i was cleaning out my room the other day (getting ready for the new bed, you know), and i came across a piece of paper with some verses written on it. and once i read the verses, i realized why i had gone to the work of copying them down! it was because they were awesome verses, and seemed especially fitting for beginning another year! (now if only i hadn't let that piece of paper slip behind my dresser... i bet that i would be a much better person if i had reminded myself of these verses every day!)
so without further ado... i present to you 2Peter 1: 3-11.
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 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. 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. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
so really, i don't have a whole lot to say, because these verses do such a good job of presenting the challenge that we are to take from them. These verses are basically my new years resolution for 2012, although i know that the qualities that are listed here are things that i will be working on for the rest of my life.
Things to Work on In 2012:
- My Faith: this year is gonna bring a lot of changes for me... and as excited as i am about that, i'm also pretty scared. i think part of faith is trusting in God wholeheartedly, even when it feels like your future is uncertain or not working out the way that you wanted it to. Even if you want something and it feels like God isn't giving it to you. Faith means trusting that God has a plan, and taking the opportunities that He sends your way!
- Goodness: I am a bad person. i see it displayed in my life every single day. The things that i think... the things i say... the things i want... the things i enjoy watching and listening to... why is it so much easier to be bad than good?? gotta work on that...
- Knowledge: I want to grow in my knowledge of God by spending more time talking to Him, listening to Him, and reading His Word.
- Self-control: This is an area that i have always struggled with... and it affects so many parts of my life! And every time i fail, i disappoint God and myself, and it's a terrible feeling!
- Perseverance: Never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever give up! =)
- Godliness: so the greek word for this is "Eusebia", which literally means "to worship well" and "to be very devout".
- Brotherly Kindness: yeah, i need to work on this too! man, there's so many areas of my life that i need to work on... it's a little bit overwhelming! but i think that brotherly kindness SHOULD be one of the easiest ways for a Christian to glorify God! Serving our fellow Christians... showing that we care about them... treating everyone respectfully... God loves each of us equally and enormously! The least we can do for eachother and the world is demonstate that love through our actions.
- Love: a level higher than brotherly kindness- to not just treat every one kindly, but to love them. Like God does. BECAUSE God does. And also to let that love show through our actions.
Happy New Year, Everybody! Hopefully you are as excited about 2012 as i am!
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