Get Cooking

 2 Peter 1:5-7 “ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love”
 
Dear CBC Family,

2 Peter 1:5-8 “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 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.”

God develops our character most often through difficult times. We know that and yet, when the going gets tough, we all too often use that as an excuse to turn away and behave badly. It’s a real dilemma, isn’t it? On the one hand, if we cooperate with God during those tough times – seek Him out, draw close to Him, listen to Him – He will, without doubt, make us stronger and wiser. He will make us more like Jesus.

But on the other hand, when life is tough, we’re tempted to lash out. We’re tempted to lose hope. We’re tempted stop running our race. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak so we just sit on the side of the road pouting.

The Apostle Peter was writing to Christians who were undergoing intense persecution, but instead of coddling them he lays things right on the line: He tells them in the midst of great hardship that they are not to collapse without hope but, rather, to get into what I call “God’s kitchen” and get cooking. Imagine your life as a stainless mixing bowl and when times get hard its time to get cooking! What are we making? What are the ingredients?

Look at all the ingredients we are to add into the bowl of our lives. We are to add them, assimilate them and keep on increasing in them. The “heat” of the difficulty will bake them into something wonderful (Christlikeness). This will result in us not being ineffective and unproductive in our understanding and service of the Lord. When times are hard it’s time to bake!

I take all this to mean that character is foundation of effective service and productive living. Join us this weekend as we gather around His holy word to have our characters changed as we add to our faith these things!

Blessings,

Pastor Scott