A Reminder from Peter >>

Big Moose

Big Moose

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble, and you will receive a lavish reception into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Therefore I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of my body, because I know that this tent will soon be laid aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to ensure that after my departure, you will be able to recall these things at all times.
 
Hello Big Moose;

In my personal thoughts about Peter; I like to use the phrase, "we all have a bit of Peter in us!"

Peter qualified to preach the Christian characters of virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. Because in all these categories he failed, perhaps the most was denying Jesus 3 times after spending 3 long years with Him.

Peter learned from his lessons and didn't forget them as Jesus commissioned him up to build his church.

Big Moose, do you mind sharing why Jesus changed Simon Peter's name to just Peter?

Via dolarossa said:
What exactly did Peter mean by 'Virtue"?

I went to a catholic school, and was told of virtues (4 cardinal ones) were important. But the verse say VIRTUE, not virtues.
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Hello Via;

The 4 Cardinal, or Spiritual Virtues are justice, fortitude, temperance and prudence. These are the Catholic theory of ethics. The Protestant definition of Virtue is our Christian conduct, or principles of Biblical conduct. This is similar to the 4 Virtues.

God bless you, Big Moose, and thank you for sharing A Reminder from Peter >>
 
peter is the been there done that peter peter had faults he was brash . paul had a dynamic ministry very deep writing's peter early on stuck his foot in his mouth.. 2. things on peter he was the only one who got out of the boat walked on water. he was the only one who preached and 3 thousand saved. yes there is a lot of peter in all of us. mistakes and all. all though some feel they walked on water lol.
 
bobinfaith said:
Big Moose, do you mind sharing why Jesus changed Simon Peter's name to just Peter?
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I believe Peter, or Greek Petros, means rock. Quite the compliment coming from Jesus, the original "Rock". I have heard that Catholics believe that when Jesus said that On this rock I will build my Church, that Peter would be the founder of the Church, hence the first Pope of the Roman Catholic Church.
 
Via dolarossa said:
What exactly did Peter mean by 'Virtue"?

I went to a catholic school, and was told of virtues (4 cardinal ones) were important. But the verse say VIRTUE, not virtues.
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From Strong's Concordance:
aretē
Pronunciation
ar-et'-ay

a word of very wide signification in Greek writings; any excellence of a person (in body or mind) or of a thing, an eminent endowment, property or quality. Used of the human mind and in an ethical sense, it denotes:
1. a virtuous course of thought, feeling and action; virtue, moral goodness
2. any particular moral excellence, as modesty, purity;
 
faith: What you believe in
virtue: Doing the right thing, even when nobody is looking; moral excellence
knowledge: Useful learned information
self-control: Thinking before acting, restraining rash actions
perseverance: Refusing to quit when things get difficult.
godliness: Having a concern and motivation for what God wants.
brotherly kindness: Taking care of others like they are your close family, (the family you like).
love: Willing to sacrifice for others.

All of these are more of a mind-set than of physical doings. A list of things to train your mind on.
 
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I think those are good values/virtues to have.

I was thinking on my school values ...different schools have different values. I now have a job at a secular school, so it doesn't seem to have any spiritual values but lets compare them..

  • Respect
  • Confidence
  • Enthusiasm
  • Loyalty
  • Service
  • Determination
Are they similar?
 
  • Enthusiasm
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Now, I may be wrong, but I think this is a provision from God. The word denotes motivation. I have always valued this state of being. its an effortless state, one in which we just flow so to speak...when we are not uptight. though I don't know if it has any correlation with biblical virtues.

en- 1​

or em- or in-
pref.
1.
a. To put into or onto: encapsulate.
b. To go into or onto: enplane.
2. To cover or provide with: enrobe.
3. To cause to be: endear.
4. Thoroughly. Used often as an intensive: entangle.


I don't know if the word enthusiasm is actually in the bible, I cannot recall anything offhand, but I always seem to believe if I am not enthusiastic, then I am not feeling it so to speak... and I am not really meant to be doing it...

does this make sense to anyone????
 
Lanolin said:
I think those are good values/virtues to have.

I was thinking on my school values ...different schools have different values. I now have a job at a secular school, so it doesn't seem to have any spiritual values but lets compare them..

  • Respect
  • Confidence
  • Enthusiasm
  • Loyalty
  • Service
  • Determination
Are they similar?
Click to expand...
Here the schools have a similar kind of values campaign. Unfortunately, these campaigns fail in secular schools because of human selfishness. The schools fail to show students what self interest these values satisfy. Instead, they appeal to a vague idea of social responsibility, but fail to recognize the fact that the surrounding society reflects and encourages selfish cynicism. You can't succeed in changing behavior in unregenerate persons any more than you can make a pig practice oral hygiene.
 
Via dolarossa said:
Now, I may be wrong, but I think this is a provision from God. The word denotes motivation. I have always valued this state of being. its an effortless state, one in which we just flow so to speak...when we are not uptight. though I don't know if it has any correlation with biblical virtues.

en- 1​

or em- or in-
pref.
1.
a. To put into or onto: encapsulate.
b. To go into or onto: enplane.
2. To cover or provide with: enrobe.
3. To cause to be: endear.
4. Thoroughly. Used often as an intensive: entangle.


I don't know if the word enthusiasm is actually in the bible, I cannot recall anything offhand, but I always seem to believe if I am not enthusiastic, then I am not feeling it so to speak... and I am not really meant to be doing it...

does this make sense to anyone????
Click to expand...

Cosia said:
When i think of the word "enthusiasm" it reminds me of " with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength." I agree with Via, if you don't feel enthusiastic about it you are not wanting to do it.
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Hello sisters Cosia and Via;

Do you ever have those days when you don't feel enthusiastic? I do. I have those days or moments when I confess this to God. He understands each of us better than we understand ourselves.

It's those times we are sacrificing to God. When we don't have that enthusiasm yet we still roll up our sleeves and serve Him anyway. By His strength which is all sufficient He will get us through the day, task or both.

Hebrews 10:32-35, 32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

God bless each of us who sacrifice to the Lord, despite our lack of enthusiasm.
 
If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, don't we have the joy of the Lord? Didn't John the Baptist jump for joy in the womb, and couldn't wait to be born?
 
Loyalty is similar to faith although loyal denotes someone who sticks by someone or something they know, rather faith is more hope for the future that things will come to pass even without seeing it with our eyes.
 
BibleLover said:
Here the schools have a similar kind of values campaign. Unfortunately, these campaigns fail in secular schools because of human selfishness. The schools fail to show students what self interest these values satisfy. Instead, they appeal to a vague idea of social responsibility, but fail to recognize the fact that the surrounding society reflects and encourages selfish cynicism. You can't succeed in changing behavior in unregenerate persons any more than you can make a pig practice oral hygiene.
Click to expand...
Its kind of 'every man for himself' in the world today, maybe it's always been like that anyway. Schools have a system that hasn't changed since the industrial age and it doesn't really work for most people. If children drop out and go to prison, its not on them, and those going on to university often can't get jobs outside of the university lol. I find that many schools expected their students to find jobs that actually aren't there anymore. Like we were all meant to work in open plan offices and factories and warehouses if we weren't qualified for anything else.

Character takes a back seat To passing exams so they can say 'all our students passed so it was worth the money to send your kids here"
 
Via dolarossa said:
Now, I may be wrong, but I think this is a provision from God. The word denotes motivation. I have always valued this state of being. its an effortless state, one in which we just flow so to speak...when we are not uptight. though I don't know if it has any correlation with biblical virtues.

en- 1​

or em- or in-
pref.
1.
a. To put into or onto: encapsulate.
b. To go into or onto: enplane.
2. To cover or provide with: enrobe.
3. To cause to be: endear.
4. Thoroughly. Used often as an intensive: entangle.


I don't know if the word enthusiasm is actually in the bible, I cannot recall anything offhand, but I always seem to believe if I am not enthusiastic, then I am not feeling it so to speak... and I am not really meant to be doing it...

does this make sense to anyone????
Click to expand...
Lanolin said:
enthusiasm

n. great enjoyment, interest or approval.
-ORIGIN Greek enthous 'possessed by a god'

??
Click to expand...
I looked enthusiasm up on Merriam Webster site and got this:

"It may come as a surprise to many people, when they first look up the word enthusiasm, to see that its original meaning has to do with passion for religion, rather than passionate or eager interest in general. A brief explanation of the word’s etymology should clear this up. Enthusiasm entered the English language around the beginning of the 17th century. It was borrowed from the Greek enthousiasmos, meaning “inspiration or possession by a god.” For the first two hundred or so years that it was used in English, enthusiasm was primarily employed to refer to beliefs or passions that related to religion. By the beginning of the 18th century, however, the word began to be used to describe having strong feelings or interest in secular matters."​
​
Could this mean to be "en-" thoroughly, cover, put into; "-thusiasm" religious spirit.
Thoroughly in the spirit, covered in or by the spirit, or put into the spirit.

All or most of those qualities listed are spiritual in nature. This means that you can't really quantify how much you have or measure it. How much enthusiasm do you have? How much love do you have? How much faith do you have?

Jesus said that if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. So, even a small amount means you have it.

So what happens that we don't "feel it"? When we doubt, where did our faith go? When we feel beat down, where did our enthusiasm go? We don't lose our faith or our enthusiasm. We just have not activated it.

Have you ever not been motivated to clean the house? But then we get a phone call and find out company is coming over to visit? Then we all of a sudden have the motivation to tidy up the place? That motivation got activated, didn't it? Can we activate these spiritual feelings?
 
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So what happens that we don't "feel it"? When we doubt, where did our faith go? When we feel beat down, where did our enthusiasm go? We don't lose our faith or our enthusiasm. We just have not activated it.
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This to me is a really good way of seeing things. Like we have a switch and sometimes its turned off. So how do we activate it?

I have been reading there is 2 types of motivation. Intrinsic and extrinsic.

Like children we will work for sweets to get what we want yet when it comes to doing the things of God we are quick to brush them aside because we don’t think we have acess to the “switch”

I grew up with zero disciple and I can tell you I have to put in 300% now to form and new heathy habits. My switch seems like it has a faulty connection but now I can see it as a “switch” It has actually ignited a creative response and I feel like Einstein 😇

Blessings BM.

Your post has really helped me today!
 
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