2 Peter 1:3-4 

³His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Retirement

            If you’re to reflect on your life, what do you love to do and spend most of your time? If you’ve saved enough money for retirement, will you do similar thing that you love to do and spend most of your time? Will you be satisfied with it?

            Many people hate their job, and they can hardly wait for their retirement. Do you work in a job you hated and why? You need your salary to sustain your needs. Can you agree that God wants us to have a job we can love for the rest of our life?

It says in Ecclesiastes 5:19, ¹⁹Wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.

            Have you prayed to enjoy the work you have? You may have prayed for much wealth, but have you prayed to enjoy them? Reflection: Can you believe that Christ has divine power to give you everything you need to live a godly life?

1.  Power

³His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

            How strong can you believe that godly life is the most fantastic life that God had designed for his children? Do you agree that God is wonderful, and his plan is wonderful? Humans are sinful. Plans that originated from sinfulness are not godly. You and I have plans for ourselves. And most often, we are frustrated when our plans won’t come out the way we wanted. Why?

It says in Jeremiah 10:23, ²³People’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.

It’s very advisable before making any plan to pray and seek God’s guidance and set in our heart and mind to the plan he had for us. God has provided what we need. Have you received everything you need for godly life? God is gracious; he freely gives to anyone he chooses. To be given everything we need for godly life is simple to understand, but to personally realize it, we should make sure that we have received the precious gift of faith from God, first and foremost.

            By faith, we can trust that God has divine power to give everything we need for godliness. The actuality of receiving everything we need for godly life is proven practically when our life is transformed; we have become new creation, so to say. Transformed life into godliness includes both our physical life and spiritual life. Physical life includes choices, behaviors and attitudes toward self and things needed to live decently. The word of God serves as our basis of transformed life.

Therefore, it is very crucial for us to read the Scripture. How can we know that God has given us everything we need for godly life? It’s wise to know him and his will. The more we know about God and his will, the more we can realize that everything we have comes from him, and then we praise and thank him.

Pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ, it declares in Colossians 1:16-17, ¹⁶For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

            Can you readily conceptualize that we are created for the glory, splendor, honor and praise of our Lord Jesus Christ? Can you acknowledge it without any little hint of hesitation? If that is so, your faith in him is active. You should also desire to live a godly life. Then, by his divine power, everything you need for godliness has been released, and prepared for you whenever you need it. The Holy Spirit helps us how we should live to maximize our privilege as his children.

Income Tax Return

It’s Tax Season. Do you expect tax refund or worried that you have to pay? Accordingly, there are many tax benefits available for qualified taxpayers. Financial experts can provide advisory to taxpayers about those tax benefits. It is wise to seek their advice if you are not very sure how to properly file your tax returns.

Similarly, the Holy Spirit can help us access on the grace of God. Only with the help of the Holy Spirit, that we can realize his promise to have everything we need for godliness. So, how should we live a godly life?

It says in 1 John 2:27: ²⁷As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

How much do we understand about the anointing of God that believers may receive? How can we remain in him and stand firm in our faith in Christ? How do you interpret what it declares in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, ²¹It is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, ²²set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

            The Holy Spirit seals us as children of God. What make us sure we received the Holy Spirit? By faith, the Lord gives us firm confidence to trust his promises. The Lord promised the anointing of his Holy Spirit to help us live in godliness.

2.  Promise

^4aThrough these he has given us his very great and precious promises, 

            Can you agree that through his glory and goodness, Christ has given us great and precious promises? When it says “great,” it is also interpreted as ‘abundant, huge or exceedingly important.’ The term “precious” includes ‘valuable and honorable reputation’ of God, the Giver of promises. So, what were exceedingly important?

What valuable promises that the Lord had given us? Everything for godly life!

Sadly, godly life is most often interpreted as deprivation or scarcity. Why? Is it biblical to be satisfied with poverty and reject material abundance?

Job

Let’s learn from Job. It says in Job 1:1-3, ¹In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. ²He had seven sons and three daughters, ³and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East.

To afford such great number of livestock in this generation, one can easily imagine that Job should have been multi-millionaire. When it says “large number of servants,” Job may have more than a hundred of servants. Some servants may have taken care of the sheep and camels; some servants may have been farmers and taken care of oxen and donkeys, and not to mention his house servants.

Actually, the Lord himself knew that Job was upright and blameless. He declared it in Job 1:8, ⁸Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.

If the Lord deems it that you’re more effective in testifying of his grace and goodness with material abundance, he will bless you practically. It is biblical truth!

Abraham, Joseph, David, Jehoshaphat, Esther and Daniel were godly and wealthy.

There are genuine believers who have abundant material wealth; there are genuine believers who prefer ordinary but decent life. Ecclesiastes 5:10-12 states, ¹⁰Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless. ¹¹As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owners except to feast their eyes on them? ¹²The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether they eat little or much, but as for the rich, their abundance permits them no sleep.

            We must make it as our goal to live a godly life. By then whether in wealth or scarcity, we’ll realize that Christ has provided everything we need for godliness. How can we be assured of that? His Holy Spirit in us assures in 2 Corinthians 1:20, ²⁰For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.

            The Holy Spirit of Christ in us removes any doubt; he affirms that the word of God is trustworthy. If within us, we sense strong confidence that Christ takes us into his heaven when he returns, and he also makes sure that we are well provided for everything we needed to participate in his divine nature of godliness.

3.  Participation

^4bso that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

The great and precious promises of Christ are instrumental to practically participate in our fellowship with him. He provides and fills us with contentment.

When we sense contentment in God, we escape the destructive attraction of worldly pleasure. When it says participation in the divine nature, we fellowship with Christ, and we’re essential parts in his grand plan. Our mandate (to testify of his grace that transformed us) is very crucial part in his grand plan of salvation.

Testifying for Christ is divine in nature that requires godly effort; therefore, we have to rely upon the Holy Spirit to do our part in godly way. As we participate in making disciples, God has provided what we need so that we reject worldliness.

It says in Ephesians 4:22-25, ²²Put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. ²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 

            How many among us had ever tried to share the gospel of Christ to our relatives and friends? Have you had success? Most often it is very tough, right?

Have you heard of stories of passionate believers who very are eager to transform their relatives into Christianity? They destroy religious articles that are not useful to Christian beliefs. Of course, it is illegal to destroy properties of others. Such action is imprudent and not helpful in the image of Christianity.

Our mandate is to testify of transformation that Christ had done in our life.

What transformation in your life serves as practical proof your faith in Christ?

Seized with Fear

Have you sensed reverent fear of the Lord? Let’s learn from the Ephesians in Acts 19:17-20: ¹⁷Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. ¹⁸Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.  ¹⁹A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas  ²⁰In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

What is a drachma? How much is a drachma if converted in our generation?

A drachma was a silver coin that is worth a minimum wage for a day. In those times, they worked from sunrise to sunset, an average of 10 hours labor. What is the average minimum wage today? $15 per hour or $150 per ten hours.

If 50,000 drachmas is multiplied by $150 it amounts to $7.5 million dollars.

            The Ephesians who believed in Jesus Christ confessed of their practices and destroyed multi-million dollar worth of sorcery scrolls. They did not mind it; they have found it much worth believing Christ so that they destroyed things that were unacceptable to God. Such is practical example of transformed life from the Lord.

            Our participation in the grand plan of God for salvation is to testify of our transformed life in Christ. What practical transformation in your life would you readily tell others to prove your faith in Christ? How do you respond when observers ask about you pleasant behavior?

            Pray to be filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may spontaneously speak of word that the Lord may put in your mouth when you testify of his transformational work in your life.

            To testify of the transformational work of Christ in us is divine in nature and he has provided all we need to be effective in our testimony for him. Amen!

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