Summary (As submitted to professor...)

Summary: Becoming Partakers of the Divine Nature

As I look back over the journal that I completed for this assignment, I can’t help but wonder if I was too hard on myself. I thought I was getting along pretty well in my Christian community but reading through these verses each day and having to record the first things that came to mind was an eye-opening experience. I wrote my journal in what’s called “stream of consciousness.” It may not have perfect grammar, spelling, or punctuation but it is the thoughts that began to flood my brain immediately following my reading of the 2 Peter passage. You may wonder why my journal is not attached here… I decided to post it to a blog on the Internet for others to see and experience. There are times when shared spiritual awakening can affect change in others and I am always willing to pour out my heart and splay myself open before the world so that they may see what I am truly made of. You can visit it at: http://2peter1.blogspot.com. I have thoroughly enjoyed this time of reflection and would be interested to see how my answers might compare if I were to complete this devotion again in my senior year of seminary. It was for me the beginning of what I’ve come to call my “Benedictine Moments,” when I get to spend time in study and contemplation like I have never really done before.

If I had to summarize my journal entries and tell you about one thing that I’ve learned from completing this assignment, I would have to say that I have got a lot of work to do to bring myself up to a truly graduate-level mindset for my seminary work and my relationship with God. It was almost like realizing you’re grown-up. This isn’t the frou-frou undergraduate replay of high school that I’m used to. This is about the rest of my life and career. Each of the items that I pointed out in my journal entries as areas that I need to work on, are strictly the result of my mindset. I plan to use Labor Day weekend this year as a time of stepping away from myself to really be able to come back to what I’ve become over this summer: a 26 year old seminary student with real people looking to me as a spiritual leader. If I am going to be that person (that I’ve always wanted to be) I have to have the whole package. I have to have my family in order, my house in order, my finances in order, my study habits in order, my relationships in order, and the list could go on all night. I can and will do this because it is God’s plan for my life. I just have to give Him all of myself… including the parts that I’ve been trying to hang on to so that I could say I had control over something!

Day 16: Love

Reflecting the reality that God is Love in all areas of your life

God is Love. Is there any attribute of God that we celebrate more? As God’s image-bearers we have the high calling of proclaiming His love—in word and in deed—to a world in desperate need of it (1 Peter 2.9). This task—however—is impossible unless we are experiencing His love in all areas of our lives. This becomes possible as we commit ourselves to the Spirit-empowered life where we relinquish the idols of our past (and present) and seek after the “things that are above, where Christ is…” (Colossians 3.1-14). This life is the one that reflects the reality that God is Love.

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to reflect the reality of His love?

Through this exercise, I have learned that God is inviting me to reflect the reality of His love in many ways that I had not even realized I was ignoring. Each of the qualities that we have explored has provided me with a realization that often my goals in life are not what they should be. There are so many qualities that I must truly work on if I am to be more like Christ. Too often I have let the love of God get lost in the business of God. I have allowed myself to think I was accomplishing something for His Kingdom and have forgotten that I am one of His greatest accomplishments. Without being as much like Christ as I possibly can be, I cannot effectively reflect the reality of His love.

• How is God inviting you to practice the reality of His perfect love in your community?

I have been striving to be in constant practice of the reality of God’s perfect love. I feel like my most recent successes are only through God’s love and one of the most powerful way that I could practice God’s love is by sharing with others what He has done in my life. The wonderful thing that I have come to realize through this exercise is how prominent God’s love is in our lives despite our tremendous imperfections. Even at the most basic levels, we are so purely human and sinful that we think we are “good.” As a Christian, when we realize how not good we truly are, it can be discouraging. In the light of these realizations, I am determined that God’s love has seen me through the worst and I have no doubt that He will help see me through to my best.

Day 15: Brotherly Affection

A selfless love for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13.35). With these words Jesus gave His church one of the primary means of being His witnesses to a lost and dying world. Furthermore, Jesus was unambiguous with His expectations on how fellow believers are to treat one another when He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13.34). It is only through abiding in Jesus, the true vine (John 15.1-17) that we may exhibit such selfless love. This abiding relationship has “been granted to us…through the knowledge of Him…” and is the source for our selfless love for one another.

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to practice spirit-empowered selflessness?

I do not want to blow my own horn but I believe I am a pretty selfless person with a good record of brotherly affection. My husband even accuses me of putting others’ needs before those of myself and my family to often. If I were to pinpoint a particular place that I could better practice spirit-empowered selflessness, it would be at home. I can be very selfish in my own “castle.” This one doesn’t take much analysis…

• How is God inviting you to practice spirit-empowered selflessness within your community?

I need to make more of an effort to better consider the needs of my husband and children at home. Even during times when I consider myself in need of the most attention because of pressing deadlines or commitments. This is really not a difficult one to write because I cannot offer excuses for my behavior or pretend that I haven’t thought about it a hundred times before.

Day 14: Steadfastness

A continual attending to the presence of God

Jesus is our exemplar of godliness. Hebrews 1.3 speaks of Jesus as “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature…” Godliness then, as Jesus showed us, is the reflection of the nature and glory of God in our lives. How did Jesus reflect the nature and glory of God? He did so through a continual attendance to the presence and will of the Father. We are called to do the same, to live in a perpetual response to an omnipresent Father. As daunting a task as this may seem, we must be reminded that Jesus manifested godliness as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 42.1-7, Acts 2.22-23). Even better, Jesus promised us the ability to do as He did, even more, through the power of the Holy Spirit and His divine agency at the right hand of the Father (John 14.11-21).

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you into a deeper awareness of His presence?

God truly has become more present to me in my life these past few days. It has become clear to me, though, that God is not as present as He should be in my marriage. Danny and I have always been good friends and parents but there are times when we fill like little more than roommates. It seems like the spiritual connection that seemed to bring us together has disappeared over the years with the added responsibilities of adulthood. We are rarely “godly” with one another. Even if we’re not arguing or stressing about our commitments, we are just passing each other during the day without real connection. When we were dating, we actual sat down each evening and did devotions together. We both promised that we would continue that and that when we had children, we would do family devotions too. This hasn’t happened consistently and truthfully we don’t even have the energy to initiate it. I think the reason might be because we have not been attending to the presence of God.

• How is God inviting you to practice a deeper attendance to His presence within your community?

We truly need to make an effort to attend to the Holy Spirit in our marriage. It seems like we are so busy waiting on the Holy Spirit to fill and guide us that we forget to make time to entertain that Spirit. In our lives, our day to day schedule is about to change dramatically because the kids are heading back to playschool, where I’ll be working two days a week and I will have a class at seminary that meets weekly. Sammi will continue her dance class and we will all continue to be active in our church. As this schedule changes, I hope to be able to look at the calendar schedule time with my husband for attending to the presence of God as often as possible.

Day 13: Steadfastness

A temperament and perspective that are used for the glory of God

The steadfastness that Peter refers to is anchored in an eschatological hope, the promises of the age to come (Revelation 21.1-7). This hope-centered steadfastness stands in contrast to self-sufficient, pride-filled steadfastness of the Stoics of Peter’s day, in that it places no hope in self, or in this world. Rather, our hope awaits the day when all injustice will be made right (Revelation 6.9-17) and when we can be with our heavenly Father (John 14.2). Therefore, we can maintain hope in spite of present sufferings (Romans 5.1-6). This hope is the fuel for our steadfastness, and this brings glory to God.

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to hope-centered steadfastness?

In school. There are times when the work seems way too overwhelming and the guilt from being away from my children envelopes me. I ask myself time and time again, “Why am I doing this?” When I first met with Dr. Klipowicz and he said that I could easily finished up my MDiv in five years, I just about fell out of my chair. Five years?!?! Who’s got that kinda time? I got things to be gettin’ done… I was kinda figuring this seminary gig would last three years at the most! The eternal truth is that slow and steady wins the race… steady and steadfast. I firmly believe that God is here with me and to some degree school is suffering. Hope is my fuel… I hope I pass this test, I hope I pass on this paper, I hope I pass this class, etc. :) When it comes to school, so far it has truly become the thing that pushes my boundaries of trust in God. It has forced me to be more steadfast because of so many things that are out of my own control. I only hope that I can hang on well enough to survive the ride!

• How is God inviting you to practice steadfastness within your community?

I believe that I need to work on increasing my steadfastness in my community by being more positive about even negative situations at church. So much of my “community” is a part of my church and in recent times, we’ve been impacted by a staff member that has a particularly negative attitude toward church ministries. At times, it can be hard to keep someone’s negative feelings from impacting a particular activity and it is easy to get caught up in negative talk and disappointment. I hope to be able to use these verses in the future as a specific reason to avoid being sucked into someone else’s hopelessness.

Day 12: Self Control

Passions and preferences that are harnessed for the glory of God

Our capacity for passion and desire is a gift from God. When sin entered into the world, it corrupted this gift (Romans 1.18-32). Only when Christ returns we will be set free from this curse (Romans 8.18-25). Until then, we are called to be good stewards of our passions and preferences (1 Corinthians 9.24-27). This is possible because God is faithful (1 Corinthians 10.13), and has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to exercise Spirit-empowered self-control?

Since day 4 when this topic was first addressed, I have tried to be in more control at my home. This is hard because I was under the false impression that I was in control! The truth is that control does not need to panic or yell or run around getting things together. Realizing this has changed a few things, even down to our Sunday mornings, which are usually battlegrounds. As I continue to work toward a goal of total self control with regards to my home and family life, I could not help but think of yet another area where I could use some work on self control. Food. Ever since my second child was born, I have been virtually incapable of losing a single pound of my baby weight. I weigh more than I ever have in my life and I miss my clothes! BUT… when I’m up late trying to finish school assignments or working on a church project, I have absolutely no power to deny myself something to chew on.

• How is God inviting you to practice Spirit-empowered self-control within your community?

I believe that our bodies are like temples and that God wants us to be healthy, happy, whole persons working for His Kingdom and I also believe that I am not there right now. I have the resources, I just have to focus on making the right choices. Certainly the power of prayer will once again prevail!

Day 11: Knowledge

A mind that is transformed for the glory of God

We have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2.16). So our knowledge is more than a cognitive ascent. The knowledge we have been given and are to pursue is one that is relational, that discerns the will of God (Hebrews 5.13-14). This type of knowledge can only be attained through faith. So that as we are children of God, our minds are to be renewed for the purpose of knowing Him and doing His will (Romans 12).

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to renew your mind for His glory?

God truly wants me to trust Him more. He has given me the personal knowledge of Him that calls me to. In my everyday life, I go through my regular routines with worry and anxiety in the back of my mind. From the simplest things like what to eat for supper to major projects that I might be working on, I can whittle away hours obsessing over how to make sure things turn out perfect. Being a perfectionist is difficult. When things don’t turn out perfect, I am disappointed and feel ineffective. But because of constant fear that things WON’T be perfect, I delay ever getting started on things. In my life, perfectionism leads directly to procrastination. I constantly feel God calling me to DO what it is that I need to do to the best of my ability and to let Him handle the rest.

• How is God inviting you to use share your knowledge of Him within your community?

God is inviting me to practice this gift of knowledge in my community by looking at my responsibilities head on and tackling them without wasting my time (and His) worrying about things that I ultimately have no control over.

Day 10: Virtue

Doing all things for the glory of God

Virtue, which may also be translated as moral excellence, transcends mere good works. Virtue is lifestyle of action and attitude that is a response to the understanding that; a) all things belong to God (c.f. Romans 11.33-36); b) He is glorious (Psalm 24); c) we—as His people—have the honor and stewardship of living out that truth (1 Peter 2.9). Therefore, to be virtuous, is to live a life of integrity—integrity of action and attitude—for the glory of God (Colossians 3).

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to apply virtue to?

God is really tugging at me to apply virtue to those areas of my life where I choose to take the reigns in the light of someone else’s lack of responsibility. Often times, I will see someone who’s completely uncommitted to a project or idea, struggling to pull it off and I immediately see a reason to help. Before I know it, I’m left with the entire thing for myself and the other person has jumped ship. There are times when this happens that I just do enough to skirt by, but make sure to at least do it better than it would have been done. I rarely give projects like that 100% of my effort. Usually because by the time it really gets down to the nitty gritty, I’ve become disgusted with myself for having jumped in, in the first place!

• How is God inviting you to practice virtue within your community?

Maybe this is part of God’s purpose for me. Maybe I was intended to be a sort of “clean-up” girl… a crisis manager. I’m pretty good at it. I know there are times when God is inviting me to give 100% effort as opposed to 10%, but on the basis of “principle,” I have refused to listen to Him in the past. No matter what I do, whether it’s my project or the mangled start of someone else’s… I must give the Lord at least 100% of my effort and put aside my personal agenda of being sure that the “irresponsible” party is found out.

Day 9: Faith

Our provision for all things that pertain to life and godliness

Faith, to Peter, is assumed among his readers. This faith is the divine antecedent to all things pertaining to “life and godliness.” Peter’s exemplar to the faith-filled life is—no doubt—Jesus Christ. It was Jesus who took on the weakness of man in His incarnation (Philippians 2.6-8). It was Jesus who accomplished the perfect will of the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12.18, Luke 4.18, John 1.33). And it is Jesus, through His death, resurrection, and ascension, who has provided the means for us to receive everything that we need to be “partakers of the divine nature” (John 14.11-12; 15.16; 16.13, Ephesians 2.8-10).

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to receive His gift of faith at a deeper level?

Since day one of this exercise I think that I have been better able to accept God’s invitation to receive His gift of faith at a deeper level. Day one allowed me to reflect on the need I had to experience a deeper faith and I feel that I made a conscience effort to work on my faithfulness. The beautiful thing about this, is the relief that it brings. Being able to turn things over to God in faith that He will handle them, leaves me without anxiety and worry that typically occupy my mind. There are still areas that need work. While I have made a bit of headway on conquering my “what if” lack of faith, I am still struggling with a great deal of self-doubt. In reading through this on day eight, I have come to the realization that I am perfect right where I am with regards to my academics, my mothering, and my Christian walk. I spend quite a bit of time and energy being nervous about not being good enough in those areas life. Worry and insecurity leads directly to guilt for me, which bogs me down in a self-induced depression about who I am at any given time. It is apparent that in addition to the relinquishment of my self-centered control, I must also be willing to allow myself the room to be imperfect in my world.

• How is God inviting you to practice His gift of faith within your community?

I think God keeps testing me in this area. He truly wants to see me trust Him completely and I believe that sometimes the outcomes of certain projects may be directly related to His jerking at me for more trust. There are many times when it just seems like everything that could go wrong does and often it is then that I realize exactly why that is so. I believe that God is inviting me to practice His gift of faith in my community by putting me in certain places at just the right time to be handed a specific task for which I may not have the confidence to pull off.

Day 8: Love

Reflecting the reality that God is Love in all areas of your life

God is Love. Is there any attribute of God that we celebrate more? As God’s image-bearers we have the high calling of proclaiming His love—in word and in deed—to a world in desperate need of it (1 Peter 2.9). This task—however—is impossible unless we are experiencing His love in all areas of our lives. This becomes possible as we commit ourselves to the Spirit-empowered life where we relinquish the idols of our past (and present) and seek after the “things that are above, where Christ is…” (Colossians 3.1-14). This life is the one that reflects the reality that God is Love.

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to reflect the reality of His love?

I imagine that God genuinely wants me to reflect the reality of His love in every area of my life. I’m not truly sure why but I’m having a hard time with this particular topic but my mind is full of examples of God’s love for me. I suppose it is fitting that for a question like that one is only able to recall to mind all of the past evidences of love that God has shown them. In knowing that God wants me to reflect the reality of His love in all parts of my life, I guess I then have to admit in which areas I am not reflecting the reality of God’s love. That would most likely be my home life. I should be as forgiving towards my husband when he “messes something up,” as God is toward me for my sin. I am very bad at just treating home like the place where I can be everything but good and spiritual.

• How is God inviting you to practice the reality of His perfect love in your community?

Indeed the more I think on it, the more I believe God is really pulling me to recognize my home as a sanctuary that is just a valid and visible to Him as the sanctuary of our church. I have always justified myself as being pleasing to God as long as I wasn’t embarrassing Him in public… but how do I reflect Him in private. He still sees me there.

Day 7: Brotherly Affection

A selfless love for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13.35). With these words Jesus gave His church one of the primary means of being His witnesses to a lost and dying world. Furthermore, Jesus was unambiguous with His expectations on how fellow believers are to treat one another when He said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13.34). It is only through abiding in Jesus, the true vine (John 15.1-17) that we may exhibit such selfless love. This abiding relationship has “been granted to us…through the knowledge of Him…” and is the source for our selfless love for one another.

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to practice spirit-empowered selflessness?

God is inviting me to apply practice spirit-empowered selflessness in my personal relationships. From the relationship with my sister, to the friendship at have at church, I can feel Him pulling me toward more selfless talk and actions. It is extremely easy to get caught up with a group of friends who may be “rebellious” in nature. Having fun does not always have to include taking on their actions or talking a certain way to “fit in” for the moment. The reality is that my friends would most likely accept me for the way I am without my efforts to “fit in.” With regards to my relationship with my sister, I feel that I have sometimes ignored her need for acknowledgement in light of the casual nature of our family dynamic. As she has become older, however, I can see it becoming more imperative for me to allow her to grow up and be a friend to me.

• How is God inviting you to practice spirit-empowered selflessness within your community?

Obviously, God is calling me to practice greater in my relationship with my sister. It has become clear that without it, I risk having a “How’s the weather?” type acquaintance with her. But also in other areas, God is calling me to stand up and leave when a conversation turns to gossip, to build up a person that others may be tearing down, to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. It is one of those things that will require a constant conscience effort on my part.

Day 6: Godliness

A continual attending to the presence of God

Jesus is our exemplar of godliness. Hebrews 1.3 speaks of Jesus as “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature…” Godliness then, as Jesus showed us, is the reflection of the nature and glory of God in our lives. How did Jesus reflect the nature and glory of God? He did so through a continual attendance to the presence and will of the Father. We are called to do the same, to live in a perpetual response to an omnipresent Father. As daunting a task as this may seem, we must be reminded that Jesus manifested godliness as a man empowered by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 42.1-7, Acts 2.22-23). Even better, Jesus promised us the ability to do as He did, even more, through the power of the Holy Spirit and His divine agency at the right hand of the Father (John 14.11-21).

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you into a deeper awareness of His presence?

God is most likely inviting me into a deeper awareness of His presence is the small, everyday things in life. While I have always held that there are no coincidences in life, there are times when I miss some of the small miracles of everyday God. I am so caught up in doing what it is that I have to do in a given day, that even the most obvious acts of God seem to go unnoticed by me. I want that awareness, too. I have often said that I feel connected to God in a way that most people aren’t privy to. My friends tease me about having the “sixth sense,” but I truly believe that God speaks to me through my intuition. I have gotten so good at listening to Him when it comes to the “big” things in life; family, kids, school choices, career considerations, ministry guidance, that He has become something of a guidance counselor and not my personal Lord.

• How is God inviting you to practice a deeper attendance to His presence within your community?

I know several individuals within my church that have mastered being able to see God in every detail of life and feel His presence around them at all times. I think God would be pleased if I were to strike up dialogue with those folks regarding their awareness. I also believe that even though it is likely to be a recurring theme throughout an exercise like this, I have absolutely got to make more time available for spending with God. There is a very good chance that I am already at a spiritual plateau in my life and do not realize it. Until I begin to experience some new filling of the Holy Spirit, I will never know.

Day 5: Steadfastness

A temperament and perspective that are used for the glory of God

The steadfastness that Peter refers to is anchored in an eschatological hope, the promises of the age to come (Revelation 21.1-7). This hope-centered steadfastness stands in contrast to self-sufficient, pride-filled steadfastness of the Stoics of Peter’s day, in that it places no hope in self, or in this world. Rather, our hope awaits the day when all injustice will be made right (Revelation 6.9-17) and when we can be with our heavenly Father (John 14.2). Therefore, we can maintain hope in spite of present sufferings (Romans 5.1-6). This hope is the fuel for our steadfastness, and this brings glory to God.

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to hope-centered steadfastness?

In ministry. Even though I feel that ministry is my work and that there is really nothing else that I could ever do in this world that would satisfy me the way it does, I am extremely susceptible to burnout. I can easily over commit myself and before I know it, I have a mess on my hands that I am often incapable of sorting out and then my frustration turns from the task at hand to the job as a whole. There are so many times that I attempt to do things of my own accord, failing to consult the Spirit, and falling on my face. The problem is that this rarely tends to happen publicly and then the failure that I should be facing before everyone, ends up being a internal failure and often sends me into temporary personal depression.

• How is God inviting you to practice steadfastness within your community?

God has been working on me through these last few months that I have been attending seminary, to help me prioritize my ministry efforts and to keep myself from being spread too thin. He is calling meto focus more of an effort towards overcoming procrastination and the need to put everyone else’s needs before my own, while remaining a servant leader for His church.

Day 4: Self Control

Passions and preferences that are harnessed for the glory of God

Our capacity for passion and desire is a gift from God. When sin entered into the world, it corrupted this gift (Romans 1.18-32). Only when Christ returns we will be set free from this curse (Romans 8.18-25). Until then, we are called to be good stewards of our passions and preferences (1 Corinthians 9.24-27). This is possible because God is faithful (1 Corinthians 10.13), and has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to exercise Spirit-empowered self-control?

God has been dealing with me, when it comes to Spirit-empowered self-control, since I was a teenager. I am a lot like my father who has always had an impulsive and compulsive nature. I inherited it. He also has a short temper. I began to make conscious effort to better control my passions and preferences when I started college. After having been homeschooled for several years, I was sort of reintroduced to the world of people not doing things my way or doing things that particular agitated me. I prayed asking for patience… got it (the hard way.) I prayed asking for better understanding of others… and that is something that I believe He is still working on. There are still those individuals who make absolutely no sense to me and I have had to work hard to quit judging those people. On top of that, I am very defensive and can be argumentative. Those qualities are not need-serving in ministry and the more I become involved in ministry, the more I find myself having to check my feelings at the door. This is the most important area that I feel God continuing to call me to exercise self-control. I would venture to say that any self-control that I exhibit is Spirit-empowered, because it is truly against my DNA to exhibit good self-control of my own accord!

• How is God inviting you to practice Spirit-empowered self-control within your community?

The most difficult “community” for me to practice Spirit-empowered self-control is within my family. For so long, I believed that home was that place where I could truly be myself… let out all those emotions that I have to can while at church or out in public. Then God began to work on my heart, convicting me about having the need to experience those feelings at all. My husband has always received the brunt of it. Anger, anxiety, nerves, aggravation… a weaker person would have left me a long time ago. He is my rock. But I have expressed to him my desire to rid myself of those emotions totally and we have prayed together that I may be able to accomplish this. I would really like to be able to calm myself to a level of total trust and faith that would allow me to go through each day without negative emotions rear their ugly heads.

Day 3: Knowledge

A mind that is transformed for the glory of God

We have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2.16). So our knowledge is more than a cognitive ascent. The knowledge we have been given and are to pursue is one that is relational, that discerns the will of God (Hebrews 5.13-14). This type of knowledge can only be attained through faith. So that as we are children of God, our minds are to be renewed for the purpose of knowing Him and doing His will (Romans 12).

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to renew your mind for His glory?

Bible study. Pure and simple. Working at the church and being in seminary making it VERY easy to set aside any type of Bible study. One might think that by constantly doing school work that centers around the Bible, that you would be very connected to the Holy Spirit. This is just not so. I was one of those folks who thought I would get my fill in the midst of my studies, but there are instances when I feel let down by my studies. While I am excited to increase my “book” knowledge of Christ and his church, I am at the same time disappointed in my personal Bible study.

• How is God inviting you to use share your knowledge of Him within your community?

One of the best ways that I have found to study is in preparation for teaching others. I am always surprised by the new things that I learn every time I prepare to teach. I definitely believe that God is calling me to not only increase my knowledge of Him, but to share the knowledge that I gain with others. When I make a commitment to others, I feel even more compelled to learn than if I am strictly learning for myself.

Day 2: Virtue

Doing all things for the glory of God

Virtue, which may also be translated as moral excellence, transcends mere good works. Virtue is lifestyle of action and attitude that is a response to the understanding that; a) all things belong to God (c.f. Romans 11.33-36); b) He is glorious (Psalm 24); c) we—as His people—have the honor and stewardship of living out that truth (1 Peter 2.9). Therefore, to be virtuous, is to live a life of integrity—integrity of action and attitude—for the glory of God (Colossians 3).

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to apply virtue to?

Finances. I feel pretty virtuous when it comes to most things in my life, except money. I grew up in a family with parents who worked hard and made very good money. My parents came from families who only had what they needed to survive, so I feel like they lived vicariously though me and my sister, getting us anything we wanted. If we mentioned having an interest in something, my Dad would go out and buy the top-of-the-line of whatever items were needed to fulfill that interests. No expense was spared. We also did not attend church when I was growing up and I never knew anything about giving money to the church until I was in college. I wondered for so long how my family could have been as blessed as it was, with my parents ignoring God’s command to tithe. This was a dangerous way to grow up… and I have suffered. Beginning in college, I blew $3,000 that I’d earned working for my parents the summer before my freshman year, in one semester. Gone. Poof. I just figured there was more where that came from. Fast forward a little and before long I was 19 with 3 credit cards maxed out. Woof. I’ve been married for almost 6 years now and I’m still recovering from credit mistakes. I have been on a long, hard road of learning when it comes to money. I have an incredibly hard time with impulsive and compulsive spending… I’m coming to terms with it and through sound spiritual guidance, I am coming to a more virtuous place with regards to my finances, but I’m not there yet. It seems that He is constantly calling me to be more virtuous with the gifts that He has given me.

• How is God inviting you to practice virtue within your community?

The “community” that immediately comes to mind is my family. Perhaps this is so because I feel that God is calling me to practice virtue within my family. I’ve pretty much got the outside world under the impression that I am virtuous. And I would even say that I am virtuous to the rest of the world. My family sometimes takes a back seat to the rest of the world and in the end, gets the sloppy leftovers of my aggravation and anxiety. By the time I make it home to be with my family, I’m slap out of integrity and find myself critical and condescending. My patience is very limited and the rest of the world typically uses it up. I can feel God calling me to show my family a more virtuous wife and mother. Maybe if I succeed in “uncluttering” my life (and my house) I can get to a place of settled virtue… with God’s help.

Day 1: Faith

Our provision for all things that pertain to life and godliness

Faith, to Peter, is assumed among his readers. This faith is the divine antecedent to all things pertaining to “life and godliness.” Peter’s exemplar to the faith-filled life is—no doubt—Jesus Christ. It was Jesus who took on the weakness of man in His incarnation (Philippians 2.6-8). It was Jesus who accomplished the perfect will of the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12.18, Luke 4.18, John 1.33). And it is Jesus, through His death, resurrection, and ascension, who has provided the means for us to receive everything that we need to be “partakers of the divine nature” (John 14.11-12; 15.16; 16.13, Ephesians 2.8-10).

• Read 2 Peter 1.5-8
• In what areas of your life is God inviting you to receive His gift of faith at a deeper level?

I am a control-freak. This is not an endorsement of the behavior, simply a confession. There are times when I am firmly planted in the belief that if I want something done right (or even well) that I must do it myself. This can become burdensome… stike… this IS burdensome. In addition to this control problem, I have a doubt problem. I doubt that if I ask someone else to do a particular thing, that they’ll respond affirmatively. I doubt that if I actually give the task to that person that it’ll be done right (or well). I doubt a LOT. A doubting, control freak is not a pleasant combination. It reeks havoc on my mind. I sit in bed at night, having to distract my brain from thinking, with the television in order to try to sleep. There is no doubt that I need to deepen my faith. I am at a plateau and I’ve been here for a while. After becoming a Christian and acquiring TONS of new knowledge, I thought I was accomplishing something. Turns out that all the knowledge in the world is meaningless if you don’t put it into action. So I immediately began to throw myself into ministry within my local church. Now I’m wading in it so deep that I’m not sure I could get out if I wanted to. In and of itself, that’s not a problem .. but because of my aforementioned character flaws ministry become difficult. I know that God is inviting me to deepen my faith. I just wonder sometimes if I’ll ever have the time to do that!

• How is God inviting you to practice His gift of faith within your community?

Within my community, I feel like a faker. As the Lay Leader of my church, people have begun to do something that I’ve never had them do before: hold me in high esteem. Some have even admitted to looking up to me. But I’m a fake. My faith is not as deep as my words communicate it to be. And I’ve never really stopped to think about that until now… early in the morning (which is totally unlike me) on the morning that I’m supposed to deliver a sermon to our congregation. Ouch! I trust God for the big things: direction in life, to take care of my health, and prayer concerns that I bring before Him. But I find that I am rarely able to trust Him in the trenches. My head tells me that He is far to busy to be concerned with whatever mess I’ve gotten myself into… that God only helps those who help themselves… Yet, part of my sermon for this morning deals with how important it is for each of us to deepen our souls. Will I ever stop to listen for myself? I have become so caught up in the business of ministry, that I am forgetting to allow myself to be ministered to. Yipes! In the past couple of months, the times that I have been ministered to the most, have been in my seminary classes and I am learning so much… coming to some really important self-awareness (i.e. this). Those were times that I was “scheduled” to be in class, because the classes were paid for. If I’d had the option of going to a lecture or going shopping… I’d have picked shopping, hands down. God knows this about me and I praise Him for that. He has opened up my mind and allowed seminary to be a channel to reach me through. I could feel that early on… back last year, even, as I visited Gordon-Conwell, I could feel something about the place… God called me there. Where He’ll lead me, I will go.

Further Instructions...

BECOMING PARTAKERS

OF THE

DIVINE NATURE

As his final letter to the church, Peter’s 2^nd epistle takes on the form of a farewell discourse. Consistent with this genre, Peter opens his letter with a short sermon that serves as a summery of his teachings. As an apostle of Christ, even more, as a member of Jesus’ inner circle (along with James and John), we should pay close attention his words.

Peter’s desire, he writes, is that we lay hold of everything that God has given us, so that we may become “partakers of the divine nature.” In order to attain this high calling, we are to engage in a Spirit-empowered pursuit of eight essential qualities.

In this assignment you will engage in a prayerful attendance to each of these eight qualities as a means of discerning the extent to which you are “partaking in the divine nature.”

Instructions:

For each day, read the introduction to that day’s “quality.” After that, in an attentive and prayer manner read 2 Peter 1.5-8. Then, ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment as you reflect on each of the 2 questions. Write down your reflections. You may use the space provided, or the back. You should spend 20-30 minutes for each day. Upon completing all 8 days of exercises, repeat the process (16 days total). Finally, summarize your journal entries for each exercise on a separate paper (1-2 pages). Turn in all your work.

Purpose: As described in syllabus...

Assignment #5: Personal Analysis of 2 Peter 1:3-11

One of the overarching biblical frameworks for this course emerges from Peter’s exhortation in his second epistle. This passage delineates the important interaction between divine initiative in grace and human responsiveness and responsibility for personal growth and ministerial fruitfulness.

In order to incorporate this biblical perspective into life and ministry, guidelines for developing a personal “workbook” will be provided on the first day of class. The completion of these assignments centering on this passage will be due on August 31, 2006. This assignment will be worth 40 points based upon completion and quality of the work submitted.