May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection (2 Peter 1:2-7)

Last time we looked at God’s desire for us to find our joy in Him, by allowing every aspect of our lives to have in view the glory of God.  Today’s message is short, because for anyone seriously pursuing God with their life, one thing will be apparent – it is hard.  There will be times when you fall, there will be trials and struggles, and there will be times when you do not feel joy in your relationship with God as you once did.  So our call to brotherly affection is an overflow of our own pursuit of God, knowing that we all are in need of help and encouragement.

We’re called to know others, and be known.  Nothing about following Christ is meant to be private.  Someone whose faith is private is a person whose faith is dying.  As God exists in community within the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) – we’re called to do the same with the Church.  Risk being vulnerable with other believers who can encouraged you in the grace of God through Jesus.  Help one another, knowing that no one is meant to endure the trials of this broken world alone, but God has given us His people as a means of grace.  I hope you have people in your life who are a help to you in your walk of faith.  More than that even, I hope that you are that person for others.  God has uniquely gifted each of us, that we can serve the body of believers in Christ, and no one is unimportant – we all need each other.

Grace and Peace,

Adam