These Things

2 Peter 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Whatever "These Things" are, they must be pretty great because they promise that we will always bear fruit. This, after all, is the goal of our Heavenly Father – John 15:1-2. It’s also proof of our faith in Him – Luke 6:43-44.

If “These Things" can guarantee that we will always be fruitful, that we will always have spiritual discernment, that we will never doubt our  salvation, and that we will never fall as a Christian, we need to know what they are.

2 Peter 1:5-7 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;] And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

We can’t do “These Things” on our own. We need to daily seek the Lord and ask Him to help us with all of them. He will if we let Him.

Hope For Tomorrow

On the eve of His death, standing in the shadow of Calvary, Jesus takes  time to encourage His Disciples. Were their hearts troubled? Indeed they were. He has just told them of His impending death.

John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so , I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Thank God, there is hope for tomorrow. The preparation for a place in the Heavenly City is for all believers. We will dwell in the Father’s House with the Father and His Son Jesus. We will be free from sin, sorrow, and suffering.

Try as I might, I could never adequately describe the glories of that place. I think Paul summed it up  pretty well.

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

God's Glory And Grace

Ephesians 3:17-19 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

It doesn’t fall to us to make the Christian life happen. We are to yield to the Lord. When we do, His power transcends our weakness and enables us to live for Him and to accomplish great things for His glory.

If we talk about Jesus, preach about Jesus, sing about Jesus, praise the name of Jesus, and be head over heels in love with Jesus, God will be glorified by our lives.

We will never grasp the fulness of God’s glory and grace in this life. But one day our bodies and  minds will be glorified. When that happens we will understand Him. Then we will glorify Him throughout the ages for His grace in our lives.

Our Rock And Shelter

Absalom, David’s son, is dead. He and his men were trying to kill King David and take his throne. He was fleeing from David’s men when the mule he was riding passed under a low limb. His hair got entangled in the tree and the mule rode off leaving him hanging there kicking in the air.

Joab, David’s general, found Absalom and, ignoring the clear command of David, killed the young rebel, 2 Sam. 18. David’s heart is breaking as he cries out to God.

Psalm 61:2-3 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

Instead of facing the trials of life in your own power, cry out to the Lord, the Rock that is higher than you. Look to Him to shelter you from the storms coming your way.

Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Psalm 46:3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.