Tag Archives: discipleship

How to enjoy life to the full -- on earth and in Heaven
Reading:

Matthew 19:16-30

I’ve got to hand it to Jesus — He just didn’t come across as “seeker friendly” all the time. The event recorded in this passage could be among the exhibits portraying that truth. So I remind myself of this tidbit in Mark’s record: “Then Jesus beholding him loved him” (Mark 10:21). Continue reading →

The "secret" of vigorous stability and victorious strength
Reading:

2 Peter 1:8-11

I made some observations about verses 8 and 9 yesterday, but I wanted some of verse 10’s wherefore context here.

  1. 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.
  2. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
  3. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
  4. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Peter repeats several already-familiar themes in verses 10 and 11: diligence, these things, furnishing, and abundance. (If you haven’t read my previous three entries, you might want to start with the first one: Effects of Knowing Jesus.)

To avoid the idle worthlessness and blind forgetfulness that come from not abounding in “these things” (2 Peter 1:8,9), I must prioritize securing my vocation and election. I must also remember, though, that both of them are the work and gift of Jesus, who dwells in me.

These Things
2 Peter 1:5-7

virtue
knowledge
self dominion
endurance
piety
brotherly affection
charity

If I do “these things,” I will never fall! Vigorous stability and victorious strength come from faithfulness in “these things.” So let me treasure them, pursue them, and nurture them. Thus would Christ Continue reading →