Good morning. Because of
His promises and our partaking of the divine nature: for this very reason also,
applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your
moral excellence, knowledge; and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your
self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; and in your
godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. Wow, what
a progression! It would take diligence to obtain all of that. It seems to
progress until you get to love. But this is not just some frivolous goal. For
if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither
useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice
that it is not just that you have these qualities, but they are increasing. And
what if you don't have them? He who lacks these qualities is blind or
shortsighted having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Sadly it
is common to go away from them. It is as he says later about a sow after washing
returns to wallowing in the mire. It is all too true today that Christians go
back to the way they were before they became Christians. In fact some of them
go back even stronger than they were before. It takes work, and so they give
up. There should be nothing in the old way of life that is attractive to
Christians. But it did say to apply all diligence in your faith. It takes work
to become what God wants us to be. Father thank You that the reader exhibits
moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly
kindness, and most of all Christian love!
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
Good morning. While Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. It doesn’t say, but I assume it is still during this time of the Passover. This man came to Jesus by night. Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do the signs that You do unless God is with him. It just said that the people believed in His name because of the signs He was doing; yet it does not say what those signs were. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. That is why unbelievers cannot tell what is of the kingdom of God and what is not – they’re not born again. Nicodemus doesn’t have a clue. How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? Unless one is born of water and the Spirit ...
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