3His 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. 4 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.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:3-11

I was reminded recently that our testimonies are not for us, they are for sharing with others, that even those parts of our lives that we would like to hide have a usefulness in growing God’s Kingdom. Today, I’m surrendering my testimony to God’s use:

For many years my relationship with God was very passive on my part. I wasn’t in His Word or in church or in prayer much either. When good things came I was grateful and when bad things came I was disappointed, confused, angry, and/or heartbroken.

For many years, I failed to make a connection between my actions and attitude and the promises that I knew God makes to those who believe on Him.

As I reflect, I reminded of something that Beth Moore once wrote about in a study called “The Quest”; she noted that there are two reasons a child of God experiences failure:

1. They lack knowledge about God’s truth and promises.
2. They are being deceived by the world.

Looking back on my late teens through my early 30s, I see where one or both of those reasons applies to the cause of my own failure, stress, heartache, etc…

In those times that I thought God had forgotten about me, I had actually forgotten about Him.

Rereading 2 Peter 1:3-11, it is clear to me that in those years of struggle I was not making an effort to respond to God’s promises, in part because I had abandoned my study of them and didn’t know what many of His promises were, and in part because I had fallen for the world’s lies and been deceived into thinking that it didn’t matter what I did because God loved me.

In recent years, I’ve come to realize that that last part is the greatest and most successful lie that the enemy tells believers – “It’s ok to live however you want because God loves you.” That’s an insidious one because it has a bit of truth in; the enemy is very good at telling half truths to get us to fall in line with his thinking.

You see, God does love us very, very much – more than we’re likely to fully understand this side of eternity – but God ( those words), God also has expectations for us, high expectations, because we are His children.

As noted in verses 5-7 of 2nd Peter chapter 1, God’s promises are more easily realized when we make an effort:

• to be morally excellent,
• to be knowledgeable of Him,
• to use that knowledge to learn self control
• to self-control to grow patient endurance
• to use patience endurance as we pursue godliness (it’s a life long marathon after all)
• to grow closer to God to love Him and love other people better.

When we focus purposely on developing these traits we put ourselves in a better position to see God’s gifts and receive them.

For example, it’s difficult to have peace if we aren’t seeking to be morally excellent. If we have sin in our lives, then we also have conflict between our will and God’s will and probably conflict between us and other people as conflict and peace cannot coexist.

If we don’t build patient endurance, then we are short sighted and give up on God’s plans before they come to fruition, before we have seen the joy and wonder He has set up for us.

If we do not have love, then what do we have?

Bitterness, resentment, condescension?

Those are not the pathway to anything good.

Thinking on 2 Peter 1, it becomes very clear me that to fully receive all that God has promised me, I have to stay free of the chains that He broke when He saved my soul. I have to endeavor, daily, to become who He made me to be and I can become that best version of me, not perfect, but the best I can be because God has already given me a great gift – Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit helps me understand God’s Word which gives me the knowledge to become more morally excellent. Holy Spirit grants me patience, increases my compassion, convicts me and pulls me back to Christ when I begin to stray, showers me with peace and comfort and joy when I am on the right track or in need of encouragement.

Beloved, God truly has given us everything we could ever need to be the person He desires us to be, to fully realize the great gifts He has in store for us both in this world and in eternity.

The question is, “Will we actively seek them by seeking Him, or will we settle for the smoke and mirrors of this world, the temporary gains and pleasures that fade and leave us searching again for the next “big thing”?”.

I’ve made my choice to faithfully follow Jesus and what a difference that choice has made! There’s no greater joy, peace, comfort, or love that I have ever found than that offered by the One who made us.

I read recently that faithfulness is “long obedience in the same direction”.

I encourage you this morning to actively seek God with long obedience in all things, at all times, and experience the difference it brings in your heart, your worldview, your quality of living.

Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world and I am so very thankful, more thankful every day for Him!