I noticed some strange signs along the way today. I really shouldn't call anything strange anymore now that the journey has started. The Lord has led our family a long way and, I believe, has more plans just around the bend.
So I happen to be driving along I-40 in west Texas and happen to look over at a semi truck I was passing. It was part of a company that is in Everett, Washington. It had the name Everett on the side of it.
Then later I passed a road sign in New Mexico. I'll let it speak for itself.
I am currently camping at a campground that is up against a large mountain outside of Flagstaff. It is about 40 right now and is predicted to get down to 27 tonight. I will be bundled up tightly.
Here's what God said this morning:
2 Peter 1:4-10
And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self- control, and self- control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.
I've been listening to an outstanding audiobook by Francis Chan called "Multiply." It is all about disciple making and how the church has gotten away from Jesus's command to "go and make disciples of all nations," with church members actively delegating that to the ministerial staff of the church and excusing themselves from it. What's wrong with this idea? Jesus gave a COMMAND to all of us, not just to certain people. It isn't optional.
I believe Peter said it very well in the passage above. The Lord has given us some wonderful promises. In turn, we are to share the Good News with everyone. What exactly is the Good News? Of course it deals with salvation offered freely by grace, but there is more to it that we sometimes don't give proper attention to. When we are in Christ, we are a new creation. The old is gone; the new has come. What does that mean for our time in this world? While it won't always be pretty or nice or fun, we CAN live differently than the rest of mankind, with the inner joy and peace that the Spirit gives. We can, with His help, get out of addictions, struggles, and overall bad habits and can live as someone who is made new. If that isn't Good News, I don't know what is. And this is all possible because of Jesus and his free offer of salvation to us.
So Peter took it a few steps further. He said "supplement your faith with..." and filled in a lot of things. These are things we can actively work on, with the Holy Spirit's help, and these things make us better human beings and better representatives of Jesus to the world around us. So our challenge as believers is to work on these specific things.
Are you self-controlled in all things?
Are you patient in enduring all situations?
Do you have that quality that is referred to as "godliness?"
Do you love your neighbors as much as you love yourself? Yes, all of your neighbors!
It says that the more you grow in these areas, the more useful you will be. This is referring to your use in His kingdom! That's what this life is really all about.
These are the things I have been thinking about today, and will consider them from inside of my cold tent tonight!
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