by David Brenneman
"My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your intimate friend;" Proverbs 7:1-4.
For those who claim the Name of Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior...do you consider your meetings with Him as optional? If you can fit Him in? If this will happen you'll talk to Him? Do you consider the Word of God as suggestions rather than commands and promises? Is prayer something you only think about when food is put before you? Is prayer only for you that which you engage in when disaster strikes? When something fearful is on the horizon?
Do you understand the definition of diligence? It's first defined as steady, earnest, and energetic effort : persistent and careful hard work. Legally it is the attention, effort, and care legally expected or required of a person.
How are you, as a Believer in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, claiming He is the Leader of your life, in your diligence to obey His Word? How are you in making whatever is His priority your priority? The workmanship He is doing in your life is NOT Him giving you your hearts desires to go do whatever you want to be doing. His workmanship is that we are created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them.
We cannot live a transformed life if we aren't being diligent in prayer and the Word of God.
We cannot take up our own cross and follow Him if we are not obeying in denying ourselves first. Jesus said "Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:24-26.
The passage where Jesus also said "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit." does NOT say as well "when you aren't busy and can fit Him in".
Consider this path of growing in Christ: "Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:5-8.
Peter, through the Spirit’s direction, is not making suggestions here. Here He is giving words by way of command.
Yes it's going to mean changes in my life and your life.
Yes it's going to mean possibly losing sleep to keep your commitment to your time with Jesus.
Yes it's going to mean making appointments to talk with Jesus and doing all you can to make it to those appointed times because of who Jesus is and what He's supposed to mean to us.
Yes it's going to mean saying no to others and other things.
A possible newsflash for some: your life is not supposed to be what it was PLUS Jesus.
Your new life in Christ is you putting off the old and putting on Christ.
Your walk with Jesus is to be above all else. Your times of talking with Jesus are supposed to be persistent and personal.
With all diligence.
From Dr. David Jeremiah's notes: Diligence • 2 Peter 1:5
In the Greek, diligence describes strenuously giving yourself to something, fully committing to an activity without concern for the cost, going to extravagant lengths to complete a goal. It was used in Greek literature to describe the extraordinary commitment of a citizen to his or her civic duties. In our day, diligence might call to mind an athlete's sweat-producing efforts to strain toward a goal and become a champion. Diligence is what motivates sprinters to come around the bend toward the finish tape, exerting every muscle when
it seems their bodies have nothing left to give.
When Peter urges us to give "all diligence," he does not teach salvation by works; he means
we should make Christ and His kingdom our focus, putting all our efforts into running the race He has set before us (1 Cor. 9:24). Bishop
J. C. Ryle wrote: "l would just as soon expect a farmer to prosper in his business who contented
himself with sowing his fields and never looking at them until the harvest as to expect a believer
to gain much holiness who has not been diligent about his Bible reading,...his prayers, and...the use of his Sundays."
How much are you really valuing the salvation you have in Christ?
Are you spiritually lethargic or spiritually growing? Not as seen from your perspective but what we read in 2 Peter.
Why is it most people are more concerned about upsetting or offending other people by missing appointments than they are about missing time talking to Jesus?
Are you one of them? Will you find time for this or that special event but not for talking with Jesus? Will you carve out a few hours for a movie but not for learning from your Bible?
Your Bible isn't just a troubleshooting manual after things go wrong, it's a manual for daily living that will help you before there is trouble.
Your Savior and Lord Jesus Christ isn't a butler or guy upstairs to meet your every wish.
His goal is to make us more like Himself.
To take someone off the street and turn them into a world class runner requires that person to make significant changes in their life to accomplish that goal. It means meeting with trainers and coaches when those trainers and coaches say it's time to meet.
We are to run the race set before us. We're in the race that the Spirit has us entered in. We are to give of our best as unto the Lord.
This is going to require our making sacrifices to achieve what He says we are to achieve.
Make your appointments with your Savior and Lord Jesus Christ and keep them.
Make your training in righteousness your ambition not your option.
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
An then you will be applying all diligence.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
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