Friday, August 16, 2013

Friday’s Musings: The Gradual Slide


2 Peter 1:5-10 (CEV)  Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, self-control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others, and love.  If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful.  But if you don’t grow, you are like someone who is nearsighted or blind, and you have forgotten that your past sins are forgiven.  My friends, you must do all you can to show that God has really chosen and selected you. If you keep on doing this, you won’t stumble and fall.

Some days when I go out for my walk/run I want to find the more hilly areas for a challenge but some days I want level ground.  The other day I chose a fairly level section of road, at least I thought so until I turned around to return home by the same path. I realized that the downhill slope was so gradual that I hadn’t noticed it.  I certainly did after I stood at the bottom of the block looking up!  I thought that this is how we often fall away from good intentions. It isn’t anything sudden and drastic. Instead it’s little by little.  As one of my favorite pastors used to say, “Sheep grazing with their heads down get lost one nibble at a time.”  The scripture for this morning gives good advice to help us stay steady in our faith and to grow in it. If we don’t we are in danger of backsliding without even realizing it.

Loving God, please help us to stay alert to changes in our lives that would lead us off our desired course in all our endeavors and especially in our faith. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Have a blessed weekend!
Paige

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