Good Morning,
"I can't tell you how happy I am to learn
that many members of your congregation are diligent in
living out the truth, exactly as commanded by the Father.
But permit me a reminder, friends, and this is not a new commandment
but simply a repetition of our original and basic charter: that we love
each other. Love means following His commandments, and His unifying
commandment is that you conduct your lives in love. This is the first
thing you heard and nothing has changed." (II John verse 3 Message
Bible) "But we do [strongly and earnestly] desire for each
of you to show the same diligence and sincerity [all the way through]
in realizing and enjoying the full assurance and development of [your]
hope until the end, in order that you may not grow disinterested
and become [spiritual] sluggards, but imitators, behaving as do
those who through
faith (by their leaning of the entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and
confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) and by practice of
patient endurance and waiting are [now] inheriting the promises."
(Hebrews 6:11-12 Amplified
Bible) Notice it is the people of God that show the same diligence
all the way through, from the beginning and until He comes or we go home
to be with the Lord, that actually inherit the promise. It also
reminds us again, that living in the love of God, equals obedience to His Word. We have talked about diligence before and we will go down that road
again. Diligence means perseverance in carrying
out action. The synonyms are activity, alertness, application, assiduity,
assiduousness, attention, attentiveness, briskness, care, carefulness,
constancy, earnestness, exertion, heed,
heedfulness, industry, intensity, intent, intentness, keenness,
laboriousness. By these definitions alone,
we see that we have got to apply the Word on a consistent basis. We must
labor with intensity and keep our attention on the Word. This continual
activity in the Word keeps us from laziness and entering into doubt and
unbelief. When you are busy doing the Word it will become all that you
are looking at. Which will, in turn, make it easier for you to persevere
in it. This will keep you alert and you will not be caught off guard
by the enemy. Then we will become one of the many that live out the
truth.
Remember, "we're
being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how
to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting
right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our
great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears." Living in the truth, this God-filled life is what makes
us imitators of God. "Therefore be
imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example] as well behaved
children, imitate their fathers." (Ephes. 5:1) Now we don't need to wait on those around us to rate our
God-scale. If we live in the Word, we will allow the Word to reveal
what is truly going on in us as well as our behavior and conduct. We
must be constant in relying on Holy Spirit's aid, to continue growing up
spiritually, never dwarfed by our circumstances.
Every day we must look for the opportunity given by God to exercise our
spiritual muscles. Looking into the mirror of the Word to see how much
we have grown and be grateful to God that He is not
finished with us yet, as we continue to mature.. "Test
yourself to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don't drift along
taking everything for granted. Give yourself regular check-ups. You need
firsthand, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out.
If you fail the test, do something about it." (II Corin. 13:5-8
Message Bible)
"Diligent, perseverance, consistent, alert, sincere"
Love,
Pastor D.
Daughters of Z 