As a Christ follower, I want to go deeper in my faith, love, and obedience. Sometimes, I feel like I am simply going through the motions in life.
Complacency can knock on the door of my heart while intentional living by faith hides in a corner. I believe Peter gave great insight into the deeper life in his marvelous second letter. Peter wrote two letters to help the church live for the glory of Jesus. I believe we can learn from him today.
Living the deeper life involves focusing on the blessings you have in Jesus. We are most blessed. Take a minute and read 2 Peter 1:3-4. Here, God reminds us of the life we have today. Pursing knowledge of Him means we look for the joy and blessing this life has to offer in knowing Christ daily. We must never quit in our pursuit of knowing God more.
This ought to be the greatest goal of our lives! J.I. Packer in his great book Knowing God challenges, “How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each Truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.” I believe he is right on.
We must turn to the truth and allow what we learn to guide us in prayer and praise to God. This is how we can better focus on the blessings we have in Jesus. As we know Jesus, we have the blessing of deliverance from corruption. We are rescued!
Living the deeper life involves living in the character of Jesus. Continue reading in 2 Peter 1:5-8. In this rich text, we see what must be supplemented in our lives. Applying virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love causes our faith to produce LIFE.
The character of Jesus is necessary. We must remember it is only the Spirit of God, which guides us to live in replica of the Son of God (Galatians 5:22-24). Perhaps the absence of His character could be the absence of the Spirit in us?
Living the deeper life involves avoiding the folly of ungodly character. Peter continues in 2 Peter 1:9-10. Ungodly living blinds us and causes us not to see the light of His truth. We must remember what we have gained in salvation, a complete reversal from ungodliness to godliness. Repeating our past sins takes away the beauty of present and future grace. Are you ever tired of feeling and living a fruitless life for Jesus? May I suggest you look to His character, focus on His truth, and trust Him to guide you away from sin.
Living the deeper life involves looking to the reward of your faith. The final verse you must read is 2 Peter 1:11. The reward of Godly living is the privilege of living with God forever! At the end of your life, you will see why your faith was worth it all. You would agree the race was worth running, as a previous post this week declared (see also 2 Timothy 4:7-8). Sin promises temporary pleasure followed by long term regret. Jesus promises eternal pleasure with no regret. Living the deeper life means we place our eyes on the prize each morning when our feet hit the ground. Jesus is worth it all.
Do you want to go deeper?
Dave Snyder, Pastor, First Baptist Church
Local Pulse Editor’s Note:
Dave Snyder is a part of our Community Voices series. This dynamic group of Pensacola dwellers is dedicated to driving positive change in our city. They inspire progress and foster a stronger, more connected community through shared experiences, expert insights, and thoughtful perspectives on impactful topics.
