Worship X Day 10 The Steadfast One: Digging Deeper

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

1) What constitutes “everything required for life and godliness” that God’s divine power has given us through knowing Him? (verse 3)
Sometimes I look at the way I currently am compared to the way I want to be, and get discouraged by the distance between the two. I start out diligent and purposeful in my endeavors to be like Jesus, but eventually, as an old song by Keith Green says, “I get so weary, worn and tossed ’round in the storm.” But we don’t need to be discouraged and exhausted when we remember the promise of God to give us everything we need to become like Him! Scripture doesn’t say that I need to do everything in my power to live a godly life and wear myself out in the process. (Galatians 2:20) God says HE has already given me access to everything I need to live a godly life through Jesus Christ. John Piper asserts that “God’s divine power flows into our lives when we know and trust His precious and very great promises. And this power flowing through these promises produces practice of godliness and the [sure hope] of life eternal.” Instead of relying on my own strength and capacity for goodness, which are quickly exhausted, I can connect to God’s power and grace to live like Jesus through the power of His Spirit. God does not promise to immediately make me a carbon copy of Himself when I trust in Him, but He gives me the tools I need to develop and exhibit genuine godliness. (Ephesians 4:15) When I fall short, He also provides the grace to try again (1 John 1:9) Instead of despairing that I will never be as I want to be, I can rejoice that God has provided everything I need to be more like Jesus.

2) How can we supplement our faith with all the attributes listed in verses 5-7?
When I became a Christian at age 5, I felt different immediately. My faith gave me joy and peace (Romans 15:13) and led me to deepen my relationship with God around age 10, when I began putting my belief into practice. As I read my Bible and prayed each day, I started doing what Peter teaches in 2 Peter 1:5-7, “supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” The first sign of growth as a Christian that I saw in my life was the change in my behavior to my little sister. We were only 15 months apart in age, and that closeness contributed to a deep friendship as well as some epic battles. Hair pulling, biting, name-calling, shoving and slapping ensued in our younger years, but by ages 9 and 10 we advanced to cutting remarks, pettiness, and arguing. The more I read God’s Word, prayed and asked Him to speak to me, the more I realized I needed to change the way I spoke to my kid sister. When I started apologizing after a fight or spoke gently, when in the past I spewed anger, my sister was incredulous. “What is wrong with you?” she would ask. My answer should have been that something was now right with me. I was cultivating the characteristics God desired in me, including brotherly love and self-control. I am still a work in progress (Philippians 3:12) in surrendering my will to Christ’s. When I feel I am making some headway in one area, God shines His revealing light on another area where He wants to help me grow in godliness. Jesus started a good work in me, and He is faithful to complete it! (Philippians 1:6)

3) How can we “confirm our calling and election” so as to never stumble? (verse 10)
Early in my Christian experience I realized this whole “God thing” that I professed to believe was actually real, and not just words on a page or meaningless traditions. I had been reading my Bible, praying and keeping a prayer journal as a young girl, trying to establish a relationship with God that was my own, distinct from my parents and church leaders. I don’t recall the passage I read, but I remember the excitement I felt as the words in the verses leaped out at me and resonated in my spirit, encouraging me and confirming to me that the Holy Spirit was speaking to me about His will for me and His love for me. (1 Corinthians 2:10) I was experiencing what Peter exhorts believers to do in 2 Peter 1:10 when he says to “make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.” I did not realize it, but I was confirming my calling and election by pursuing God, and seeking to understand His ways and follow them. The more I discovered that I could have a friendship with God (John 15:15) and that His Word is alive (Hebrews 4:12) and true (John 17:17), the more solid my faith in Him became. Later in college, I encountered people who doubted the veracity of Scriptures and a professor who taught the Bible as just another ancient book of mythology. I was able to question and investigate, to “test all things but hold on to what is good”. (1 Thessalonians 5:21) As I continue following God’s way, I come to an increasingly deeper understanding of what God has called me to do. Though I still choose sin sometimes, it is easier not to stumble when I am following the path He has laid out for me.

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