January 18, 2009 by Maria
The first time I was asked to speak in the Church at a women’s program – I was a teacher and could prepare a history lesson, but I had for sure never prepared a Bible lesson! The wise women I spoke to about this said to me that I would hear God give me a “word” to speak and I would know what to say -it would come from my heart.
I prayed and I prayed – nothing seemed to come – but one day as I was washing dishes, I heard these words in my spirit:
he has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
I didn’t know that this was even a passage in the Bible, but I looked it up in the concordance and of course it was there in 2 Peter the 1st chapter – and hence I had a scripture to base my first message on. It’s been that way ever since –
This particular chapter has significance not only because it was my first, but also because it is a word that I need to constantly be reminded of – particularly when it says – :”if you do these things, you will never fail”
I’m not into failure – (although admittedly I had my share). As an educator it grieves me when I find a subject that I can’t tackle – so too in my life…
So at times when I feel this sense of failure I return to 2 Peter 1 and re-read it to see where I have missed it – where I could have missed God!
The newer versions sometimes help to uncover even faster my impasse –
The Message Bible says:
3-4Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.
5-9So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic 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. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet; no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.
10-11So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The One Light in a Dark Time
12-15Because the stakes are so high, even though you’re up-to-date on all this truth and practice it inside and out, I’m not going to let up for a minute…. 2 Peter 1:3 – 12 (emphases mine)
God has given us a roadmap – He doesn’t want us to wander around in the dark trying to mysteriously figure out what His plan is for our lives. It starts with realizing that we must come to God, to save us from an eternity in hell – and it ends with us realizing that (the stakes are so high (vs. 12) that we need to be reminded that a life of virtue and godliness will keep us from a living hell while here on earth!
Yes, it’s all there – we are neither alone on our journey or without help – HE HAS GIVEN US ALL THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO LIFE — AND TO GODLINESS – sometimes we have to ADD TO…faith plus good character; good character plus spiritual understanding, plus spiritual discipline, plus passionate patience, plus…plus….plus…
The good news is, IF we do these things – we will never fail!
Drilled in the scientific method all of my schooling, that is my kind of formula -one that will always work!