A Partner and a Partaker
Today is a “vibrant” kind of day, isn’t it?
We have so much to be grateful for … so much to celebrate … and so much to accomplish for the unshakable Kingdom of God!
I have learned in my quest for to live a magnificently vibrant life that I must never forget the many people who are aching for the love of Jesus … the countless number of folks whose world is void of genuine joy … and the desperate human beings who simply need an encouraging word.
You see, dear one, the miraculous characteristic of “vibrancy” does not come from our circumstances but it is mined out of the treasure found in intimacy with the King.
He is where abundant life is!
He is where all of the joy is!
His gift to us is peace and His legacy is hope!
“I am leaving you with a gift ~ peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” – John 14:27
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33
My gift to you this week is a tidbit … an excerpt … from my brand new book, “Vibrant: Developing a Deep and Abiding Joy for all Seasons!”
My prayer is that this portion of “Vibrant” delivers peace and hope to you in a world gone mad.
Read on …
“I believe that in the deepest place in each one of us, at our core, our chief desire in life is to simply be like Jesus. How I long to respond like He did to difficult and cantankerous people! How I pray to teach the principles of heaven with the same power and insight that He did! How I pine to pray in spite of human pain and to see miraculous answers like Jesus did when He was on earth.
How I ache to do absolutely anything just like Jesus did!
Peter lets us in on a little secret … that is actually not so much of a secret.
I can picture the enthusiastic Peter calling me by name and asking me to draw close as he grins and his eyes sparkle. I can almost hear his rugged voice whispering to me across the ages, “Carol, if you want to be like Jesus, this is what you must do!”
These are the words that call each one of us to be a living, breathing demonstration of the character of Christ:
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. —2 Peter 1:4
It has always been a little absurd to me that Peter, the rough and tumble fisherman who was truly a man’s man, chose precious as one of his recurring words.
I have a sweet southern friend who never sweats, whose makeup is always perfect, and whose pinky is always bent just so … and her favorite word is precious. In her feminine yet fragile opinion, everything is precious—babies, puppies, the fresh flower bouquets that adorn her home, and even a luncheon that’s prepared for us. It’s all utterly precious in her sugary, feminine opinion!
How in the world could Peter, the man who cut off a soldier’s ear and pulled in heavy nets full of fish, ever stoop his manly self to use the word precious?
It’s incredulous, isn’t it?
Peter first used this word to describe our faith:
So that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. —1 Peter 1:7
Peter then utilized this tender word to portray the blood of Jesus:
But with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. —1 Peter 1:19
The Greek word translated as precious is timios, which means valuable, costly, or having a great price. Timios also means “held in honor, esteemed, especially dear.”
Peter, the unpolished disciple whose life had been refined and chiseled by his faith, knew the value of the word precious and he chose to use it often.
Peter understood the magnificence and the honor that the promises of God hold for those who choose to believe. Peter knew there is nothing more valuable to our lifestyle than appropriating the truth of God’s promises to our everyday behavior.
However, in order for you to own the promises, you must first be aware of them.
In my daily Bible reading, whenever I come across a promise that God has made to me, I write the word promisein the margin beside that verse in red ink with all capital letters.
Although I can’t share every promise in the Bible with you that I have discovered over the course of my life, I can share a few that will help you on your journey to fill your heart with the character and nature of Christ:
But [Jesus] said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” —Luke 18:27
The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost. —Luke 19:10
Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. —Matthew 6:33
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! —Matthew 6:30
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. —Matthew 7:7–8
And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. —Matthew 28:20
When you and I, who have been made in the exact image and likeness of God, apply His promises to our human lives, we begin to walk in the power and strength that He has designed for us.
When I attach my life to His Word, I become more like Him and less like me.
I have found this practice of applying God’s promises to my life to be especially helpful when I am in a battle.
When the enemy is throwing his fiery darts toward me, I take the time to ask the Father, “What promise should I fight with? Would You give me a fighting verse, Father?”
And then, when I fight with His promises rather than with my emotions, I become a force to be reckoned with!
I am armed with the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit.
Paul said, “All of the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ!” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
This is an unparalleled concept in Scripture.
Every time that you or I encounter a promise in the Word of God, Christ whispers in our ear, “This promise is for you! Put your name there! I am saying, ‘Yes!’ to this promise! It’s yours!”
It is stunning to realize that Peter and the Holy Spirit have invited us to be “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).
Because of Jesus, I don’t have to wear my great aunt’s temper or my grandfather’s propensity to criticize.
I get to exhibit the divine nature.
Because of the Holy Spirit, I don’t have to grumble when I don’t get my way or criticize someone who has been cruel to me.
I get to demonstrate the divine nature.
Because of Calvary, I don’t have to be filled with shame over past sins or stay up all night worrying.
I am called to evidence the divine nature.
Because of the Word of God, I don’t have to wonder what God’s will is or wander aimlessly through life.
I am a show-and-tell on planet earth of how to live life filled with God’s holy and lovely nature.
One of the most glorious parts of this lifestyle is that we don’t have to be like Jesus, but we get to be like Him! It is the highest honor and privilege as we walk through this life in which the world is aching for someone to give them Jesus.
Would you pray with me today:
Lord Jesus, I want to be just like You! I don’t want to be like me and live my life with regrets but I want Your nature and Your character to be evident in every word that I speak, every emotion I exhibit, and every action that I participate in. In Jesus’s wonderful name I pray. Amen.
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!