Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

June 29
Sunday


FOCUS ON
THE PROCESS

READ:
2 Peter 1:2-11
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If these things are
yours and abound, you
will be neither barren
nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
__2 Peter 1:8
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In William Zinser's book On Writing Well, he says that many writers suffer from "the tyranny of the final product." They are so concerned with selling their article or book, they neglect learning the process of how to think, plan, and organzie. A jumbled manuscript, Zinsser believes, is produced when "the writer, his eye on the finish line, never gave enough thought to how to run the race."

Author and minister A. W. Tozer applies that principle to our spiritual lives. In his book The Root of the Righteous, Tozer describes our tendency to be "concerned only with the fruit...[and] ignore the root out of which the fruit sprang."

The apostle Peter reminded first-century believers that Christlike living and effective service result from a process. He urged them to grow in eight areas of spiritual development: faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (2 Peter 1:5-7). If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, peter said, "you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v.8).

God calls us to a wonderful process of learning to know Him, with the assurance that it will lead to productive service in His name and for His honor. __David McCasland

````````````````lord, so often we want complete and perfect solutions``````````````````
`````````````````here and now. But You work graciously in Your good``````````````````
``````````````````time. Let Your goodness and patience and virtue```````````````````
```````````````````shine through us so that we may bless others.`````````````````````
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The christian life is a process in which we learn
complete dependence on God.

**********************Today's Bible Reading __ 2 Peter 1:2-11*************************
2 Grace and peace be
multiplied to you in the
knowledge of God and of
Jesus our Lord, 3 as His
divine power has given to
us all things that pertain to
life and godliness, through
the knowledge of Him who
called us by glory and
virtue, 4 by which have
been given to us
exceedingly great and
precious promises, that
through these you may be
partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the
world through lust.

5 But also for this very
reason, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue, to
virtue knowledge. 6 to
knowledge self-control, to
self-control perseverance, to
perseverance godliness,

7 to godliness brotherly
kindness, and to brotherly
kindness love. 8 For if these
things are yours and
abound, you will be neither
barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. 9 For he who
lacks these things is
shortsighted even to
blindness, and has forgotten
that he was cleansed from
his old sins.

10 Therefore, brethren, be
even more diligent to make
your call and election sure,
for if you do these things
you will never stumble;

11 for so an entrance will be
supplied to you abundantly
into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

God has given us everything we need for living a holy life (2 Peter
1:3). Therefore, peter exhorts us to respond diligently to these
great promises and abundant provisions of divine power (vv.4-5) by
making every effort to grow in faith, graciousness, knowledge, self-
control, perseverance, devotedness, kindness, and love (vv.5-7).