Friday, September 4

Effective Living: It is Possible

Intro:
Effective living is possible. We've all seen believers that do life well. Do they drink a holier brand of coffee in the morning?

More than likely they are not content with just being saved. More than likely they are adding to their faith and growing as they do it. More than likely they are taking God at his word.

Read: 2 Peter 1:3-9
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness 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 and escape 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, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, 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 if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Think:
Effective living is possible. God says it is.
1. God has provided everything we need for life and godliness (v. 3). What we need is what we have. Sometimes we WANT
2. God has given us access to His divine nature (v. 4). Not just power but real presence. We participate in God's very nature. The word means to partner or be a companion. It is like we are business partners in life.

Effective living is possible. Not everyone will experience it.
1. God has given access to His divine nature but some will not enter it. The Greek verb for "participate" is in the "mood of possibility". What that means is the possibility to enter God's divine nature is available but some believers will not take advantage of it. Weird to think that we have access to a million dollars but not spend any of it. How much worse is that with God's divine nature available to us right now.

2. We need to "add" to our faith (v. 5). This is what we have looked at for two weeks now. It is not enough to be saved, we need to add goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. They are added in succession ... one added to the next.

3. We need to increase in the qualities (v. 8). In the Christian life there is no such thing as taking a break. There is no room for stopping. This is a battle we must fight. This is a race we must win. If we stop we will not live effectively.

4. We must remember what God has done for us when we were saved (v. 9). Remembering that we have been cleansed from ALL we have ever done and remembering that we are loved by God no matter what will help us drive toward effective living. Gratefulness will be the mark of our lives and the motivation to keep us going.

Do:
Are you motivated to press into all that God has for you? Are you aware that you are in a partnership with God and that His divine nature is in you? Are you aware that you have EVERYTHING you need for effective living?

Please, on this long weekend talk with God about these things. Take time to reflect on God's cleansing of you. It doesn't matter how you feel. It matters if you are clean in God's eyes.

Take time to think about how much of God's nature you are experiencing on a regular basis.

Take time to understand where you are in the 7 Habits of Effective Living. Have you short circuited the growth process anywhere? Of the 7 habits that you are to add to your faith, where are you?

Take time to worship our awesome God this weekend.


DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

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