Saturday, November 7, 2009

"MARC It," By Kelli Zaniel

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires,” (2 Peter 1:3-4). Our growth in Christ is not because of who we are but because of whose we are. We don’t have the resources or the strength to be truly godly on our own. We require God to equip us by pouring his divine into our mundane.

Through God’s promises, he allows us to “participate in the divine nature,” so that we can resist temptation and live our lives totally sold out for him. Lets take a microscope to the second half of this verse. Verse 4 says that through God’s glory and goodness, we are given his very great and precious promises. Because we are given these promises from God, we can then participate in the divine nature. I am ready to participate in the divine nature and escape corruption in the world, aren't you?

As I sat Indian style in my closet and allowed these verses to soak in, I began asking the question… “What are some of God’s, ‘great and precious promises,’ that Peter is talking about?" I decided to “MARC” it!
MEET... the Requirements God sets forth
ACCEPT... the responsibility
RECEIVE... God’s promises
CLAIM IT for your life!

God’s Holy Word pours out the truth of His life-giving promises to us. Below are some of God’s promises to us.

1. “My God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus,” (Phil. 4:19).

2. “Whatever you ask for in my name, I will do it, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son,” (John 14:13).

3. “And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work,” (2 Cor. 9:8).

4. "Those who obey His commands live in Him and he in them," (1 John 3:24).

The Apostle Paul explained that God spoke the promises and Christ fulfilled them. “For every one of God’s promises is “yes,” in Him (2 Cor. 1:20). I understand this to mean that if we obey God’s Word and do what is says, we will be given full access to all of God’s heavenly promises.

It is easy for us to consider that once we become a Christian, we have been awarded a free ticket to all of God’s promises. Sometimes, however, these gifts of grace come with a fine print or stipulation. Below are examples of God's promises and His expectations of us, the recipients of those promises.

One example is, “If we honor Him, He will honor us,” (1 Samuel 3:20). The scripture reveals that God will only honor us if we honor him by following his commandments.

Another good example is found in James 4:8. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” The scripture says that if we draw near to him, He will reveal His presence. But in verse 8, it also states, “cleanse your hands, sinner and purify your hearts.” We must first ask God to cleanse us of our unrighteousness before we can draw near to Him. We must have complete abandon to our will and be utterly surrendered to His before we can see, hear and experience the true Holiness of the, "Shepherd and overseer of our soul," (see 1 Peter 2:25).

The last example is found in Matthew 6:14. This one is tough. “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” The stipulation is unless we forgive other people for their sins against us, our Heavenly Father will not forgive us of the sins we have committed against Him. When someone sins against us, we have to trust that God is just and will, "pay back trouble to those who trouble you," (see 2 Thess. 1:6-7). We as Christians are to extend out our hands of mercy to others as Christ has done for us.

The wonderful news is that all of God’s promises are accessible to us as Christians seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. His door is always open. He is never closed for lunch. He stays up late. There is no excuse for not claiming His promises. His heavenly finger will graciously point us in the right direction. The Bible is here to speak the living Truth and to reveal the “how to’s,” for unearthing God's perfect treasures... His promises; our inheritance.

Lord, help me to look for you with a questlike attitude, be satisfied with you, discover your commands, meet all your requirements, be held accountable, receive your promises and claim it for my life. Help me to discover my own personal love story with you. You are my heart's true desire.

1 comment:

  1. Kelli, this is the exact Scripture that I was reading this morning in 2 Peter. It's so awesome to see God's direct hand as He counsels through His Word. I love it when He's teaching me things. I can't get away from it! Thank you for sharing your heart, I know it was directly from God today! That is a sure confirmation. I've got it in my journal, if you want to read the proof. I recorded it before reading your blog. God is so awesome!

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