NLC Devotion Take Two - 12/26/23

Add to your faith

How can you tell if something is growing?

a couple a years ago my wife decided to turn our breakfast nook into a plant room...

Theres this one plant she has that she got from a friend…

it is now a little smaller than a dinner plate, I’ve helped repot it 3 times...

She has other plants that droop when they need water...

Today I want to talk to the Christians in the room, cause that's who Peter is talking to in this passage.

2 Peter 1:1–16 GW

From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ.  To those who have obtained a faith that is as valuable as ours, a faith based on the approval that comes from our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.  May good willand peace fill your lives through your knowledge about Jesus, our God and Lord!  God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and for godliness. This power was given to us through knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and integrity. Through his glory and integrity he has given us his promises that are of the highest value. Through these promises you will share in the divine nature because you have escaped the corruption that sinful desires cause in the world.  Because of this, make every effort to add integrity to your faith; and to integrity add knowledge; to knowledge add self-control; to self-control add endurance; to endurance add godliness; to godliness add Christian affection; and to Christian affection add love. If you have these qualities and they are increasing, it demonstrates that your knowledge about our Lord Jesus Christ is living and productive. If these qualities aren’t present in your life, you’re shortsighted and have forgotten that you were cleansed from your past sins. Therefore, brothers and sisters, use more effort to make God’s calling and choosing of you secure.  If you keep doing this, you will never fall away. Then you will also be given the wealth of entering into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Therefore, I will always remind you about these qualities, although you already know about them and are well-grounded in the truth that you now have. As long as I’m still alive, I think it’s right to refresh your memory. I know that I will die soon. Our Lord Jesus Christ has made that clear to me. So I will make every effort to see that you remember these things after I die.  When we apostles told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we didn’t base our message on clever myths that we made up. Rather, we witnessed his majesty with our own eyes.

I want to talk about growth as a christian and what that looks like...

No formulas… just forms.

We have what we need.

it is available because of Christ.

Do you know his promises? that’s how we avoid corruption.

search out his promises and keep them.

Here is the list:

Why do we need to add to our faith?

Because fruit is the purpose of our faith.

fig tree, James, fruits of the spirit… Milk to meat… we should be growing like a child taking measurements on a door frame

So are these things growing in you?

if not, Peter gives us the answer… we have forgotten the cleansing power of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So I want tot end with the gospel… Because we all need it. the Christians in this room, the ones that are growing and the ones that are not… the non Christians in this room, that haven’t embraced what he has done for you yet.