(A well-received post for Throwback Thursday!)

Thank You for the beautiful day, Father! May my words and actions reflect Your beauty in the world around me.

2 Peter 1:5-11 (<<click here)

Wow! These verses need to be read together but contain so much guidance! It will be interesting to see where You lead me, Lord.

Growing up in the church all my life I have witnessed, and I have lived out myself in times past, one very dangerous trait – complacency. According to dictionary.com, it is a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.

Peter’s directive here is verses 5-11 is anything but complacent! Faith is essential – it is foundational – in our relationship with You, Lord! My study Bible* does a wonderful job of summarizing these verses.

“Faith must be more than belief in certain facts; it must result in action, growth in Christian character, and the practice of moral discipline, or it will die away. Peter lists several of faith’s actions: learning to know God better, developing perseverance, doing God’s will, loving others. These actions do not come automatically: they require hard work. They are not optional; all of them must be a continual part of the Christian life. We don’t finish one and start on the next, but we work on them all together. God empowers and enables us, but he also gives us the responsibility to learn and to grow.” (emphasis mine)

Too many of us live outside of this non-optional zone. We must be about the work of God’s kingdom. Here’s another excellent quote for my study Bible, “Salvation does not depend on good deeds, but it results in good deeds.”

It is just too easy to “rest on our laurels.” The Cambridge English Dictionary defines that as “to be satisfied with your achievements and not to make an effort to do anything else”.

Lord, I had a lot of quotes this morning but they all clearly speak the truth. Enable me to be about Your work – to not be satisfied with “resting on my laurels” but may I have a burning desire to pursue You and everything that entails! Amen!

Mar 8th, 2017, Wed, 9:57 am