Saturday, September 15, 2012

September 16, 2012

"Make every effort to add to your faith goodness" II Peter 1:5a

Peter spent the first four verses setting the table with all the great things God has prepared for His people. Wow! What a feast!
 
And then in verse 5 it is as though he yells, "Come and get it!"
 
To get it will require devotion.
 
Will you devote yourself to receiving the good things God has for you?
 
Further, Peter declares that you are not to be satisfied with those good things but God has more in store!
 
"Add to your faith", he urges.
 
What that means is, "Support or cooperate with God".
 
That is a call for desire.
 
Do desire more of what you have received from God? Do you desire it more than you desire anything else?
 
So the question then becomes, "What do I add to my faith and how do I know when I have it?"
 
"Add to your faith goodness"!
 
Goodness means "virtue" or "moral courage".
 
The way you know you have added to your faith is when you find yourself facing temptations and trials with moral courage - the courage to do good!
 
Maintaining His goodness and living with moral courage requires devotion and desire AND discipline. Discipline means saying  "no" to anything that is inconsistent with the goodness of God so you can say "yes" to things pertaining to goodness.
 
Are you living a disciplined life? Are you committed to maintaining your moral courage?
 
What a great hope you have in Christ! You can have everything to need to live a godly life and escape the corruption of this evil world. But it will take devotion and it will take desire and it will take discipline.
 
Do you have what it takes?
 
 
 
 
 
 

September 15, 2012

"For this reason make every effort to add to your faith goodness" II Peter 1:5a

Did you add anything to your faith yesterday?

Will you add to your faith today?

Do you know how?

Peter says, "Devote yourself to adding goodness to your faith". What does that really mean?
 
The word used for "add" is an interesting word. It is not used often in the New Testament but it has to do with supporting the arts in Greek culture. The Greeks as still remembered for their "Greek Tragedies" which were written and acted on the stage. In order to make those plays financially possible there were wealthy people who donated generous amounts of money to support the playwrights, the actors and the productions. Through their giving they "added" those cultural events to their community.
 
So, if you want to add to your faith you must lend generous support to what God wants to produce in your life.
 
That speaks of desire. Have you noticed how you manage to support the things you desire the most?
 
I desire to honor God so I give the tithe to Him. And I desire a good reputation so I support my creditors and pay my bills. And I desire to support my golf habit so I set aside money for that!
 
Do you desire to add to your faith?
 
Support the work that God wants to do in your heart today. Make time to bring your desires into alignment with His.