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Thursday... This is truly an excellent gift!

 

2 Peter 1:3a (NLT), "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life." 

Thursday... This is truly an excellent gift!

Christmas is such a special time. Yes there are a lot of gifts going around. Now we do celebrate God giving his son but his giving doesn't just happen during this month. 2 Peter 1:3a (NLT) says, "By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life." Now that is something to celebrate, isn't it? Yes, he gives it but we need to accept it and unwrap it.

The rest of verse 3 says, "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."


Now my wife and I can go out and buy Christmas gifts for our family and wrap them all up and put them under the tree. But they are of no use if our family doesn't come and accept and unwrap them. It doesn't matter all the time and money we have put into getting those gifts if they don't accept and unwrap them.

Verse 3 in the Amplified Bible says, "For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." This is truly an excellent gift. God has given us absolutely everything necessary for a dynamic spiritual life. That is an excellent gift, isn't it? But we need to accept it and unwrap it.

Verse 4 (NIRV) says, "He has also given us his very great and valuable promises."

So what do we do? Verses 5-7 says, "So you should try very hard to add goodness to your faith. To goodness, add knowledge. To knowledge, add the ability to control yourselves. To the ability to control yourselves, add the strength to keep going. To the strength to keep going, add godliness. To godliness add kindness. And to kindness for one another, add love." 

Verses 7b-8 (AMP) says, "and in your brotherly affection [develope Christian] love [that is, learn to unselfishly seek the best for others and to do things for their benefit]. For as these qualities are yours and are increasing [in you as you grow toward spiritual maturity], they will keep you from being useless and unproductive in regard to the true knowledge and greater understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ."

This is how we unwrap the gift that God through His Son has given us. And yes, this is truly an excellent gift! Yes, yes! #todaybeginning






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