God has given us “everything we need”
Daily Scripture
2 Peter 1:3-8
3 By his divine power the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of the one who called us by his own honor and glory. 4 Through his honor and glory he has given us his precious and wonderful promises, that you may share the divine nature and escape from the world’s immorality that sinful craving produces.
5 This is why you must make every effort to add moral excellence to your faith; and to moral excellence, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, endurance; and to endurance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, affection for others; and to affection for others, love. 8 If all these are yours and they are growing in you, they’ll keep you from becoming inactive and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
The apostle Peter said God’s divine love gives us the inner power we need to escape the world’s immorality. “The best way of talking specifically about God and what he’s done is by praise… and praise is what Peter now offers…. A new life has come to birth within us because a new life has come to birth in the world in the resurrection from the dead of Jesus the Messiah (verse 3). Becoming a Christian means that what God did for Jesus at Easter he does for you, in the very depth of your being.” * That’s good news!
- Peter made the sweeping claim that God “has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” Have you ever felt that “I could live my life with/for God if only God would give me ___________?” Which of the qualities Peter listed in verses 5 through 7 do you long for the most? How can you more fully open yourself to God’s spiritual power to add these qualities to your life?
- Peter called on his readers to have all these positive qualities “growing in you.” Which of these qualities do you find already present in your life? Celebrate—thank God for them! Then ask God to guide you to see clearly which of the qualities are missing, or stuck. As you become aware of those places, include God in your efforts to grow an increasing measure of each virtue, making your life even better.
Prayer
O God, please add your divine power to my efforts, so that my life may continually grow in the positive qualities that you have promised will give me the truly good life. Amen.
GPS Insights
Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory is a volunteer for the worship and missions teams at Church of the Resurrection. He helps lead worship at Leawood's modern worship services, as well as at the West and Downtown services, and is involved with the Malawi missions team at home.
I needed a replica 1950s single coil precision bass. The tone was unlike those of my other three basses—one was used on the recording of “I Want You Back” by the Jackson Five. All I had was two jazz basses (used on songs like “Under Pressure” and most music by Rush) and a later model split coil precision bass (used on most rock and punk albums). After all, I play in three worship bands. Could people really worship if I only had three basses?
If any of you have seen me lead worship with the various bands at Resurrection, I’m going to go ahead and say there’s a 0% chance you’ve said, “Wow, this is great, but I really wish Brandon was playing a replica 1950s single coil precision bass.” If you’re a sensible person (and my wife is a sensible person), it seems like nonsense for me to need to get a fourth bass for the same bands I’m playing my other basses in.
Disclaimer: If you’re a musician and you have more than three guitars, that’s totally cool. You probably need them more than me. My point isn’t that musical instruments are a frivolous purchase; my point is how I’m spending my money.
For those who don’t know, I work in advertising, but I never intended to work in advertising. I spent two summers in college working for Wycliffe Bible Translators, but when I tried to raise the funds to actually work there full-time (it was a missionary job, so I had to raise funds), I couldn’t do it. I also tried being a worship leader at a small church plant here in Kansas City, but that didn’t work out either. I actually fell back on advertising as a back-up career choice in 2006. That said, now that I’ve been working in advertising for 17 years, I’ve done quite well for myself and have a comfortable income.
They say that money can’t buy you happiness, but many of us know that a lack of money sure can bring sadness. I’ve been in a few spots where money was very tight, and it was incredibly stressful, which made every part of my life harder. That said, once I got past a certain point where my basic needs were taken care of, money became a solution in search of a problem. While I used to need to pay my rent or power bill, I later convinced myself that I needed a new television or expensive pair of shoes. It’s not bad to buy things for yourself—self-care is important for mental health—but I have to step back and ask whether I really need all of the things I tell myself I need.
I saw a sermon once where a pastor asked, “If two men pray for bread, and he gives one man two loaves and the other none, has he answered their prayers?” There are times when I think I need a luxury, but someone else needs bread. We don’t have to take vows of poverty—it’s OK to have a nice car, or nice clothes, or take a vacation—but, for many of us, there will be money that we don’t need, that other people do need. Think about how you’re spending your money. There will probably be some places you can afford to be more generous, and that can make a world of difference for other people.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Wright, N. T., Early Christian Letters for Everyone (The New Testament for Everyone) (p. 50). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, Kindle Edition.
