Greater JourneySample

GREATER EFFORT

READY
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” 2 Peter 1:5-7

SET
There are some people who have the false understanding that becoming a Christian is the end of the race. It’s the “ticket to Heaven.” The work is done and we can just sit back and enjoy. However, this is far from the truth. While we do see and experience the depths of Christ’s Love through His Complete and Perfect Sacrifice on the Cross for our sins, we ultimately begin the race of Christianity. We know that it is by Grace we have been saved through faith, but we also understand that we start a journey of being molded by our Creator to be “conformed to the image of His Son.” (Romans 8:29)

Understanding the firmness of our foundation in Christ along with the Power that He gives us to run the race is a launching pad to greater effort. Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, wrote about this in a letter. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness...He has granted to us His precious and very great promises.” (2 Peter 1:3,4) Let that sink in. “His divine power has granted to us…”

Following Jesus is a verb. It is an action. Faith has feet. Feet that go to the Throne Room of God to seek Him and His Strength. Feet that go to the world to love. Feet that run to the Word of God for knowledge and truth. Feet that run to the community to live out following Christ. May God give us the strength and a renewed zeal to run with greater effort. Soon, we will all be before the Lord. May we make a greater effort to know Him and to run with all our heart in the direction He leads us!

GO

• When you read 2 Peter 1:5-7, is there any specific word that stands out to you to grow in? What is the purpose behind supplementing your faith with all of the things shared?
• When you look at your life, what would you rate your effort level to be overall on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being little to no effort, and 10 being the greatest amount of effort? How about specifically in your faith journey?
• What would change if you decided to add more effort into one particular part of your life? Step into it today and get ready for some good fruit!

WORKOUT
Romans 8:29, 2 Peter 1:3-4, Luke 10:41-42