It’s a time to praise the Lord our God and His Holy Son Jesus Christ.
Some time ago, a family I knew went through a seasonal transition not from one job to another, or leaving a war and returning home. No one was in the hospital, dying from an unknown disease. This family was in a season of life where the prospect of the U.S lifestyle was bleak. The Dad been unemployed for 11-months and the stress of the situation tested their faith in God. They have children attending college and unsure where the money to paid off the school loans? This family, like so many in this time of uncertainty prayed nightly but as time marched on the bills piled up and arguments between each other persisted. That led Dad to hang out at bars, his way of blowing off steam with another woman in his arms. This was a season to remember.
Life is lived on levels and arrived at in stages. Each step advances to new levels of knowledge, maturity and a deepening sense of character. Maturity does not come over night or with age; it comes with responsibility and with faith. Many believers look for God’s special favor, but are reluctant to put forth the effort to know him better. Growing in the knowledge of God gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He promises that we will escape our current season and share in his divine nature. 2 Peter Ch. 1 v5 explains the process God expect us to work. “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.”
Faith requires action, not just belief. Actions on faith results in spiritual maturity and increased Christian character, to carry on in troubled waters. These are the times to grow in moral excellence and self-control will lead to knowing God better. This is the way to love. Love is what God provides in seasons of sorrow, lack, anger, and hatred. His Loving touch surrounds the circumstances before us, washing away sin enabling us to think clearly.
Look to 2 Peter Ch. 1 as the starting point for knowing God and His expectation of faith and the process for Christian growth. We must work hard to ensure these values are a continual part of your Christian life.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW
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