At long last, the first installment in a series I'm calling 'Increasing Qualities,' based on the text of II Peter 1:5-7 which lists seven qualities that will keep us from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ (v.8). Comments and critiques are always welcome. I hope you enjoy this study with me.

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Increasing Qualities 1: Moral Excellence
I would like to preface this discussion by supplying the first four verses as context for this series:

"Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."

Peter establishes his authority as an apostle appointed by Jesus, writing this letter to Christians who shared the same faith as the apostles had--no greater, no less. Knowledge of our God and our Savior bring grace and peace, and that knowledge is complete in giving us what we need to know for our daily trek through life as humans--how to live appropriately and as God designed--and also giving us what we need to become more holy, purifying ourselves through the washing in Christ's blood. It was God, through His own glory and excellence, who saw fit to call us out of the oppressive Egypt of sin into the promised land of Zion and call us His children. That same divine glory and excellence has also saw fit to bless us with the spiritual promises given to Abraham, promises Peter calls 'precious' and 'magnificent.' By stepping aside from the world and saying 'No' to ourselves, we deny Satan his hold on us and instead become guests at God's table and loose the chain of lust that holds the world so tightly it suffocates. This is the pretext of our qualities--the very reason why verse 5 begins with the phrase 'Now for this very reason also...'. Why do we want to do what the following verses prescribe? Why do we seek change? Why do we want work? Because we know what it is like to be held down in our own vices, blinded by greed and deceived into thinking the nausea we experience is the filling satisfaction brought about by lust. We know what that is like--and we also know the crisp, clean relief of knowing our rebellion has been forgiven and forgotten. Because we are sinful creatures does not mean we can sin all the more--it's our nature, right? May it never be!, Paul cries. God forbid we want to do more wrong after we escape the dark and enjoy the light. We are not vampires...we are not creatures of the night. We belong in fellowship. We desire love. We belong to God, and we need Him.

So, because we want to receive the promises God has given to those who are faithful, we must be diligent in our faith (v.5). What does that mean? It means there's no coach seats, no slides to recline on, no TiVo to record the game. If we want to be godly as Christ was godly, we have to work at it. It is not natural for us to be godly; we don't wake up early, rub the sleep out of our eyes and radiate holiness. Applying diligence in our faith takes concentration, effort and dedication. Concentration, effort and dedication brings sweat, blisters, cramps, coughing, pain. Diligence is spiritual exertion, and applying these Increasing Qualities will give us a Christian work-out. Just like physical exercise, when you're not used to it, it'll be hard at first. You have to work through the resistance and build up your faith, which is hard for everyone. Why? Because we're human and we WORRY, and we GROAN, and we want to FIT IN rather than show everyone we're IMMIGRANTS. You can do this--I know you can. Be patient. If you work at this, God will allow your efforts to cultivate.

After that huge introduction, we have our first Increasing Quality: Moral Excellence. The CSB uses the word 'goodness.' It's the same word up in verse three that describes God's 'excellence.' Princeton defines moral excellence as 'the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong,' and supplies 'virtue' as a synonym. So, the act of excelling morally is more than just doing what is right--it's also abstaining from wrong. Isn't that one in the same? Not necessarily. You can do good while people are watching...but what about when you're not with the church, not out with Christian friends...what about when you're alone? Or with school friends or work colleagues? In I Corinthians 5, Paul rebukes the church at Corinth for behavior that not even the gentiles would engage in--and they carried the name of Christ! We are ambassadors for Christ, representing all that He is, was, and forever shall be. How can we tarnish his name and still say 'Lord, Lord, you are my life!'?

If we pray for opportunity to let our light shine, we must be prepared for that opportunity, even if it's not opportune for us at the moment. Even if we don't pray for opportunity, God will test us with situations to see how we react. We won't nail it 100% of the time, but we need to change our attitudes and mindset. We need to be prepared 'out of season.' Everybody always quotes the 'in season,' but let's be honest: if it's in season, it's time to harvest. We've prepared for it, and we're ready. Out of season means, "Wait a second--I don't have any wheelbarrows or extra hands or empty barns!" Just because a crop comes in early or late, does that mean the farmer stops being a farmer? Is he a farmer only when there's a crop he's planted? There's always a harvest for us...the fields are white...and we must be prepared, because our lives as modern Christians are very comfortable and lavish, and it is easy to become distracted and unprepared.

We must be good examples for those around us, those who know us and those who've never seen us before. We can't say who we'll make impressions on, but we do make impressions. We must be above reproach, leaders in our circles, always eager to serve and help whenever possible. Don't take the easy road and let others step up and do the work; we have been blessed, and each of us has talents that we can nurture and use to help spread the gospel. It's Good News! The King has won! He's returning to call His children home! Let's go invite ALL His children. Who are we to say who is and isn't His child? Let His words speak; we are only conduits of His grace and mercy.

Be strong. Hang tough. Be patient. Work hard. Our Passover is approaching....

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Wisdom, glory and peace be with you all.

~ Ren.

Rather than explaining all of my favorite hymns, I thought I would share with you a list of my favorites. Though this may not be an end-all list (I'm sure I've forgotten some from this list), I would say this is a good picture of those hymns I love to sing and worship through. In no particular order, my favorite hymns are:

Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
How Firm a Foundation
On Zion's Glorious Summit Stood
All Hail the Power
Praise the Lord
Alleluia
Holy, Holy (Schubert)
I'll Fly Away
Abide With Me
Is It For Me
Our God, He is Alive
Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah
Blessed Assurance
Stand Up For Jesus
The Lord My Shepherd Is
The Lord's My Shepherd
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
Revive Us Again
Alone at Eve
I Will Sing the Wondrous Story
Love For All
Farther Along
God is the Fountain Whence
A Wonderful Savior
I Know That My Redeemer Lives
Healer of My Soul
Be Thou My Vision
What are some of your favorite hymns?

Wisdom, glory and peace be with you all.

~ Ren.

I'll start sharing some of my favorite hymns for you all, and perhaps you can share some of your own with me. Granted, I'm an 'old school' hymn fan, so anything before 1900 sits well with me.

John Rippon was in his mid-twenties when he took the position as pastor of Carter's Lane Baptist Church in London in 1775. While there, he envisioned a new hymnal for praises and invited his Minister of Music, Robert Keene, to assist him. The result was A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors, Intended to Be an Appendix to Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns, published in 1787. It was a tremendous success, going through eleven British editions before appearing in America. One of the most powerful of hymns contained was a hymn entitled "Exceedingly Great and Precious Promises," which we today call "How Firm a Foundation."

Though we commonly sing three (or sometimes four) verses of this hymn, it was written with seven, each based on a biblical promise. Among verses chosen for representation included:

* Isaiah 41:10 - Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. * Isaiah 43:2 - When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. * II Corinthians 12:9 - My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. * Hebrews 13:5 - For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." ~ Robert J. Morgan, "Then Sings My Soul"

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

I've been wanting to do a short lesson from Lee Iacocca's book Where Have All the Leaders Gone?, adapting his list of 'Nine 'C's of Leadership' into a non-partisan, unbiased approach for men and those who are growing into manhood. I believe each of his choices were found in Christ and should be found in each of us.

The Nine 'C's of Leadership
A leader has to show CURIOSITY. He has to listen to people outside of the "Yes, sir" crowd in his inner circle. He has to read voraciously, because the world is a big, complicated place...If a leader never steps outside his comfort zone to hear different ideas, he grows stale. If he doesn't put his beliefs to the test, how does he know he's right? The inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either you think you already know it all, or you just don't care.
- Jesus often asked questions he already knew the answer to; the exercise was not to show that he was right, but to make those who answered understand what they were answering (Matt. 16:13-20).

A leader has to be CREATIVE, go out on a limb, be willing to try something different. You know, think outside the box...Leadership is all about managing change, whether you're leading a company or leading a country. Things change, and you get creative. You adapt.
- Jesus used creative examples and spoke in parables to explain God's plan of salvation for all, to the Jew first and then the Gentile (Matt. 13:10-17).

A leader has to COMMUNICATE. I'm not talking about running off at the mouth or spouting sound bites. I'm talking about facing reality and telling the truth...Communication has to start with telling the truth, even when it's painful.
- The words of Christ were truth, despite the multitude's rejection of him; though he had authority to speak his own words, he spoke the words of his Father (Jhn. 14:1-11).

A leader has to be a person of CHARACTER. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. Abraham Lincoln once said, "If you want to test a man's character, give him power."
- Jesus knew his place in the world as creator (Jhn 1:3; Heb. 1:2), but took the form of a commoner to bestow grace to strangers (Phil. 2:6-7) and experienced all temptations for our benefit so as to aid us in our time of struggle (Heb. 4:14-16).

A leader must have COURAGE. Swagger isn't courage. Tough talk isn't courage. You know, 'My gun is bigger than your gun.' Courage in the twenty-first century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.
- Jesus knew from the foundations of the world that he would have to die--and not just simply die, but die on the cross (Matt. 16:21-23). His resurrection destroyed the power of Satan and death, and he gained the world as prize (Jhn. 16:33); therefore, we are to be courageous in this victorious war we wage (I Cor. 16:13-14).

To be a leader you've got to have CONVICTION, a fire in your belly. You've got to have passion. You've got to really want to get something done.
- From the age of 12, Jesus began his ministry (Luke 2:41-52), living and preaching with a zeal that consumed him (Jhn. 2:13-17) and finished his divine mission with his death, resurrection and gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles (Jhn. 19:30; Luke 24:25-26; Acts 1:7-8).

A leader should have CHARISMA. I'm not talking about being flashy. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to follow you. It's the ability to inspire. People follow a leader because they trust him.
- Jesus was popular with people because he listened to their hearts when they spoke and said what they needed to be told, not what they wanted to hear. People trusted him with their health, lives, salvation and even their children, but he was not like King Saul, appearing like a king; rather than a crown and robe, a towel around his waist seemed to fit him more appropriately (Mark 10:13-17; Matt. 14:13-21; Mrk. 5:21-31; Jhn. 4:1-42; Is. 53:2-3).

A leader has to be COMPETENT. That seems obvious, doesn't it? You've got to know what you're doing. More important than that, you've got to surround yourself with people who know what they're doing.
- Jesus was intelligent...not well-educated, but smart enough to know what was important and how to attract those who could look beyond the exterior (learning, positions and titles) into the interior of people's hearts and prick them with the sword of the word (Matt. 13:54; Jhn. 7:15; Acts 4:8-20; I Cor. 1:18-31; Phil. 3:4b-11).

You can't be a leader if you don't have COMMON SENSE.
- Duh. (II Tim. 3:16-17; I Jhn. 2:1-2; I Tim. 6:11-21; Prov. 3:5-8)

The Biggest C is Crisis. Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
- This is where Iacokehead or whatever his name is (who cares) goes off the deep end. At the end of this argument, he says: "And what did he do when he'd regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq, a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn't listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn't scare the crap out of you, I don't know what will.
...well, faith IS reality (Heb. 11:1-3). Romans 4 and 5 talk about this, as well. Heb. 10:36 says the work of our lives will pay off in the end. Jesus said "...if it were not so, I would have told you" (Jhn. 14:3) and Paul reiterates in I Corinthians 15: "If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied" (I Cor. 15:19). We've got to deal with disbelief and those who tout such nonsense as doctrine and dogma, and they'll knock us down time and again (II Cor. 4:8-10), but the war is won and Christ has received the world as his inheritance (Psalm 2). So, when we get knocked down, we must pick ourselves up because God sees us and is our help and strength through all, over all, in all (Micah 7:7-8).

"He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming quickly.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" - Revelation 22:20.

Praised be God, almighty Father;
Praised be Christ, his Son, our Lord;
Praised be God the Holy Spirit;
Triune Godhead, be adored!
Amen.

Greetings from the saints in Franklin.
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~ Ren.

I wanted to let everyone know I'm planning on working up a series focusing on each of the 'Increasing Qualities' in II Peter 1:5-7. I plan to go down the list as it's presented:

- moral excellence
- knowledge
- self-control
- perseverance
- godliness
- brotherly kindness
- love

Keep your eyes open for the first installment; I'll try to get started on it this week. Thanks for all the support thus far; you all are wonderful.

Greetings from the saints in Franklin, TN!

~ Ren.