“Yes, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge; and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control, perseverance; and in perseverance, godliness; and in godliness, brotherly affection; and in brotherly affection, love.”

2 Peter 1:5-7

Were saved by grace alone to live lives of godliness and obedience to the commandments of God. When we come to faith we are radically changed and our souls become alive to God. We find new desires and tastes and have an interest in the things to do with God and not just our own agenda.

We seek to add to our faith the attributes of Christian character which help us to grow and become strong in the Lord. We seek to be virtuous people, who are guided by the Word of God and our lively conscience. We seek to be people of high virtue and turn away from all sinfulness to serve God in the way He desires.

We add knowledge of God to our psyche, reading and studying the word and interacting with the Holy Spirit in our daily life. We are people of prayer who are ever ready to speak to our Father in heaven and bring the needs of others and ourselves to His mercy seat. We reject all self-orientated desires and seek to be like God in holiness of life. We find ourselves being more disciplined and have self-control over our own appetites and are satisfied with the provision of the Lord.

As we live our life for God we continue even through troubles and trials and will not be deflected from following our Lord.

“Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”

Matthew 16:24

As we pursue godliness we find our sight being lifted to the Lord and our dependence on Him grows as we let go the trivial things of this vain world and live godly lives that bring glory to God and food for our souls. The hallmark of the Christian is the grace of love. We serve our sisters and brothers in Christ and lay down our time and effort for their sake. We are motivated by love above all things and have soft hearts for others and kindly thoughts and prayers for them. Our love for our Saviour is our motivating factor and we seek to please Him in all we do.

Surely this is a blessed life and one that cannot be lived without the Holy Spirit filling our life with His love and power. Let us pursue the Lord with all holiness of life as we conform to His image and not our own ideas…