Diligence.

Tom's Journal.http://tomschuckmanjournal.blogspot.com/tschuckman@aol.com

I learned something important these past few days about myself, a major obstacle, IMHO, and another thing that I learned at church today that I really need to work on. I am loathe to hang ALL my dirty laundry out for all to see, but I can share some of it in hopes that others might learn. BTW, the entire congregation led by the good pastor George Schlegal, prayed for my wife and me this morning, with our individual circumstances, and others as well. NO Surgery is 'simple' -- even if they call it "routine." Anything could happen.

One thing I learned lately: some people look for a mate that is below their own social strata or scale in importance, money, fame, etc., because they [perhaps] want to be waited on, hand and foot, admired, loved, followed. Or perhaps a person doesn't feel that he or she is "good enough" to 'shoot for the stars.' the down side of this is: the spouse of the greater one eventually will ride on his coat tails and reap some of the fame and glory before she is established enough to grow INDEPENDENT,and then she runs off after she grows tired of him. And some of us don't ever figure this out in our life time ... or just before we die. I also felt that I needed to work on my "temperance" --'short fuse/ anger', although some of mine comes from combat PTSD--Vietnam.

Now, for the 'pearls' I picked up this morning came from 2nd Peter, Chapter One: 1- 17. Starting with Verse 5: "And beside this, 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 [which means 'a love for one's fellow human beings'-- Agape love]. And verse 9, "But he that lacketh these things is BLIND......" The term, "diligence" means that we have to work HARD at something. In other words, some things are so embedded that they must be rooted out in a firm, strong way. Too, we are constantly surrounded by a lustful world of sin and evil that things 40 years ago that were considered unmentionable -- are now days common place and ACCEPTED! Many churches have fallen asleep, or are more interested in entertainment and/ or profit. The DEFINED KJV Bible is especially good for getting the original meaning of these simple terms-- that now days may have a completely different meaning! See: biblefortoday.org

So here is a short list of things, in 2nd Peter, that all Christians SHOULD have [or be diligently working on] after they have turned their lives over to Jesus Christ, as they are Saved, the "Elect." But not all of us, IMO, shed all the bad, rough, impure lifestyles right after we are Saved! The pastor admitted that he was still 'being worked on by God.' And I felt cut to the heart that I, personally, have not made the progress I wanted. Yes, according to the Bible, I AM SAVED AND GOING TO HEAVEN! But we sure are not perfect yet while on earth. So many people think, 'OK, I accepted the Lord Jesus as my Savior, and know I am going to heaven'-- and then just plop down and do nothing more! No Bible study, fellowship, good works, or sharing the Gospel. They are BLIND, lazy and selfish!

1st and 2nd Peter are not long books, but packed full of dynamite, and I love re-reading them. And to get the full flavor of what I posted today-- one must read the whole book to get the true understanding of what Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, wanted to teach and share. Here is the big fisherman,Peter, who always put his foot in his mouth...lol. Even though Christ loved him, Jesus reproved him a few times when he got out of line, and so did Paul! I can relate to Peter very well. But that ought to give all of us HOPE! Yes, we are still working on ourselves [with the help of the Holy Spirit] and God isn't finished with us -- but we can honestly have that great hope that we biblical Christians are Saved and going to heaven, if we truly accept the Lord into our hearts.

If anyone has any doubts about this subject, don't be bashful or embarrassed, please.
You know my email address:

tschuckman@aol.com
Tom Schuckman