Growing in Grace
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. (2Peter 3:18)
YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS AT LEAST ONE MORE TIME because it follows me around. When I got saved in the bean market in October, 1943, I knew about “being born again” but I had never heard of “growing in grace” as a Christian. I thought a sinner gets saved and gets the whole load all at one time and that was it!
I BEGAN HOUNDING MY SCHOOL MATES ABOUT GOING TO THE REVIVAL MEETING until they had had enough. When they got me on the ground during morning recess and taunted me to pray, I saw there was no way out. So, I began to pray. I prayed, “Dear Lord, please get this S.O.B. off of me, Amen!” They didn’t know anything about praying and that was good enough for them. So, the guy on top of me let me up.
THEY WENT ON ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS and when I got up, I stood there, stunned. That didn’t sound right. I had been one of the best cussers around those rough boys and though I did not say one of the “heavy duty” things I could have said, I had said too much, and I was ashamed of myself. I knew in my heart that Christians didn’t talk like that. I was saved, and yet here I was talking ugly. I didn’t question if I was saved, but I felt twisted out of shape.
I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD EVER SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN. I had heard my mother say the s… word a few times and she was a praying, singing Christian. But that was when she was really mad about something, like my daddy coming home with “three sheets in the wind.” She didn’t talk that way all the time. I didn’t know how I was going to do better. I had asked God to save me and I had accepted Jesus as my Savior and I intended to live that way the rest of my life. Somehow, I would do better, but I didn’t know how to do much of anything in the Christian life.
I HAD NEVER HEARD THAT NEW CHRISTIANS ARE BABES in Christ and needed to grow as new Christians. It would be several years before I would learn about those things in living the Christian life. In later years, I began to find books written in the 1800’s about “How to Live the Christian Life.” Books by D. L. Moody and R. A. Torrey. When I read the titles on living the Christian life, I realized that people had been wondering how to live the Christian life for over a hundred years. I had not yet realized that Peter had written about it two thousand years ago in the Bible. Peter wrote:
Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1Peter 2:1-2) So, God knew about this two thousand years ago and He wrote how to do it.
MAKE AN HONEST EFFORT TOWARD CLEANING UP YOUR LIFE and get into the simple parts of the Bible and eat it as your spiritual diet. In that same place, Peter warned new Christians: Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. (2Peter 3:17)
“BEWARE..." LEST YOU BE LED AWAY WITH THE ERROR OF THE WICKED and fall from your own stedfastness. So, if I’m going to grow as a Christian, I will have to maintain a defense against being led away by the influence of wicked people. That would lead me into falling from my own stedfastness. It wouldn’t cause me to lose my salvation or my relationship with the Lord, but it would cause me to be unsteady in my walk and it might affect my fellowship with the Lord.
I REMEMBERED THAT AT HOME CERTAIN THINGS were expected of me. I never worried about being expelled from home, but I did worry at times about my fellowship with my mother and father. They were not overbearing or hard taskmasters. However, when they said to be home by a certain time, I had better be there. I knew to get my school assignments and if I had jobs to do, I knew to do them on time and to do them well. That kept me in good fellowship with my parents.
I KNEW I WAS GROWING AND THAT MEANT DOING MORE THINGS that grown-up boys did at home. Gathering eggs and feeding the chickens was a worthy job. Then, leading the horses to water was a big deal! Finally, I was milking the family cow and the goats! There came the day when I was responsible to get the ten acres of hay into the barn. I was growing! God also expects us to grow in the Christian life.
PETER WROTE ANOTHER BOOK and in it he said: But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. (2Peter 3:18)
“THIS IS NOT JUST ANY KNOWLEDGE: it is knowledge about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (cf. 2Peter 1:1-2, 2Peter1:11; 2Peter_2:20). The verb “grow”… could be rendered “be continually growing.” Believers are to grow “in grace,” that is, in the sphere of God’s unmerited favor, and in the exercise of spiritual graces which Peter spoke of in 2Peter 1:5-7.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary) (I hope you will look up these verses.)
IF YOU DO NOT FEED ON THE WORD OF GOD AND OBEY WHAT HE SHOWS YOU, you will not grow in your Christian life. God has designed it that way.
Read Through the Bible in a Year
FEBRUARY 13, 2017 – TUESDAY
A.M. Leviticus 18-19 P.M. Matthew 27:32-66
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
A Good Memory Verse:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. (Hosea 4:6-7)
Song for Today:
Vestal Goodman & Group (4:39) : There Is a Fountain (Gaither Group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PasK3ZFAOPE&list=RDglDV6j-uZCY&index=27
(Wait several seconds. You may have to delete an ad.)
Health Tip: To drink a little more water each day, place two bottles of water beside your bed, by the chair where you read, and beside your computer. When one bottle is emptied, you have another bottle of water and can conveniently fill the empty bottle. This makes a difference in the amount of water I drink. (I’ve had several requests to resume the Health Tip feature.)
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. (2Peter 3:18)
YOU GOTTA HEAR THIS AT LEAST ONE MORE TIME because it follows me around. When I got saved in the bean market in October, 1943, I knew about “being born again” but I had never heard of “growing in grace” as a Christian. I thought a sinner gets saved and gets the whole load all at one time and that was it!
I BEGAN HOUNDING MY SCHOOL MATES ABOUT GOING TO THE REVIVAL MEETING until they had had enough. When they got me on the ground during morning recess and taunted me to pray, I saw there was no way out. So, I began to pray. I prayed, “Dear Lord, please get this S.O.B. off of me, Amen!” They didn’t know anything about praying and that was good enough for them. So, the guy on top of me let me up.
THEY WENT ON ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS and when I got up, I stood there, stunned. That didn’t sound right. I had been one of the best cussers around those rough boys and though I did not say one of the “heavy duty” things I could have said, I had said too much, and I was ashamed of myself. I knew in my heart that Christians didn’t talk like that. I was saved, and yet here I was talking ugly. I didn’t question if I was saved, but I felt twisted out of shape.
I DIDN'T THINK I WOULD EVER SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN. I had heard my mother say the s… word a few times and she was a praying, singing Christian. But that was when she was really mad about something, like my daddy coming home with “three sheets in the wind.” She didn’t talk that way all the time. I didn’t know how I was going to do better. I had asked God to save me and I had accepted Jesus as my Savior and I intended to live that way the rest of my life. Somehow, I would do better, but I didn’t know how to do much of anything in the Christian life.
I HAD NEVER HEARD THAT NEW CHRISTIANS ARE BABES in Christ and needed to grow as new Christians. It would be several years before I would learn about those things in living the Christian life. In later years, I began to find books written in the 1800’s about “How to Live the Christian Life.” Books by D. L. Moody and R. A. Torrey. When I read the titles on living the Christian life, I realized that people had been wondering how to live the Christian life for over a hundred years. I had not yet realized that Peter had written about it two thousand years ago in the Bible. Peter wrote:
Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (1Peter 2:1-2) So, God knew about this two thousand years ago and He wrote how to do it.
MAKE AN HONEST EFFORT TOWARD CLEANING UP YOUR LIFE and get into the simple parts of the Bible and eat it as your spiritual diet. In that same place, Peter warned new Christians: Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. (2Peter 3:17)
“BEWARE..." LEST YOU BE LED AWAY WITH THE ERROR OF THE WICKED and fall from your own stedfastness. So, if I’m going to grow as a Christian, I will have to maintain a defense against being led away by the influence of wicked people. That would lead me into falling from my own stedfastness. It wouldn’t cause me to lose my salvation or my relationship with the Lord, but it would cause me to be unsteady in my walk and it might affect my fellowship with the Lord.
I REMEMBERED THAT AT HOME CERTAIN THINGS were expected of me. I never worried about being expelled from home, but I did worry at times about my fellowship with my mother and father. They were not overbearing or hard taskmasters. However, when they said to be home by a certain time, I had better be there. I knew to get my school assignments and if I had jobs to do, I knew to do them on time and to do them well. That kept me in good fellowship with my parents.
I KNEW I WAS GROWING AND THAT MEANT DOING MORE THINGS that grown-up boys did at home. Gathering eggs and feeding the chickens was a worthy job. Then, leading the horses to water was a big deal! Finally, I was milking the family cow and the goats! There came the day when I was responsible to get the ten acres of hay into the barn. I was growing! God also expects us to grow in the Christian life.
PETER WROTE ANOTHER BOOK and in it he said: But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen. (2Peter 3:18)
“THIS IS NOT JUST ANY KNOWLEDGE: it is knowledge about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (cf. 2Peter 1:1-2, 2Peter1:11; 2Peter_2:20). The verb “grow”… could be rendered “be continually growing.” Believers are to grow “in grace,” that is, in the sphere of God’s unmerited favor, and in the exercise of spiritual graces which Peter spoke of in 2Peter 1:5-7.” (Bible Knowledge Commentary) (I hope you will look up these verses.)
IF YOU DO NOT FEED ON THE WORD OF GOD AND OBEY WHAT HE SHOWS YOU, you will not grow in your Christian life. God has designed it that way.
Read Through the Bible in a Year
FEBRUARY 13, 2017 – TUESDAY
A.M. Leviticus 18-19 P.M. Matthew 27:32-66
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
A Good Memory Verse:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame. (Hosea 4:6-7)
Song for Today:
Vestal Goodman & Group (4:39) : There Is a Fountain (Gaither Group)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PasK3ZFAOPE&list=RDglDV6j-uZCY&index=27
(Wait several seconds. You may have to delete an ad.)
Health Tip: To drink a little more water each day, place two bottles of water beside your bed, by the chair where you read, and beside your computer. When one bottle is emptied, you have another bottle of water and can conveniently fill the empty bottle. This makes a difference in the amount of water I drink. (I’ve had several requests to resume the Health Tip feature.)
RSS Feed
