Growing Spiritually
In order to be effective, the Christian must not only be able to study and grow in the Lord, but must be able to recognize this growth for himself. I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God Romans 12:1-2.
Christians must grow and develop the same way a newborn baby
grows. An infants doesn’t stay the same, he grows, develops and matures in all
aspects of life. Just as physical life is dependent on air, food, rest, exercise
and other necessities, spiritual life requires certain things in order to grow
strong.
It is not enough to simply say that Jesus Christ has changed our lives. Going to church and reading our bible is important, but we must also continually strive to improve our lives and impact those around us.
On a physical level, we grow so much and stop. But spiritually, we should always reach new horizons each and every day. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord 2 Corinthians 3:18. We should become more and more like Jesus, but there are certain principles that we must follow to keep growing.
The first thing is to study the Word of God. At first, the bible for some is boring, yet others find it interesting and exciting. We need to understand that Word of God is our food, and we must eat a balanced amount regardless to how we feel. If we eat too much natural food, it may give us indigestion while too little makes us weak and ill. We must study the Word with balance and consistency.
The second thing is to learn how and remember to pray. Prayer is the inspiring experience of conversing with and praising God. For the new Christian, prayer must develop into an intimate and personal encounter with God. Jesus illustrated how men should always pray and not faint (see Luke chapter 18). This involves far more than whispering a few quick words to God at the end of your busy workday.
The third thing is to develop and maintain fellowship with other Christians. Fellowship involves taking time to talk to and do things with others that love Jesus Christ. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching Hebrews 10: 24-25.
A fourth thing is to witness both in words and life style. The witness tells what has been experienced, heard and shared. We also need to respond to the Word of God with humility and obedience. An essential key to spiritual growth is constant obedience to God’s Word.
These principles allow Christians to overcome life’s toughest problems. There are many ways to respond to problems. A few ways are anger, worry, criticism, cynicism and discouragement. All of these are negative and bring negative results, yet people use them all the time to handle issues that arise in their lives.
The child of God is slow to anger, and does not react impulsively. He is able to forgive, forget, and release the concern to God. He is never too self-righteous to say, "I am sorry", or to accept responsibility for his actions.
The child of God should have a worry free life. Worry is sinful. The key to combating worry is prayer, supplication, thanksgiving and telling God the desires of our heart. We must learn to handle criticism and disappointment constructively. Many words critics speak to us should be forgotten. If we listen to the words of every critic, we would never do anything. Once we start doing nothing, the critics will talk about that too.
If we plant Christ in our heart, beautiful things will began to appear in our life. Let’s be sure to cultivate the principles that will keep that life growing in us.
By: Naomi Brown