Live well

So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. (2 Peter 1:5-7)

Jesus has the power of God - so, if he indwells your spirit, don't lose one minute in allowing him to put that power to use within your life. Faith is good, but we need renewed thoughts, changed behavior, and a whole lot of 'umph' to get through the testing of that faith! We need his power - we have his power - but most of us still feel 'powerless' to live as we should. It is because we think we have to do all this 'changing' in our own power, not HIS.

Good character comes as we begin to allow his indwelling power and his word to bring conviction to any area of our 'character' that isn't upright. That conviction should turn us away from those things that muddy our character and point us toward those things that will build up the good character of one who is truly devoted to God. Spiritual understanding may not be immediate, but when we said 'yes' to Jesus, his Spirit came into our lives in order to bring us into more and more understanding of 'spiritual things'.

Many times, the 'failure' to develop 'good character' begins by allowing our focus to drift back to old ways of thinking and acting. Alert discipline is called for in this walk with Jesus. It is more than 'being on alert' for the enemy's attacks - it involves being open at all times to receive the 'teachable moment' within that circumstance we are facing. Patience may seem a little bit 'passive' to some, but in reality, there is a great deal of 'passion' behind our patience. We know Jesus is about to break down walls, remove past hurts, heal unhealthy emotions, and create a newness within us. We are eager to see it done but wait on his perfect timing with expectation and hope.

Love caps it all off - because God is love and his presence creates that love within us - the love that has no strings attached. We cannot love well until we have truly made the commitment to 'live well'. We only 'live well' when that living is guided and empowered by the Spirit of Christ that indwells us! Just sayin!