Nansman

Like many, I find maintaining a disciplined devotional life difficult to sustain. Mine seems to be a pattern of starts and stops, with lulls of varying lengths between. I keep picking it back up though, because I don't like the way my life becomes so hectic and almost unmanagable when I am not pursuing my devotions. Financially, relationally, emotionally, I am much more comfortable when I structure time into my life for pursuing God. I hav used, am using (or will at some future point, I'm sure) virtually EVERY "Christian" discipline known. Small group Bible study and fellowship, personal Bible reading, Biblically based marital improvement studies, the internet method....you name it, I've tried it at least once. I have found that topical studys which focus on an uncovered flaw in character or lingering struggle with a particular sin are particularly effective. The one thing I find VERY difficult to do is to schedule quiet time alone before God, to just pray and experience Him. Probably one of the top things I SHOULD be doing, but life's demands too easily intrude on this one. Even when I'm "alone" at home, there are distraction, be they external (dog, cat, noises from the nieghborhood, phone...whatever) or internal( my "honey-do-list", my tendency to "drift' in thought when just trying to experience and communicate with God) which pull me away from being quiet before Him.

Easiest?!?!?!?! How about none of them! If forced to choose one, I'd have to say knowledge, just because I can see that I HAVE learned from my life's lessons, and I have been fairly successful at gathering the Christian perspective on most everything in life, be it from friends or through study. The hardest by far is preserverence. Too often I find myself drifting away from the dillegent pursuit of my relationship with God. I guess this could also be an area of self-discipline, since I tend to get "soft" or "lazy" about Bible study and prayer.

I am reminded almost daily how fortunate I am to have been called by God to be one of His children. For most I my life, I did not realize that call. To me, to have been called by His Glory and Goodness, shows His immense forgivness. I am humbled, knowing my life and my sins as intimately as I do, yet joyful that , despite all of my shortcomings, God chose to make ME his son. I am not claiming that I am mature enough to walk in His presense every moment, but in those times when I just KNOW I am in his presense, it is overwhelming. Joy, shame, love, humility, all bubble up within me. The knowledge that He is always present comforts me, and makes me try to seek and carry out his will. God's moral perfection gives me a compass to guide my actions and thoughts. It points a blinding light into the dark corners of me, the ones I don't care to examine too closely or venture into, and cleanses them. In todays world, too many of us, even we Christians, want to ignore both of these "consequences" of knowing God through Christ. In the name of "love" or "tolerance" we not only accept the sinner, we condone the sin. God's moral excellence should give us a big old warning that God, while He has INFINITE love for every sinner, absolutely HATES sin. For too many modern "Christians", not to mention the rest of the secular world, relative morality allows them to live life in their terms and convieniently ignore those parts of God's word that make them "uncomfortable". God is PURE, His word is unadulterated truth, and His morality is not relative.

This verse does seem to be talking about provision, but not simply of physical provision or provifing creature comforts. God has given us all that we will ever need to be completely full, happy and secure; a relationship with him. God (through the display of power seen in the risen Lord) has given us the ability to re-establish the original relationship that He created man for. He has also given us the key to unlocking this relationship...sonship through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. Once we accept Jesus into our lives, God gives us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (the "knowledge" of Him) which works in our lives to transform us, bringing us into closer relationship with God, exposing and convicting us of our sins and making us ever more godly. There is no limit on the scope and intent of "everything we need", apart from that which we may want that is not in God's will for us. Notice Peter says everything we need, not everything we think we should have, or everything we want. Sometimes we want what is not in our best interests, or that which may hinder God's plan for us, even if the thing we want is not in itself, intrinsically bad. If I want a million dollars to start a huge ministry to feed the poor (not intriniscally bad thing), but I haven't mastered my own finaces to God's will, I probably won't wake up anytime soon and find a big bag of money on my doorstep! God provides us everything we need, WHATEVER that may be, to fulfill the purpose he has for us, and to draw us ever closer to him.

In this verse, Peter is saying that ALL of us share the same faith. By this I mean that there is but one faith, not a whole bunch of faiths. Peter is pointing out that the only source of faith is God, its author. God gives the same faith to all. Peter is saying that all of us are the same in God's eyes. God doesn't play favorites,giving one person a different type of faith, or in differing amounts, than anyone else. Peter, Paul any of the disciples, or great men of faith throughout history were not given "extra" faith by God. The same Jesus that is the cornerstone of the faith of Peter is the cornerstone of the faith of you and I. The only "difference" in the faith expressed by the spiritual "giants" and me is that my acceptance of, reliance on and devotion to the faith that I have been given is many times markedly less than theirs. While God gives the same faith to every person, not every person uses that faith in the same way. Much like you could give every person inthe world $100 and have virtually no two people use it in the exact same way. Some would save it against tragedy. Some would invest it in themselves, some in others. Some would simply squander it. So too with faith. SOme horde their faith, in case tragedy befalls them and they "need" God. Some use thier faith to enrich their lives, some the lives of those around them. Some squander their faith, and the faith they recieved at one time or another leaves no real impact in their lives or the world as a whole. I think that most of us, and I'm definately including myself, do all of these things, to one degree or another at different times and seasons of our lives. Another difference, or disparity, in the "level" of faith exhibited by me in relation to a Peter, is that too often I let myself get in the way of my faith. Be it "intellect", concern over trivial matters, pride or whatever, many times there are things that prevent me from fully excersising the faith that I have been given. All too often I choose to lean on my own understanding, instead of trusting God. The good news in this passage is that of hope. You see if God did indeed hand out differing levels of faith, or different kinds of faith, then I would have no hope of improving my Christian walk, of ever growing closer to God. But, since there is only one faith and it all depends on how we use what we've been given, I can "learn" how to more effectively live out my faith!

Hi all, I'm Adam, from Detroit Michigan, USA. This is my first study with Pastor Ralph, and I'm looking forward to growing in the Lord.