Inside Out with Peter

I've been reading in 2 Peter this week (2 Peter 1:3-11). Chapter one has some really cool stuff in it. When you look at it, the first four verses talk about how Jesus has "given us everything we need for life and godliness." That's an amazing statement. We're packing all we need. Wow. So why do I still struggle?

Well you look at the following verses, and Peter gives this disjointed list of virtues for us to add to our lives. But he follows the list with this promise "if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of Jesus". That gets my attention! So I've been pouring over the list of virtues, and trying to see the connection between them all. One of my friends, Annette, made the comment she can do most of these, but only one at a time. So, I've been trying to find the connection.

Here's what I'm seeing. The list goes faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Beginning with faith, we are at the "core" of our being, the center of our soul when dealing with faith. Then it moves to our soul, our mind, our ability to limit our actions, our ability to keep at other actions, what people see in us, how we treat other believers, and finally how we treat everyone. It seems to be an inside to outside progression.

I got thinking about this, and how so often I try to go from faith to self-control to love, missing key components along the way. So, I'm beginning to work on following Peter's progression with a few things in my life I have been unable to beat. I'm just into it today for the first day, so I'm interested in seeing how it will play out.

Any thoughts you guys have would be really cool to hear!

Take It to the Bank

No comments on John today. Just a confession of my own. I'm worried and scared. I shouldn't be. I know that full well. We are facing some stuff that I can't control. None of it is bad. There are just some dreams I have, some hopes and wishes, and alot has to happen in the next couple of weeks. If it goes one way, doors can open to see those hopes become reality. If it goes another way, they might close for now.

The reason I'm scared is that it's out of my hands. They've been dealt some small blows recently, and they've been given some support. So I have no clue where things are going to go. That scares me. Even after all this time following Christ and seeing Him work miracles over and over, I still have a difficult time trusting Him with my dreams. I can trust Him most time with my day to day needs. I do a good job of trusting Him on the huge miraculous stuff like healing people and relationships. I know He is in charge of the ministry, and do a decent job of following Him there. But its my dreams that make me twitchy. I get nervous with them.

I think it's because I tend to be unsure where some of these hopes and wishes fall. I mean, are they good things I am hoping for, or are they merely selfish things? I have a hard time discerning. And in my mind, that affects how God will carry them out. I often believe He will see them through if they are at some level "good". But I believe He will shut them down if they aren't. That's where my fear comes in.

I don't want them shut down. I want them. That's why they are called hopes and dreams. They are things I hope for and dream about. So, I can't turn them off so easily. And therefore, I worry. But that is wrong. I know that. God says not to worry about today or tomorrow, but to trust Him. Over the past couple of days He has repeatedly been telling me "Cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you." And I'm trying really hard to do that.

Yet I worry.

I know God is trustworthy. He ALWAYS has been in EVERY case. He has never, ever, ever dropped me. He has given me more of my dreams and hopes than I could ever imagine. He has been more than kind, more than gracious, more than generous in the BIG deals, and in the small events. I will not fear, because if the Lord is for me, nothing can come against me. I know it. I believe it. I just need to keep telling myself these things.

If I can't completely kill the fear and worry, I am going to cage it up in a cage built on faith. I'm going to choose to keep shutting the door. I will rely on God, and watch Him work. I must, I have no where else to go.

Anybody else ever been in this spot?