Scriptures: 2 Peter 1 v 1 - 11.
Our goal is to obtain the same quality of faith that the
original apostles had through the righteousness of God. The apostles knew Jesus
personally and were witnesses to His life, death, resurrection and ascension.
We enter into a personal relationship with Jesus by faith in His ability and
also by faith in the experiences of His followers.
God's righteousness is perfect. There is not one blemish
on Him. Many blame Him for things going wrong in this world but don't realize
that Satan is the god of this world and the one who brings evil things upon us.
He is a destructive force that hates God and His Creation and we have been
rescued out of his control into the hands of Jesus Christ.
His divine power has given us everything we need to reach
His level of right standing. We have great promises that make us partakers of
the divine nature of Jesus to which we must add virtue, knowledge, self
control, patience, holiness and kindness. These are areas we need to work on in
our lives. If we succeed in doing this we will never fail.
But if we fail to do this we will fall short of the goal
because we do not understand how important it is to stop gambling with our
eternal life. We can lose our place in Heaven if we don't work daily on
perfecting our virtues. In Revelation 3 v 5 Jesus says that those who overcome
sin will be clothed in the white robes of righteousness and He will not blot
our names out of the book of life, but He will confess the names of those who
overcome before His Father and the holy angels.
Jesus makes it easy for us to grow in grace and works
with us to achieve patience, kindness and faith. He teaches us how to overcome
sinful habits and become pure in our thoughts and lifestyles. So don't let Him down - make a commitment to
give Him as much as He has given you. His life.