It's time for today's encouragement from the Our Daily Bread Devotional.

Our reading is titled Growing in God's Grace, and it was written by Alison Keita.

The English preacher Charles H. Spurgeon lived life full throttle. He became a pastor at age 19,

and soon was preaching to large crowds. He personally edited all of his sermons, which eventually

filled 63 volumes, and wrote many commentaries, books on prayer, and other works. And he typically read six books a week. In one of his

sermons, Spurgeon said, The sin of doing nothing is about the biggest of all sins, for it involves

most of the others, horrible idleness. God save us from it. Charles Spurgeon lived with diligence, which meant he made every effort to grow in God's grace

and to live for him. If we're Christ's followers, God can instill in us that same desire

and capacity to grow more like Jesus to, as 2. Peter 1 says, make every effort to add to our faith,

goodness, and to goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness.

We each have different motivations, abilities, and energy levels. Not all of us can or should

live at Charles Spurgeon's base.

But when we understand all Jesus has done for us, we have the greatest motivation for diligent,

faithful living, and we find our strength through the resources God has given us to live for

and serve Him. God, through His Spirit, can empower us in live for and serve him.

God, through His Spirit, can empower us in our efforts, big and small, to do so.

Our scripture reading today is from 2. Peter chapter 1, verses 3 through 11.

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these, he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may

participate in the divine nature having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness and to, 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

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