Do you remember the good old days? I’m old enough now to look back and remember with fondness what life was like when I was a kid. I have so many wonderful memories of growing up. The problem with that is that the most frequent memories that I carry are just the good ones. I liked the time that I grew up in, but it wasn’t the easy, hardship free experience that I usually recall. I remember seeing in magazine pictures kids my age
who lived in iron lungs because polio was still taking young lives. I remember being bullied in schools that I went to. I lived through the assassinations of President Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. I remember taking some of my teammates home after practice and thinking it strange that the guys whose skin color wasn’t like mine didn’t live in our neighborhood. I still remember with fondness my growing up...but it was a flawed time too. The same thing happens with those of us who have been following this Jesus of the Bible for a number of years. We have come to him, experienced his forgiveness purchased at the cross and have been blessed with his presence in our lives for many years. And one of the things that can happen as the years pass is that we forget what life was like before Christ came into our lives. The loneliness, fear, guilt and uncertainty about our worth and our future were all there. It is a good thing to remember honestly what life was like before we knew personally this God of creation and redemption. We have been forgiven, healed,
encouraged and protected far beyond our surface memories of what life was like for us before. The key is to make every effort to remember and respond to God’s promises with a renewed commitment to a life that reflects the reality and power and love of Christ in us. And the more we do that, the more we will be productive and useful in our knowledge and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. So every now and then, take a look back over your shoulder and revisit that journey that you have made with this Jesus by your side. And you will find yourselves recommitted to working hard to live in such a way that others will know that you are really among those whom God has chosen. And God will strengthen you in such a way as to reinforce your commitment and love for him.
Here’s our Bible verse for today...
2 Peter 1:8-10 NLT The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. (10) So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.
Remember I’m praying for you!
PJ
who lived in iron lungs because polio was still taking young lives. I remember being bullied in schools that I went to. I lived through the assassinations of President Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. I remember taking some of my teammates home after practice and thinking it strange that the guys whose skin color wasn’t like mine didn’t live in our neighborhood. I still remember with fondness my growing up...but it was a flawed time too. The same thing happens with those of us who have been following this Jesus of the Bible for a number of years. We have come to him, experienced his forgiveness purchased at the cross and have been blessed with his presence in our lives for many years. And one of the things that can happen as the years pass is that we forget what life was like before Christ came into our lives. The loneliness, fear, guilt and uncertainty about our worth and our future were all there. It is a good thing to remember honestly what life was like before we knew personally this God of creation and redemption. We have been forgiven, healed,
encouraged and protected far beyond our surface memories of what life was like for us before. The key is to make every effort to remember and respond to God’s promises with a renewed commitment to a life that reflects the reality and power and love of Christ in us. And the more we do that, the more we will be productive and useful in our knowledge and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. So every now and then, take a look back over your shoulder and revisit that journey that you have made with this Jesus by your side. And you will find yourselves recommitted to working hard to live in such a way that others will know that you are really among those whom God has chosen. And God will strengthen you in such a way as to reinforce your commitment and love for him.
Here’s our Bible verse for today...
2 Peter 1:8-10 NLT The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (9) But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. (10) So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.
Remember I’m praying for you!
PJ