Keys To Being Effective

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires" 2 Peter 1:3-4

I seem to recall, in my days in school and my days in the business world, that there was a big deal being made about being "effective" in the workplace. In fact, there are whole businesses created around the idea of encouraging positive attitudes in the workplace, because it does help a business to be more successful in the long run. Thinking on it now though, I don't think these companies that do such things are doing anything new and innovative. In fact, they are taking some very old thoughts and ideas and turning them into something different.

Just read these verses above from 2 Peter. What a boost of encouragement from just a few sentences! His divine power has already given us everything we need to live Godly and good lives. We just need to figure out how to tap into that which he has already given us! As we read further into this chapter in the Bible though, we find out exactly how to tap into the rich promises of God that are laced throughout the Bible.

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:5-8

We are to strive to become men and women of quality. These character traits are the traits of people who have a good attitude and walk with God. And as we walk our daily walk, these are the traits that we should be striving to improve. As they increase- as the faith increases, our goodness increases. As the goodness increases, our knowledge increases, and so on. They build on each other, and the more we possess of these traits, the more Godly we become, the more effective and productive we will be in our every day living for Christ. The more we strive to become like Christ- the more effective our days will become. Think about that. Think about going through your day- your job, your daily chores at home, your interactions with other people and being so effective at it, that not a single breath is wasted. Every word you speak is filled with Godly encouragement and words.

Yet there's more too! In the business world, a successful business person always has goals to strive for. They have productivity goals to meet, and results for meeting those. Sometimes these can be rewards- bonuses, vacations, a raise in pay. But look at what God has for us as a result of our spiritual productivity:

"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, ¹¹and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:10-11

If we do these things- we will never fail. Never! Never is an awfully big word, and it's one that sounds fantastic! We will never fail- and we will receive a rich welcome into the Kingdom of God. Now that sounds like a great thing. The last thing I want is to squeak into heaven by the skin of my teeth- to just make it by sliding by. I want the big reward- the party because I've arrived. And I want to take as many with me as possible. We can achieve this by standing on God's promises and by escaping the things of this world. God's promises are abundant and peppered throughout the Bible- and one of these days, I may do a series on some of God's Promises. Because you know what? God is not a liar, and when He makes a promise, He keeps a promise. When I read that it is possible to escape the things and the ways of this world- I believe it, and I hold to it, and pray that God will make His Promises even more real to me as I go about my day.

"Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." 2 Peter 1:2