Living to Glorify God

While I recognize my salvation as a gift from the Lord, Jesus Christ, I also know the different ways I must live not only to "help" me to keep on the straight and narrow but to glorify God.

I was sitting in today's sermon and again was overwhelmed with God's love for me. Something I will never understand. Today I learned that the gift of salvation doesn't stop there. That God loves to hear my praise and that in order to receive true joy and a long lasting and rewarding relationship with Him I am to continually give "best effort" to grow in my relationship with Christ to becoming Christian and live in moral excellence becoming "productive and useful."

2 Peter 1:1-15 was the passage we studied today. The Pastor made a good point that hit me personally - that the qualities mentioned by Paul are going to take work. That to glorify God in this life through his son, Jesus Christ, we must possess and build up in ourselves certain traits to become Godliness in order to receive "everything" we need for "life". Because of this process, I believe it is why we are here on earth. Not to be tested, but to grow. Satan "tests" us since we as Christians are the ones that are tempted and will make many mistakes, but we are here to grow and God put us here to do so - to become His children. It is true we must accept our salvation in order to enter in the kingdom of God, but to glorify Him, well that is even better.

As I read the scripture I found it intersting that what I have been working on in these past 6 months were all contained in this scripture even before I read it. In other words I knew of the different qualities by seeing them in others that inspire me. I knew they were all good and knew they were all parts of Christianity. However now that I have read them it is as if I have been instructed by the Lord himself with the direct word. That is the awesome part about having a relationship with Him. The lessons I need in life are always tailored to my needs every time right when I need them...as long as I am asking and listening that is. When I don't ask or listen, I don't hear nor receive.

So I will continue to press forward in my faith in order to know God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit better than I do today. I have wondered if it could get any better at times when I was in awe with His grace, but little do I know.