Housecleaning

586.  "Housecleaning"              August 16, 2012
2 Peter 1-Part 4
The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.   2 Peter 1:8-9  NLT


LET IT GLOW

I remember those days when I had energy enough to clean the whole house, move the furniture, clean out the frig, do the laundry, and shop for groceries, all on a Saturday morning. Now they are but memories. Ahh, yes, I really did it. Some days I don't even get one room cleaned. When I do, it does me in, gals. Am I getting old or what? ( Not a question needing an answer-daughter)
Oh yeah, I was talking about being productive and useful, wasn't I?

Peter says that the more I grow like this, the more productive and useful I will be in my knowledge of my Lord Jesus.  I want that, but how? The more I grow like what? Those things mentioned in verses
5-7. (Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, love)

NIV says, For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I get it. In other words, when I show patience waiting in line at the store, share a sincere compliment, do a good deed for another, then I'm being being producive and useful for Jesus. Oh dear, the quality I am working on today is SELF-CONTROL. (Guess I will have to stay out of the kitchen, away from others, read the Bible all day, that way I will exhibit it. Unfortunately it isn't happening.) I will have to ask Jesus for a double portion of His help today.

LET IT GROW

The believer who is not growing spiritually, not actively possessing these qualities will be:

• barren, which means lazy, shunning the labor which one ought to perform; inactive, ineffective, useless;
• unfruitful, which refers to not yielding what it ought to yield; destitute of good deeds; unproductive; indistinguishable from an evildoer or superficial believer;
• blind mentally; unable to discern his true spiritual condition, so unsure of his salvation;
• nearsighted; he never got close enough to Christianity to focus on the fact that he needed to be cleansed from his sins;
• forgetful refers to spiritual amnesia; lives in doubt and fear.

I really don't want to be like that, do you? I want to display Christian growth and character in my daily life.
How's my fruitfulness/unfruitfulness? How's my vision?

LET IT GO

Do some spiritual housecleaning.

Use self-control today. Ask for it when I need help in showing it.

Apply what I learn in God's Word, not just read it.

Control my thoughts, slamming the door on the ugly ones.

Control my words, biting my tongue when needed.

Control my actions, serving others.

Yield to the Holy Spirit.