"By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him." (2 Peter 1:3) And where can I get to know Him? By reading His Word and listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit. "And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises." We are asked to build upon what He has given us - "complement faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others." (verse 5-7 from The Message). Alert discipline and passionate patience - an interesting choice of words for self-control and preseverence - puts a different perspective to it. The more I grow in this way, the more productive I will be. I need to submit to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to continually work in my life to make me more like Jesus.
In Hebrews 10 it talks about perseverence in the faith. "So let's do it - full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps His word." We are asked to encourage one another in love and good works and gather together to worship as the day of His return draws nearer. I am encouraged by this passage and hope that it encourages others. Thank you Lord for your unfailing love for me and I can depend on you to keep your promises in whatever situation I find myself in.
1 comment:
Alert discipline and passionate patience - I love that wording. Alert means always aware and watching for. Passionate - wow I can't say I am passionatly patient. Passionate seems like such a positive word and I don't often find patience something I experience with a positive attitude. I'm going to work on having passionate patience this week.
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