I started out innocently enough, doing my nightly Bible study, because I'm trying to grow as a Christian, a person, and really connect with God. I've felt out of sorts lately, like even though I know God is there, I don't have those feel good fuzzy wuzzy jump up and down feelings. I started out tonight deciding to seek an answer, God how do I grow? I feel like i'm reading the same things, and they are going in one ear and out the other. Sure, I've changed my habits, changed my TV and Music, amongst other things, but intellectually and spiritually, what am I doing to grow closer to God? Then I came across Hebrews 5:13-14
Hebrews 5:13-14 states:
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness, but solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
At this point baby Jack, my nephew for those of you that don't know, crawled right by me. He is on baby food, great selections such as sweet potato and salmon, or turkey and applesauce, but the thing is is that he has graduated to these foods, baby steps if you will, he's not eating a real sweet potato off the grill for a reason, he would choke, he's not ready, he's a baby, but in 3 years or even later, if he is still eating mashed combos of things, there would be a problem. You don't see a lot of adults living on a diet of sole baby food, especially because they don't know or can't eat solid food.
Its the same with our spiritual lives. When we are new christians, we learn the basics, faith, salvation, the love of Jesus, David and Golaith, etc...but when do we graduate to solid food? We must continually train, study, learn, grow, develop a relationship with God. Great, I thought, but HOW?
God spoke to me. He gave me an acronym, being a veteran, He knows how much the Army and myself LOVES acronyms. So I have learned how to grow up by becoming SOLD out.
S--Seek
O--Obedience
L-Love
D-Diligence
We are to live a life of Seeking Christ. Matt 6:33 says seek ye first the Kingdom of God. To seek is to turn to God FIRST for help, in ALL aspects of our lives. Fill your thoughts with his desires, take his character for your pattern and to serve and obey Him in everything. What is truly important?
We are also to be Obedient to God's commands. 1 John 3:22-24 says that "And recieve from him anything we ask because we OBEY His commands and do what pleases HIM and this is HIS command: to believe in the name of HIS son, Jesus and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live within Him and He in them. Be obedient, its not easy, sometimes we are like a kid ya know? I more often than not say "but I dont wanna God!!!" etc, but when we are in His will, life is so much more solid.
Love: The greatest commandment. What does this have to do with character development? We should love each other, its obvious, love our parents, our children, those around us..but the purest way to love, I think is to marinate EVERYTHING in God's love. Deuteronomy 6:5 is my new favorite verse, which until the other day I didn't even know it existed.
5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Seriously when I read this it brought tears to my eyes. Its about loving God with all of your being, and teaching your children to love God. Never ceasing, just letting God seep from our pores. Its a total commitment, an immersion, that becomes infectious, spreading the love and passion of Christ to your families and to those around you.
Finally we must be diligent about growth. We can't just commit and then falter, we need to grow, we need to become solid, we need to learn, memorize, serve, love, and most importantly have a relationship with God, and let Him work within us. The best example of this is found in 2 Peter 1:1-10
3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
10 So, dear brothers and sisters,[c] work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.
God loves us, he chose us, he sent His Son, his perfect, blameless, innocent Son to die for us, and time is to sell out now. We need to get excited, get on fire, and grow. I'm tired of being on baby food, i'm ready for some steak..I'm definitely selling out to Christ, and I look forward to journaling my ups and my downs, and my growth with whoever wants to hear about it...
Its time to for bed but thanks for checking out my first blog. Many more to come!
God Bless!
Chelsi
