Growing in Grace

2 Peter 1:5-8- And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren, nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

My three sons are persistent when they want something. They don’t give up until they get what they are asking for, or told to wait until a later time.

We need to be like that with our prayers and seeking the Lord.

Diligence-- persevering and doing things with great care, not lazy or careless.

Virtue -- moral excellence, honesty, kindness, empathy, loyalty, respect, forgiveness, gratitude, courage. To have moral excellence we have to follow the Golden rule. Treat others as you want them do treat you.

Knowledge--Spiritual truth. In our former state as unbelievers we were not knowledgeable. Colossians 1:9-12, Paul wants Colossians to gain knowledge of God’s will so that they might live properly and fully pleasing to God.

Prov. 2:3-5--Yea, if you cry after knowledge, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasures, then shall you understand the fear (reverence)of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Temperance-- Self-control or discipline, moderation, self-restraint, we have to master the flesh, abstain from indulgences, train yourself to do something in a controlled and disciplined way.

Patience-- Endurance. The level of endurance one can have before negativity. The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Godliness-- Godlikeness, humility, piety, the quality of showing deep and solemn respect. Piety is the devotion and reverence to God. This world is showing all manner of ungodliness, but we are not to be like the world.

Brotherly kindness-- The love Saints should have one for another. Diligently strive to practice brotherly kindness, 1 Peter 1:22. Genuine sincere love.

Charity-- Love of mankind. The highest form of love. 1 Cor. 13th chapter explains what charity is. If these things be in you, and grow, then you will not be unfruitful or barren in knowing who Jesus is. 2 Peter 1:3-- God has called us to glory and virtue, and has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. But if we lack these things, we are blind, and cannot see afar off, and have forgotten that we were purged from our old sins. (v.9). Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ Jesus...God bless.