September 11, 2018

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

It's that dreaded day again.

We will find ourselves conflicted once more. A big part of us would like to forget that it happened and yet we discover it changed us forever, so that's impossible.

If you haven't already, you will be deluged with the horrifying videos of the planes hitting the towers, the thick black smoke billowing from the gaping holes in the twin towers, the people jumping and then the buildings crumbling.

I don't know about you, but I feel much the same emotions now that I had seventeen years ago.

The most enduring images for me will always be those brave firemen and rescue workers running in when panicked people were running out.

When you think of that image you will have a good understanding of what Peter is saying in this verse.

"Make every effort" literally means "bend every energy".

"Bend every energy" toward what? Toward adding goodness to your faith!

What does that mean exactly?

The idea behind "adding" means to support something you believe in, like patrons in ancient Greece would contribute to the actors and producers of the Greek dramas. It is literally putting your money "where your mouth is".

So, Peter is saying that if we have faith we must support it by displaying "goodness".

The word used for "goodness" could be translated "virtue" or "excellence" or "moral courage". So, faith is expressed when we have the "moral courage" to do what God says is right no matter what the situation.

Faith is remembering that God has given us "everything we need for life and godliness" when we are confronted with a moral decision to choose the good God desires or do what is easy.

That is why these brave heroes exemplified goodness during that tragic event. Because they had faith in their training and believed in the goodness of their cause, they made every effort to fulfill their mission.

Today, I will be dwelling on that challenge as I view the videos again and again.

September 10, 2018

"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;" I Peter 1:1-5

I am blessed with a wonderful mother. She does many things well but one thing she does best is cook! Since she raised seven of us she learned to cook for big groups. After shopping for the food and bringing it home and cooking the meal and setting the table she call us when it was ready, "Come and get it!"

Everything had been done by her for us but she was not about to bring the meal to us, that is the one thing we had to do for ourselves. "Come and get it", she would call and she never had to call me twice!

That is like Peter in these verses. When he says, "Make every effort" he is in effect saying, "Come and get it!"

He takes great care and delight in detailing the marvelous things God has prepared for us through His Son, Christ Jesus. According to Peter, God has given us "very great and precious promises" and He has given us "everything we need for a godly life". After doing so and explaining it, in verse 5 it is as though He says, "Come and get it!"

Just like my mother, He will pay the price and do all the preparation to make a great spiritual feast available and He invites you to the table BUT He won't force feed you. It is up to you to come and get it! That is the effort you have to make!

Even now, as I write these words, I remember the many times I answered the call of "Come and get it"! Gladly I would make the effort to hurry to the table to enjoy the delicious dishes she had lovingly prepared for us! In view of all she had done for us responding to her call and coming to the table wasn't much of an effort - but it WAS an effort! The greater effort was usually pushing away from the table!

In the same way, we should welcome the call to enjoy all that God has provided for us - "everything we need" - and with great joy "make every effort" to "come and get it"!

September 9, 2018

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

You probably remember your first real crush when you were young. It was intense! I think "crush" is the right word for it!

I love the story about the young fellow who found himself head over heels for a young lady. She was all he could think of and when he did think of her his heart rate went up exponentially! He couldn't wait to be with her and when he was with her and when he was with her hours became like seconds! And he was pretty sure she felt the same way about him! Life was wonderful!

He was thinking of her one afternoon at work when he really should have been working. As it usually happened, when he thought of her he became overwhelmed by her so he sent her this email:

I adore you, my Love! I would climb the highest mountain to be with you! I would swim the deepest sea if it separated us! I would wade through a swamp infested with snakes and alligators in order to be near to you! There is nothing that could separate me from your love! And, by the way, I will be over tonight if it doesn't rain.

Hmmm! That's sort of a mixed message wouldn't you say?

Do you suppose that response planted a little bit of doubt in her mind about his professed devotion to her?

I'm not seeing "gazelle intensity" there!

That makes me wonder, "Do I ever send a mixed message to God? Do I stand in worship service caught up in the atmosphere of the music and sing songs of commitment and devotion that essentially say you will do anything for Him?" Only to bail out on Him when it gets tough?

"Make every effort" means I must go out in the rain or whatever is required to be obedient to God. Faith means believing that He can strengthen me and sustain me in any circumstance to which He calls me into. Unless and until I am willing to crawl out of my comfort zone I my faith will never have a chance to grow. The fact is that faith is dynamic, it isn't static. If my faith doesn't stretch and grow, it shrinks and weakens.

God forgive me for my mixed messages. Give me faith to go out in the rain.

September 8, 2018

^"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith......." II Peter 1:5a

We know the reasons for giving every effort to building our faith, what we're not sure of is why we don't.

When we think of all that God has done for us, why would we not make every effort?

When we consider everything that Jesus suffered and sacrificed for us, why would we not make every effort?

Considering all that God has made available for us through our faith, why would we not make every effort?

Could it be a lack of desire that keeps us from making every effort toward faith? If so, what is that we desire more?

Could it be a lack of devotion that keeps us from making every effort toward faith? If that is true, then what is it we are more devoted to?

Perhaps it is a lack of discipline that keeps us from making every effort toward faith? Discipline means saying no to non-faith things in order to say yes to faith. And discipline means continuing to say no to the wrong things and yes to faith things.

Making every effort requires a desire for faith, a devotion to faith and a discipline toward faith.

What do you desire more than you desire faith?

What are you devoting yourself to more than faith?

Where do you need to be more disciplined?

September 7, 2018

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

Glenda and Robert Lennon were four miles off the coast of Florida fishing alone from their yacht. Glenda decided to take a swim and soon found the current had carried her too far out from the boat. Her husband, hearing her cries, without thinking dove in and swam to her, but then realized they were both being carried out. He was a champion swimmer, but not she. They made a plan. He would swim against the tide to keep the boat in view until the tide ceased and he could reach the boat. She should save her strength and just float with the tide and he would come and get her. He fought the tide for six hours and just as the boat was about to disappear on the horizon the tide turned and his strokes carried him to the boat exhausted. The sun had set. His searching was futile—he could not find his wife. The next day on one last effort of search, the search party found his wife—twenty miles out and still alive. It was an incredible story.

What it illustrates is this: Christians who just float never stay in the same place. Christians who disobey verses 5 - and beyond - do not apply themselves with diligence to grow and bear the fruit of faith drift into great peril. We must strive even to stand still, the tide of temptation is so strong.

Robert Lennon survived this ordeal because he made every effort to swim against the tide and stay within range of his boat. And when he had spent all of his strength to make progress against the tide - the tide shifted and carried him to his rescue!

As a result of his persistent effort to swim against the tide, not only was he rescued BUT his wife also was rescued!

When Peter urges these believers to "make every effort" to add to their faith he is encouraging them to swim against the tide - the tide of temptation, the tide of apathy, the tide of discouragement, the tide of doubt - any of which will cause them to drift from the safety and security of a relationship with Christ.

Should they be lost or set adrift they would not be able to rescue others.

How about you? Are you swimming or are you drifting? Are you making progress against the tides of opposition or are you being pulled under by them?

"Make every effort to add to your faith....."

September 6, 2018

^"For this very reason, make every effort......." II Peter1:5a

Let me ask you a question, "What sort of an effort did Jesus make for you?"

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;  rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!" Colossians 2:5-8

That sounds like He made every effort!

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry." Matthew 4:1-2

Wow! That sounds like a committed effort!

"He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.^"  Luke 22:41-44

That sure sounds like a total effort to me!

^"As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.  When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews. Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him."  Matthew 27:32-44

Jesus gave His all until the very end. His entire life was characterized by total effort!

"Therefore, make every effort......"

Are you making every effort to grow in grace?

How does your effort compare to His?

September 5, 2018

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

A woman was preparing to fix a roast for a dinner party she would be hosting. Her teen-aged daughter, who was helping her, watched as her mother cut several inches off each end of the roast prior to putting it in the pan.

"Mom," the daughter asked, "Why did you cut the end of the roast off?"

"Because I always do it," Mother replied.

"But why do you do it?"

"Well, I don't know. I guess I do it because my mother always did it"

"Why don't you call grandma and asked her why she always cut the ends off her roasts," the daughter urged.

"Good Idea!" said the mother as she picked up the phone and dialed the number, "Hello, mother, it is Betty. I have a question to ask you."

"Hi, Honey! What can I do for you?" answered the grandmother.

"I am preparing a roast and I just cut an inch from each end of the roast and Jenny asked me why I did it and I said it was because you always did. Why did you do that, mom?"

"Well, Honey, that is easy! I only had an 8" pan!" she replied, "I don't know why you do it!"

It is important to understand why you do the things you do. Granted, cutting the end off a roast is not a deal-breaker but it illustrates a bigger point of having a purpose for what you do.

As Peter challenges believers to grow spiritually he confronts them with this very truth. God has provided everything needed to become godly but it won't happen accidentally or casually. He urges, "Make every effort".

Are you making every effort to develop your faith?

Are you taking responsibility for your spiritual growth?

Are you living on purpose?

Is discipleship your top priority?