All We Need
2 Peter 1:3-4, "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of His glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share in his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires" (NLT).
Let those words sink in for a minute. Wow. We have been given ALL we need to live a godly life. But how many of us really believe that?
I've found in my own walk with God that every sin is tied--somehow, someway--to unbelief.
-Unbelief that God loves me.
-Unbelief that God will provide.
-Unbelief that God will work all things for good.
-Unbelief that God's will is best.
-Unbelief that God really has a good plan for my life.
-Unbelief that He's really forgiven me.
-Unbelief that God is enough.
-Unbelief that God, through Christ, has given me the ability to choose Him.
The list goes on and on.
That must be why Jesus tells us in John 6:29, "This is the one work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent" (NLT).
It seems counter intuitive. Our first reaction is to try to fix ourselves. Try to sin less. Try to do good more.
But all Jesus asks is for us to believe in Him. And when we do that, HE gives us the power to do all those other things.
This revelation should bring us great joy. Because it means the weight of the sanctification process isn't on our shoulders, but on Christ's. Our job is to simply stand firm on His truth and believe in Him. He is the one who will bring the change and growth. He will finish what He has started.
Philippians 1:6, "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns" (NLT).
1 Peter 1:18-19, "For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold and silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of Go" (NLT).
Colossians 3:10, "Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become life him" (NLT).