05/06/2018
Growing in Grace
“BUT GROW IN GRACE, AND IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. TO HIM be GLORY BOTH NOW AND FOREVER. AMEN” -- II Peter 3:18
How do we form a relationship with The God of The Universe?
To grow spiritually now that you have been saved is by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. You grow as you feed on God’s Word and learn the truths concerning Christ and the Christian life. These are just a few important steps that have nurtured my relationship with Him. All relationships take commitment: showing up and spending time together. What you put into the relationship is what you will get out of the relationship. And in the sweet process of getting to know Our God, you will find FREEDOM. Now these things didn’t come naturally to human self. They take work and commitment but they are LIFE CHANGING. They also all go hand in hand with each other. The great thing about God is he is constant, never changing.
1.QUIET TIME: Get alone with Jesus in the morning. Take some time to spend with only Him. Need Ideas of what you can do during this time? PRAYER, READ DEVOTIONALS, READ THE BIBLE, TALK TO HIM, WORSHIP, CAST ALL YOUR CARES AT HIS FEET, SIT IN HIS STILL PRESENCE. LISTEN FOR HIS VOICE.If you show up, He will bless your time. Fill up on Jesus before you walk into this crazy world. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”-James 4:8 Quiet times is a mood changer for me. Time spent with Him gives you just what you need to face the day. Circumstances don’t seem as big. He walks with you and gives you that supernatural peace and strength. There are so many days where you just seem a little off and realize it is because you missed this precious time. I recommend doing this first thing in the AM, but I know we are not all morning people here. There is something special about giving God your first fruits- including time. This may require you to get up earlier. But I dare you to try it for 1 week and tell me you don’t feel a difference.
2.GET IN THE BIBLE: He gave us a book that actually tells us how to live life. His living word is life changing. Dig deep into the bible. He shows himself in His word in a mighty way. He gives us promises that can help us get through this messy life. Meditate on His word. Embrace His word. Eventually you will start speaking His word. And it will be so ingrained in your heart you will start living it out. Psalm 119:105 ESV Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
3.PRAYER: Pray about everything. He doesn’t want us to come to Him sometimes or with something’s.. He wants us to come to him always with everything. Stay in constant prayer with Him. Keep your mind focused on Him. This is a hard habit to form, but when you get in the hang of it it’s a beautiful thing to be constantly in prayer, constantly in communication with the one who created you. No prayer is too weird or too silly for God. He knows EVERYTHING about us anyways and I think He longs for us to open up to Him like a sweet lover. I bet He even appreciates some of our random prayers. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
4.HAVE A GRATEFUL HEART: This can change EVERYTHING. A grateful heart can cast down bitterness. It can lift up sadness. It can soften unforgiveness and resentments. When you walk with Him you have a lot to be grateful for. Make a list of everything you are grateful for, everything He has brought you out of, all the miracles small or big. And in the dry times of life go back to that list. Hebrews 12:28 ESV Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
5.FORGIVENESS: Forgive others. It’s so simple but it is so hard for us to do. The resentments you keep will make you sick and separate you from God. That unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. We forgive others because we are called to. We forgive others because He forgave us. Ephesians 4:32 ESV Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
6.FELLOWSHIP: We need fellowship, with God and with others. We all need other people. Find some people with the same mindset that you can fellowship with. We need friends where God is at the center of your relationship, you will always have Him in common. People that you can be completely transparent with. That will love you through anything because they love like Jesus. People who will pray for you in the hard times and rejoice with you in the good. We need people that edify our spirit. If a relationship is not edifying it serves no purpose in your life. God has blessed me with amazing women in my life. I can’t even explain to you how good these relationships are, they are a glimpse of heaven on earth. Everyone needs at least one friend of the same s*x that you can be completely intimate/see through/ real with. If you do not have friends like this get involved at your church or pray for that friend, God will place someone in your life. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
