December 15, 2015

Grow: December 15, 2015

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 15, 2015.

GROW

DEFINITION:

Mature; develop; progress; increase.

SCRIPTURE:

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. II Peter 3:18.



KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

New believers in Jesus Christ come from all sorts of backgrounds. Some may have gone to church when they were young and others have never been in a church. These new believers are as newborn babies, according to the scriptures, and just as a baby needs to be fed to thrive and grow, a new believer needs to be introduced to God’s Word and fed spiritually in order to grow and mature in their new found faith.

In Ezekiel 47, Ezekiel shares with us that he had a vision of a river flowing out from out of the temple. The temple symbolized God and the river the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this vision Ezekiel sees stages of one’s spiritual growth depicted, of those who have accepted Christ into their life.

When one first finds Jesus this vision likens the new believer as walking ankle deep in the water and experiencing only a shallow sense of God’s grace and power in one’s life.

As a new believer spends time reading and meditating in God’s Word he soon learns how to live a Spirit-filled life which is a life of obedience, trust, surrender and peace.

But the vision is explained more by Ezekiel in verse 4 when he says many new believers are satisfied with just wading ankle deep and are not motivated to take the next step by wading into knee deep water which is hungering and thirsting for more of God in their lives.

We are living in a society today among so many Christians who never have advanced from being babes in Christ. Nothing seems to motivate them to grow in the Lord. Our churches and pastors are not motivated to preach sermons that motivate spiritual growth among their people. The family structure has collapsed and very few parents teach and train their children how to grow in their love for God. The result is that new believers are living a life style according to the will of the flesh, because they do not know any better and are not taught to live according to the will of God.

The apostle Paul tells us in I Corinthians about many of the people in the church at Corinth who had become divided into factions and cliques and were continually at each other’s throats, dragging one another into courts of law, gossiping against each other and undermining each other. What a mess it was. Does it sound like what many are facing today in our society?

The source of these divisions is pride, the fleshly desire for preeminence, and to be idolized and praised. Paul reminds us that as long as the desire to live for worldly pleasures is alive and well in our lives, we will remain spiritual infants and will never grow up into what God wants us to be.

God is not at all impressed with what we do in the flesh, only what we do in the Spirit will last. Until we learn to walk into the water up to our waist, division and conflict will reign in our lives. It is just that simple. We cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in God’s kingdom. We will not grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in I Thessalonians 5:18:

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Help me to step out by faith into the deep waters of Your Word and submerge myself so that there is more of You and less of me. Help me to grow spiritually and may I lead my family into a closer relationship with You.

Special Price
Only $10.00
Click Here for More

ONE FINAL SUGGESTION.
If you have not received your FREE BOOKMARK from us, please click on either:


or

Write Ken and Dottie a note

And we will send one to you.
It includes 10 golden rules for a happy family.


Welcome ~ Ministry Programs ~ Make a Donation ~ Product Catalog
Family Prayer Partners
~ Family Devotional ~ Statement of Faith ~ Contact Us

 

Copyright©2009. All Rights Reserved. The content of this Christian religious blog dedicated to
bringing Bibles to people all over the world is owned exclusively by World Bible Society. Legal Disclaimer

Christian Religious Blog and Website Design by Flagstaff Central.com, Inc.
Content Management System Powered by iUpdateIt.com