Monday, November 28

Amos 2:6-16

Psalms 1, 2, 3, 4, 7

2 Peter 1:1-11

Matthew 21:1-11

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For 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. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins (2Peter1:5-9 NIV).

I spend a lot of time paging through recipe books and holiday magazines. It’s an annual ritual. I love to see beautifully decorated tables with carefully presented main dishes and desserts that cause me to drool and gain another ten pounds just by opening the book. Yum! I’ll select one or two new recipes for my family to try. Together we will assemble the ingredients, measure, add, mix, fold, sprinkle and bake until golden brown. Then, with a bit of ceremony, the freshly baked creation will be served. Hopefully the new treat will taste as good as it looked on the pages of my cookbook. If it does it will become a part of tradition next year.

2 Peter 1:5-9 reads like a recipe for daily abundant life: to faith add goodness, and then stir in knowledge and self-control. Next, gently fold in perseverance and godliness, and then sprinkle with mutual affection and love. This is a difficult recipe for me to follow and most days I find myself in short supply of the ingredients. Thankfully, God’s daily measure of grace is enough to fill my ever dwindling supplies. His divine power gives me everything I need.

God gives us “His very great and precious promise” (v.4) and invites us into this wonderful season of preparing for the coming of our Lord and Savior.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord (2Peter1:2 NIV).

Juli Browning