Let me back track a little about being a Christian.
The basic belief of a Christian is that Jesus is his/her Savior, who died for their sins, and they have acknowledged this through the confession of sins, asking for forgiveness(repentance), baptism by immersion and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Learning the basic things is like a baby eating soft foods. Once you have learned the basics, you need to seek the meaty foods of wisdom in the word. The things that teach you to grow more each day.
Yesterday I talked about the signs of a spiritually growing Christian. I know that this growth doesn't happen over night, nor do we reach perfection in this life time;
But we are to expected to strive towards that perfection every day.
We are told in the book of: HEBREWS 12 :1-2.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
As we grow and mature there are practices that we need to participate in to show our maturity.
Hebrews 5:14
" But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."
In other words, Christian growth requires the discipline of godly habits carried out daily.
1) The most important practice is a personal time of devotion with God. Meditating on the Word (scripture) and speaking with God (prayer) and listening to His voice.
God is the source of all spiritual development. You need God and His Word to grow.
Transformation begins with time in His Word and prayer.
2) Obedience is the second essential element in growth. When our desire to obey the Lord is more strong in our life than our desire to sin, we will know we are making progress in our spiritual life.
3) Our goal is to become more dependent on God and less on ourselves. When we depend on Him to provide our needs and wants in our lives He honors that with those provisions.
Now this does not mean that He doesn't expect us to work for a living and just sit around waiting for things to come to us. But it means taking advantage of the job He provides, the strength He gives us and those things He places in front of us to help us.
4) Those who are mature in Christ recognize their own inadequacy and rely on the Holy Spirit within them. It is His job to transform our character and empower us to accomplish everything the Lord calls us to do.
5) As mature Christians, we should be digging into Scripture and developing righteous habits. We should use our years to grow stronger in the Lord instead of wasting time with passivity.
Spiritual growth requires a diligent pursuit of God.
The basic belief of a Christian is that Jesus is his/her Savior, who died for their sins, and they have acknowledged this through the confession of sins, asking for forgiveness(repentance), baptism by immersion and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Learning the basic things is like a baby eating soft foods. Once you have learned the basics, you need to seek the meaty foods of wisdom in the word. The things that teach you to grow more each day.
Yesterday I talked about the signs of a spiritually growing Christian. I know that this growth doesn't happen over night, nor do we reach perfection in this life time;
But we are to expected to strive towards that perfection every day.
We are told in the book of: HEBREWS 12 :1-2.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
As we grow and mature there are practices that we need to participate in to show our maturity.
Hebrews 5:14
" But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."
In other words, Christian growth requires the discipline of godly habits carried out daily.
1) The most important practice is a personal time of devotion with God. Meditating on the Word (scripture) and speaking with God (prayer) and listening to His voice.
God is the source of all spiritual development. You need God and His Word to grow.
Transformation begins with time in His Word and prayer.
2) Obedience is the second essential element in growth. When our desire to obey the Lord is more strong in our life than our desire to sin, we will know we are making progress in our spiritual life.
3) Our goal is to become more dependent on God and less on ourselves. When we depend on Him to provide our needs and wants in our lives He honors that with those provisions.
Now this does not mean that He doesn't expect us to work for a living and just sit around waiting for things to come to us. But it means taking advantage of the job He provides, the strength He gives us and those things He places in front of us to help us.
4) Those who are mature in Christ recognize their own inadequacy and rely on the Holy Spirit within them. It is His job to transform our character and empower us to accomplish everything the Lord calls us to do.
5) As mature Christians, we should be digging into Scripture and developing righteous habits. We should use our years to grow stronger in the Lord instead of wasting time with passivity.
Spiritual growth requires a diligent pursuit of God.
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