Starting a New Year can be refreshing or overwhelming. Whichever state you find yourself in—keep in mind God’s promises of faithfulness and grace.
- Faithfulness
God’s faithfulness is like no other—always true and never-changing. The most impacting reality for me in 2013 is summed up in a single statement “It is against God’s character to be unfaithful.” God can never be unfaithful—He’s not capable—it’s not even in Him! This absolutely is a truth to keep in the forefront of our heart and life. - Grace
God’s grace works in our life as unseen force—divine help—assisting us in loving Him wholeheartedly and making Him Lord of our life.
2 Peter 1:5-7 reminds us that our heart and soul must be intentional in responding to the promises of God,
Make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Add to your faith a generous provision of moral excellence, to moral excellence—knowledge, to knowledge—self control, to self-control—patient endurance, to patient endurance—godliness, to godliness—brotherly affection and to brotherly affection—love.
We respond by making an effort to integrate these virtues into our life. The reason we need to respond to God’s promises is found in verse 8,
For if you posses these qualities and they abound in you, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The above truth should grip our heart with both urgency and gratefulness. Urgency, because we have no desire to be barren and unfruitful in knowing God. And grateful because in His faithfulness He gives us the keys—the answers—on the how of having a fruitful relationship with Him. What’s more He doesn’t just tell us what to do and leave us to figure it out, but provides divine help (grace) to incorporate these qualities into our heart and life. You’ve got to love Him!
Verse 9 goes on to say what we will be like if we choose not to pursue and posses these virtues,
For those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted, even to blindness, forgetting that they are cleansed from old sins.
One of the things I love about God, is the way He’s always looking after us. The reason He doesn’t want us to be barren or unfruitful in our relationship with Him is because He cares for us. He knows the amazing blessed life we can live when our relationship with Him is prioritized and in tact.
Please be encouraged to intentionally respond to the promises of God by fortifying your heart, soul and life with the virtues listed in 1 Peter 1:5-7—remembering the greatest of these is love!
Happy New Year!
2 Peter 1:5-11
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
THIRSTY? 