2 minute read.
Daily Reading: Daniel 4:1-37 ESV, 2 Peter 1:1-21 ESV, Psalm 119:97-112 ESV, Proverbs 28:17-18 ESV
Daily Verse: “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:8 ESV)
ARGOS (692): “This word denotes “idle, barren, yielding no return, because of inactivity” is rendered “barren” (2 Peter 1:8).”[1]
Yielding no return.
Peter gives the church a list of qualities to exemplify in their lives:
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” (2 Peter 1:5-7 ESV)
All things end with love when following Jesus. If our actions don’t emulate the divine affection we receive from above, we have work to do. And it does take effort to live like Jesus. We must constantly put our desires away and put God first.
Fruitful effort.
When we pursue virtue and righteousness, taking the high road in difficult situations, we’ll become fruitful. Our actions come from the choices we make. You have at least two options in any case: God’s way or mine.
Following Jesus means we forgive the offense and seek the motivation behind the actions. What causes people to respond differently often comes from what they learned from others. As we know more about Christ, we should respond as He did.
Pursue virtue, and acquire knowledge and self-control as you remain steadfast in your relationship with Jesus. Let your actions reflect God’s love for His people, and love the world for Jesus with brotherly affection.
Continuously increasing the qualities of Jesus will help you produce fruit in abundance. Become known for your love, giving glory to God. Watch as the kingdom increases because of your efforts to follow Jesus.
[1] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 40) Thomas Nelson
