ARE YOU MISSING SOME IMPORTANT QUALITIES IN YOUR LIFE?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure,
they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive
in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(2 Peter 1:8)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever observed others who seem to be totally committed
to the Lord? They are effectively impacting others and pointing
them to Jesus Christ. They are Christians, but so are you, so what’s
different about them? How are they able to easily serve the Lord,
when you are still struggling with sin in your own life?

You may be partially committed to the Lord, but they have ‘sold out’
to Him. While church attendance may seem like an obligation to you,
they actually look forward to meeting and worshipping with other
believers. Singing praises to our Savior appears to light up their life.

You may have given a token effort to get closer to the Lord and to
become an effective witness, but you just cannot turn loose of your
selfishness in order to serve Him wholeheartedly. You go to church
infrequently, pray seldom, and read the Bible occasionally.

You contribute to His kingdom financially with some amount,
but you lack the level of faith required to obey His command
to tithe. You may realize that if you cannot tithe cheerfully,
then you cannot expect to receive the same blessings as those
who faithfully tithe, so you justify disobeying God’s command
to tithe.

Deep within your heart, you want to be an effective witness and
servant of the Lord, but you struggle to let go and give Him full
control of your life. We can’t expect full blessings from the Lord
when we have only a partial commitment. The more we give to
Him, the more we will want to give to Him.

Peter tells us there are certain qualities we need to continually add
to our lives if we expect to be an effective witness and servant of the
Lord. God is an equal opportunity user of those who are members
of His family. We all have the same opportunity to serve Him, but it
requires a commitment to give up our selfishness and add these new
righteous characteristics to our lives.

Some who consider themselves to be Christians are still inconsiderate,
disrespectful, and rude to others. They also have poor listening habits
which sends a message to others that they have a lack of patience, and
and they have an inability to remove any selfishness from their lives.

So what are the qualities or characteristics we need to add to our
lives? It’s a good question, and Peter answers it for us.
    “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith,
      goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge,
     self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
      perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness;
      and to brotherly kindness, love.”
      (2 Peter 1:5-7)

If you noticed, the first thing on Peter’s list is “faith”. Without
faith, it may be impossible to add the other qualities. Any of us
can increase our knowledge of the Lord through education, but
full commitment is what helps us to build a relationship with Him.

That means we must give up our will and accept (embrace) His will
for our life. Sometimes it means we might have to leave our comfort
zone, but when we do, we will discover how He can bless us beyond
our expectations.

ACTION:
Which qualities are missing from your life?
    – Faith
        (the foundation and cornerstone of all followers of Jesus).
    – Goodness
        (moral excellence; concern for others (often ahead of ourselves)).
    – Knowledge
        (a practical understanding of what does and doesn’t fit into the Christian life).
    – Self-control
        (resisting sin; allowing the Holy Spirit to be in control of our lives).
    – Perseverance
        (patience; endurance; not being a victim of worldly influences).
    – Godliness
        (a Christian witness lifestyle; worshipping;
          absorbing ridicule from others for your faith).
    – Brotherly kindness
        (mutual affection; friendship with other believers; considerate).
    – Love
        (the foundation for interaction with others, and with God).

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me in Your Word
the qualities I need to continually add to my life in order to
effectively serve You. Forgive me for allowing my selfish
desires to take precedence over pleasing You. Remind me to
evaluate how much I am committed to You (including worship
and tithing). Show me how to give up “self” so I can make
room for You and Your will in my life.”

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