One of my favorite men on speed click is David Trent. His blog and Youtube channel are pretty amazing. This past week during our small group, we talked about moving on from our past. We also discussed embracing what God has done for us. Wouldn’t you know it, this video shows up on my feed. Let me tell you, this short video has a powerful message that we can all benefit from. As David says, “maybe this is just for me, but if this impacts just one person, it’s worth it.”
We often focus on our needs or our shortcomings. As a result, we forget to celebrate what God has done for us. Think about this good news. If you are having some challenges or if you are discouraged, lean on Him. Trust in the truth of His Word.
2 Pet 1:3-10
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to[a] his own glory and excellence,[b]4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,[c] and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities[d] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers,[e] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
In the video, David Trent talks about the acronym HEART that his small group experienced in their curriculum. He tells how everyone shared their negative situations around the group until they got to one guy…
- Hurting
- Exhausted
- Angry
- Resentment
- Tense
That one guy said, I don’t really subscribe to that acronym, I have changed it to:
- Happy
- Excited
- Awesome
- Rested
- Thankful
Totally cool, right? Just turn it around. I think Richard said something to this effect during our group on Thursday. This brings me to 2 Pet 1: 3-10. Some of what we are looking at here deals with how we handle our day-to-day situations. Our relationship with God takes effort. Jim Shetler discussed life-changing topics in his message. These topics will impact our relationship with Christ. The message is entitled, “How do I know that I am Saved?” ( Sept 2, 2015). We are often stuck in acronym 1 of HEART, you know, hurting, exhausted, etc in our faith life and find it challenging to live that life out.
But what is that life really? It’s a relationship and our relationship with Christ is based on faith. There is no way we can live our faith until we know what our faith is. We know that Christ saves and what we need to do to receive that gift of salvation. Romans 10:9 states, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
There is more! Really, there is more than “just” receiving salvation and eternal life and that more comes in our day-to-day living. 2 Pet 1:5 says that you should “make every effort to supplement your faith with:”
- Virtue
- Knowledge
- Temperance – self control
- Patience
- Godliness
- Brotherly Kindness
- Charity
Do you see anything negative in that list? Peter didn’t say to make every effort to remember all the bad things you did in your life. No, we are told to supplement our faith with the things listed there. These things take action; they take effort. Take virtue for instance. What does it mean to have virtue? Simple (or is it?), a virtuous Christian is someone who consistently displays a high-level of excellence in their life, guided by their faith and reason. Achieving a high-level of excellence takes effort, growth and maturity, and the ability to live by faith. The ONLY way we can ever achieve a life of excellence is to learn to live by faith and grow/mature in that faith.
Run through that list above. Every single one of those activities takes action, effort, and discipline. They don’t just happen. A good routine to get into is to ask yourself daily, “How is your Virtue doing?” “How is your Knowledge in Christ doing?” Run down the list. You may be surprised at the condition of your HEART. You may just be living in the negative due to the fact that you have not adequately supplemented your faith with what Peter suggests above.
Peter goes on to state, 2 Pet 1:8-10 For if these qualities[d] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers,[e] be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
The key word here is “IF.” If these qualities are yours and are increasing (look at Hebrews 5:12-14 also), they will keep you from being ineffective. They will keep you from version 1 of the HEART scenario, and you may just be able to be more Happy, Excited, living Awesome, feeling more Rested, and most definitely more Thankful!!
-S
Lead by Faith 
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