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Pentecost
June 12, 2016

Yesterday we saw how God worked a miracle so that the gospel could continue to be preached once the Holy Spirit was given to the church on the Day of Pentecost. Today is the 2016 Day of Pentecost that we read about earlier. We read about the first miracles worked through the apostles by the Holy Spirit and how God intervened in the lives of the church members so that the church would grow in faith. Peter wrote a letter explaining how the Holy Spirit grows within us through faith.

2 Peter 1:1-10
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

It is through our savior, Jesus Christ, that we are saved. The Holy Spirit, first given to the church thousands of years ago shortly after Jesus died for our sins, allows us to experience the nature of God. In a world that is focused on the human condition and human nature, we focus on understanding God's nature even though we are bound by the same human condition. Christians have a promise beyond the human condition, eternal life living a life filled with the character, peace, and love of God, and this is the foundation of the great and precious promises that Peter writes about. Lust is what drives the human condition and it feeds a world filled with corruption. As Christians, we must be focused on the nature of God rather than human nature. With a basis of faith, Christians add virtue. In all that is done the standard is excellence. Beyond virtue is knowledge, the ability to know good from evil. Temperance is the ability to choose good over evil. We need patience once temperance is learned, whether it is us or those around us. As we choose good over evil and continue this over time, we begin to act in ways that reflect God's wisdom reflected in his teachings that we live by. Living a life reflecting the wisdom of God leads us to be kinder with each other. Everything leads to charity, or love, the basis of God's character. Everything that God is, has done, or will do, is a reflection of love, not lust which we often mistake for love, but love, a selfless devotion towards others. This is the straight and narrow road that leads to salvation. It was James who wrote a simple statement about selfless devotion to others.

James 1:27
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

When James wrote about meeting the needs of the fatherless and widows in their affliction, he was writing about a selfless devotion to people most overlooked by society. Sometimes selfless devotion means sharing financial and other physical resources, but not always. If you only focused on sharing financial and physical resources, your religion would always require somebody to be poor so that you could be a person of distinct faith, and in a circular path, that would be selfish. When there is an immediate short-term need, sharing money and physical resources might be what is needed. In the long-term, those in need will have their needs met best by helping them understand how to work through their problems, getting them started on this process, and if needed providing short-term support.

2 John 5-6
And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

John shows us in his second letter that love is the purpose of the commandments. John shows that it is by following the commandments that we are ultimately led to love. Using fewer words, he simplifies Peter's message by focusing on the end result. On this Pentecost, we should all be resolved to have faith grow within us by focusing on what is excellent and great, by distinguishing good from evil, by choosing good instead of evil, by being patient, by taking actions that reflect God's wisdom, by being kind with each other, and by having love. As Peter writes, if we do these things we win our race of faith and might even help another person win their race of faith.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
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