is growing.” The word used here suggests practical knowledge or discernment. It refers to the ability to handle life successfully. It is the opposite of being “so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly good!” This kind of knowledge does not come automatically. It comes from obedience to the will of God (John 7:17). In the Christian life, you must not separate the heart and the mind, character and knowledge.

Temperance  is the next quality on Peter’s list of spiritual virtues, and it means self-control. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city” (Proverbs 16:32). “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls” (Proverbs 25:28). Paul in his letters often compared the Christian to an athlete who must exercise and discipline himself if he ever hopes to win the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24–27; Philippians 3:12–16; 1 Timothy 4:7–8).

Patience is the ability to endure when circumstances are difficult. Self-control has to do with handling the pleasures of life, while patience relates primarily to the pressures and problems of life. (The ability to endure problem people is “long-suffering.”) Often, the person who “gives in” to pleasures is not disciplined enough to handle pressures either, so he “gives up.”   Patience is not something that develops automatically; we must work at it. James 1:2–8 gives us the right approach. We must expect trials to come, because without trials we could never learn patience. We must, by faith, let our trials work for us and not against us, because we know that God is at work in our trials. If we need wisdom in making decisions, God will grant that wisdom if we ask Him. Nobody enjoys trials, but we do enjoy the confidence we can have in trials that God is at work, causing everything to work together for our good and His glory.

Do you have these qualities? Are you growing them in your life? Are you building on that firm foundation of Christ Jesus? I pray that you are.

Prayer:-

V Itchin’4Stitching. Praise God for the consistency of ladies each month and their willingness to learn and sew quilts for the new Teen Challenge Girls facility.

V Read 1 John 1:9 and confess some of the bad choices you have made. Spend time rejoicing in Gods forgiveness and purification

V Pray that your brothers and sisters in the congregation would be making godly choices as well.