Another of my books is now available as an ebook from Amazon for the Kindle: The Process: Your Life as a Christian
How do you go about growing spiritually? What does it take? Peter explains that God has already given you everything you’ll ever need:
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. (2 Peter 1:3)
There is nothing else to find, nothing to add, nothing to build.
And yet Peter goes on to speak about growth:
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. (2 Peter 1:5-7)
How can you grow, develop—progress—if you already have everything you need from God? This book follows the process of spiritual growth as outlined by Peter: a process that on the face of it is a paradox
Peter lists eight processes that are linked intimately to one another in spiritual growth.
They are:
1. Faith
2. Goodness
3. Wisdom
4. Self-control
5. Perseverance
6. Godliness
7. Brotherly Kindness
8. Love
This book is organized into eight chapters, according to Peter’s eight topics; each chapter includes study questions which take the following format:
1. Pre-Study—these are questions the reader should stop and answer before he or she proceeds. It is recommended that the reader write down his or her answers to all the questions posed in this book.
2 Self Study—these are questions along the way that may help clarify or solidify points that have been discussed.
3. Round Up—these are questions at the conclusion of each chapter that review the topics covered; it is hoped that the questions will force self-examination and will help the reader measure what he or she has learned.
This book may be used for individual or group study. If it is used for group study, it is recommended that the students answer at least the Pre-Study questions before meeting together; this will help facilitate discussion.