Lets be fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Are you a Christian?.....Yes you say?

Good.....Then that means that you have said the sinner's prayer, You've been baptized, and from time to time, if not every week, you attend church, But....

....The question still remains are you a Christian?

If you were to look up the word Christian in the dictionary you will see up to 11 meanings to that word. The ones that stick out the most are: exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike and of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. So in other words if we are Christians then we are people, believers who are Christlike(like Christ), and, living our lives according to the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In order to do that we must be fruitful and not barren in the knowledge or our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Question is how do we become fruitful in the knowledge?

Some will say, Go to church, and attend lots of bible studies. Yeah that helps but it's not enough!

In the new testament of the bible (2 Peter 1), apostle Simon Peter writes to Christians about after adding faith to our lives we must now add 7 more things in order to be fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

After we have added faith to our lives by accepting Jesus into our hearts, we must now add "Virtue". What is virtue?......Glad you asked. Virtue is defined as moral excellence; goodness; righteousness. Conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude. A good example of "virtue" could be found in Genesis 39 where Joseph was approached by the wife of Potiphar. She was trying to have sex with the young man and she used the ultimate line "but no one would never know". Joseph knowing that fornication and adultery are both sins backed off and told her, "My master (her husband) trusts me with everything in his house. He has put me in charge of every thing. The only thing here the I can't touch is you and thats only because you're his wife. How could I do such a thing to him? on top of all that it's a sin against God". See the "Virtue" there?.....How much Virtue do you show in your everyday life?.....Could you show more?

To our virtue, we must now add "Knowledge". In order to be "Christlike" , we must have knowledge of how Christ lived. A great way to find out about the life of Christ, we should read and live the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. One thing that I do want to point out is Matthew 16:13, where Jesus asked peter, Who does man say that I am? Peter explain that some say he's John the baptist, some say he's Elijah, and others say he's Jeremiah. Jesus then asked him Who do you say I am? his answer was then You are Christ, son of the living God from there because of his "Knowledge" of the son of God he was blessed.

To our knowledge we must add "Self Control". Self Control can be applied in many cases....Take the example from "virtue". In Genesis 39 Joseph was tempted but he had enough "Self Control" to not fall to that temptation. Jesus was fasting for forty days and forty nights and was temped by the devil with food and water...Jesus showed "Self Control". When we are faced with having to pass something up that we know we don't need or should have, or when we are about to go off on some one, Lets take out the time to show a little "Self Control" people!

To our self control we must add "Patience". Patience can go a number of ways here. First we must have patience with others....being forgiving in the book of Matthew, Jesus teaches use that we must forgive each other every time someone sins against us. The other part of "Patience" is very tricky for a lot of us. We tend to put a rush on God for the things that we want, then when we don't get it when we want it, we turn it into a situation where we feel God has turned his back on us. Keep in mind Psalm 37:4 which says Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. and Matthew 6:31-34 which says So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

To our Patience we add "Service to God". Lets keep this one short and simple. If you call yourself a Christian and you are living in the faith, Your whole life is a service to God! We must live the life of Christ so the other could look at us and Learn!

To our service we add "Kindness". We all know what kindness is, to best way to gain enough strength to show kindness all the time would be to follow Ephesians 4:31-32 which says Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you

And Finally to that we must add "Love". "Love", you can look in the dictionary to find out what love is and still have the wrong meaning of it! True "Love" is best described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-13: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love". When thinking about "Love" always keep in mind 1 John 4:8 which says Whoever does not love does not know God, because "GOD is LOVE" and 1 John 4:16: And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. GOD is "LOVE". Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

As the bible says, if you add these things to your life you will live fruitful and not barren in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And you shall be Blessed!