Spiritual Growth

By: Jenifer Metzger

Recently while listening to the Candace Cameron Bure Podcast, Candace and her co-host, Priscilla Shirer, were talking and something Priscilla said struck me.

Years ago Priscilla and her family were at the mall and headed up to the next level by way of the escalator. Her son, around five or six, was being mischievous and got on the down escalator and tried walking up. Of course, as a mom she was likely frustrated and maybe even a little worried about her son getting farther from her. He wasn't make much headway to getting up to where he needed to be, so finally she told him to ride it down and come up the correct side, the up side of the escalator. Finally, he just stopped. Stopped trying to go up. Which meant, he automatically went down.

The lesson Priscilla shared in this story, and the lesson that struck me is in this life if we don’t make effort to go up, we will go down. 

If we want to go up, if it is our desire to grow spiritually but yet we don't put some effort in and take some steps, we are automatically going to be declining in our spiritual growth because we are standing on something -a sinful world with an enemy after us- that's going down.

It is easy to show up at church on Sunday, maybe serve in a ministry, sing worship, say "amen" during the sermon, and shake the pastor's hand on the way out the door. It is easy to say a quick prayer before our meal. It's easy to "like" that image with a Scripture verse on social media. It is easy to do all the good things. But if we are not making effort to actually grow, we won't grow.

So how can we grow spiritually? What intentional steps can we take?

This book of instruction must not depart

from your mouth; you are to meditate on it

day and night so that you may carefully

observe everything written in it. For then you

will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.

Joshua1:8 CSB

Be in the Bible. The Bible isn't just an accessory for your church outfit. It isn't just a nice coffee table book. It is the very Word of God. It's His heart, His character, His plan for your life, His instruction, and His communication. We can't call ourselves a Christian if we aren't in the Word of God. We need to be reading it regularly and we need to be studying it regularly. We will never grow spiritually if we are not in the Bible.

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks

in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 CSB

Pray. Prayer is our communication with the Creator. It doesn't have to be eloquent and we don't have to use big words. I can't tell you how many times my prayers are me sobbing to God so hard I wonder if He can understand my words -He can. Martin Luther even said, "To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing." That is how important prayer is to our spiritual life and growth. If we aren't praying, we will never grow spiritually.

And let us consider one another in order to

provoke love and good works, not neglecting

to gather together, as some are in the habit of

doing, but encouraging each other, and all

the more as you see the day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25 CSB

Go to church. Regularly attending church is important. We hear a word that God has given to our pastors, we worship corporately with other believers, we can be encouraged by others, and we have the opportunity to serve. Our souls long for the fellowship with other believers. Church attendance is something we should make a priority.

Therefore repent and turn back,

so that your sins may be wiped out,

Acts 3:19 CSB

Repent. We all sin. No one is perfect except Jesus Himself. Daily we fall short and we sin. The difference between unbelievers and believers is repentance. We need to repent of our sin and regularly ask God to bring to our mind any unrepented sin. Repenting isn't just saying "I'm sorry" and it certainly isn't a get-out-of-jail-free card to go back to the sin later on. It's being sorry, but it's also making a full turn away from the sin and striving to never do it again.

Like walking the wrong way on an escalator, sometimes our efforts to grow spiritually can seem to take far too long to reach where we want to be. But if we keep pressing in, we will make progress in our journey. But if we just stop working to growing spiritually, we will stay stagnant and eventually risk being pulled down with the sin of the world. Sister, don't let that happen. Be purposeful in growing spiritually.

Discussion:
1. Think over the last few months. Which of these areas do you need to work on right now?
2. Have you felt stagnant, like you aren't growing at all but desire to grow?

Names of God Series: "Getting to Know Yahweh"

 By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: John Towner

"God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” ~Exodus 3:14

It is in this passage wherein we first find reference to a most meaningful and recognizable name of God: Yahweh. The name He reveals to Moses, "I am Who I am", is translated from this very name.

In essence, the meaning of the name Yahweh points to God's eternal, self-existent nature. As we read in Genesis 1:1 recently, "In the beginning, God". God has always existed - His nature is from eternity past to eternity future. He is known as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. And this eternal Godhead is not reliant on anyone or anything for His sustenance. God is self-existent, able to live on forever without the aid of anyone. Our God is self-existent and has always and will always exist. 

This should come as a comfort to us, His people. Just as Moses needed this realization of Who God is, so we, too, also need this truth ourselves. 

God, in His great mercy and grace, revealed Himself to Moses as being the self-sustaining, eternal One - a revelation that would serve Moses well in the days following with the big and scary calling God had placed upon His life. He would need to rely on this truth as he dealt with an angry and murderous Pharaoh, learned to handle whiney Israelites, and journeyed through the wilderness for decade after long decade.

The same can be said for us.

We, too, need to know God is the eternal One. We, too, will find comfort in the reminder of God's  self-existent nature. He has always existed and will always exist, which means that no matter what we may face in this life, no matter what we will be called to, no matter what we endure, the Lord will be with us, helping us and sustaining us every step of the way just as He did for Moses. 

And that is a comfort to all our hearts, amen? Let's rest in that truth today, friends. 

Reflection Questions: 

1) What stands out to you about the meaning of the name "Yahweh"?

2) What implications does this name and its meaning have for your everyday life?

3) How can you encourage someone else with what you learned today about the nature of God and what it means for the ups and downs of our daily lives?

A Better Recipe for Life

 By: Joanne Viola

 

There is so much we have yet to learn. Much of life will require constant learning, exposing ourselves to information, knowledge, and experiences which will cause stretching and growth. This will only occur as we remain willing to be taught and have the knowledge imparted to us. 

At times my family will ask me for a recipe, or how to cook something. I am terrible with measurements as over the years, I have come to the point of adding ingredients through experience. It’s the pinch of that, and a sprinkle of this method.

Easy for me to do, most hard for others to duplicate. And yet, recipes are needed in order for a dish or meal to turn out well.

Following a recipe may also require some altering for the good of certain ones.

As our family has grown, we have had to take into consideration:

• those needing less salt intake
• those needing less fat
• those with peanut allergies
• those allergic to tree nuts
• those with an allergy to strawberries

In other words, not everything is good for everyone. Paul seemed to know this:

“All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. 
All things are lawful, but not all things edify.” 
(1 Corinthians 10:23, NASB) 

Let’s look at this verse in another version to gain deeper insight:

“All things are legitimate [permissible—and we are free to do anything we please], 
but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome). 
All things are legitimate, 
but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life].” 
(AMPC) 

Here Paul gives us a better recipe for life. Basically, he brings it down to simply this: “Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.”

Let’s go back to the food and recipe situation … Strawberries are a fruit which is good, healthy, and packed with vitamins. Yet to the one who is allergic, eating them will then require the use of an EpiPen. Same is true of the one who cannot eat tree nuts; and still the other who cannot eat peanuts.

Some good questions to ask ourselves may be:

• Will this be beneficial, or profitable, in my life?
• Will this be beneficial, or profitable, in the Kingdom?
• Is this good or best, in the eyes of God?
• Will this grow good character?
• Will this deepen my spiritual life?

Much the way we fine tune a recipe for the health of our lives,
we need to do the same spiritually.
Remember: “Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.”

 

Reflection:
Has there been a time you went outside of a recipe and created a disaster? What wisdom have you discovered in Paul’s words?

 

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

  

 

Knowledge, Knowing, and Love

 By: Lauren Thomas 

How do you learn best? Learning styles can involve listening, seeing, and reading. But most people learn best by “hands-on” learning.

 

I like knowledge. I’m a nerd. I like to research topics. I like to learn new things. But I can be tempted to think that knowledge is a good alternative for action. I’m tempted to believe, If I can just learn enough about this thing, it’s basically like experiencing it.

 

But no.

 

Having knowledge is not the same thing as knowing.

 

There are some things we get backwards, upside down, inside out. Some things make sense to us from a human perspective. But from a Kingdom perspective, our understanding falls flat. It’s nothing new. Paul has been correcting us since the earliest days of Christianity. One thing we can get wrong is knowledge vs. knowing.

 

Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 8:1 that “knowledge puffs up.” Knowledge alone is incomplete. Knowledge is not the end-all-be-all.

 

Love is.

 

Paul goes on to say that love “builds up.” To have knowledge might make us look superior. Our knowledge of the Bible might make us look like superior Christians. But knowledge alone merely makes us puffed-up Christians, liable to blow away in the wind. Conversely, there is something of substance to a Christian who loves and is loved.

 

But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.

1 Corinthians 8:1b-3 ESV

 

Loving God and knowing about God are two different things. We can know a lot about God without knowing Him at all. But when we love God, we are “known by” Him. This is the only knowing that really counts: God knowing us.

 

This knowing is God’s love for us. This knowing is our love for Him. This knowing is experiencing God’s love. This knowing is a love that spills out to those around us. This is the knowing that matters.

 

Prayer:

Lord, deflate my carefully constructed, puffed-up self. Help me remember that knowledge does not make me a good Christian. May the “knowing” that I put the highest value on be You knowing me. May my love be for You and not what I can know about You. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Do you know about your personal learning style? How much value do you place in knowledge? While it is important to learn about God so that we can know Him better, what ultimately matters is our love for God and how it is manifested. How can you focus your Bible study this week to make love the priority, rather than gaining knowledge?

God’s Beauty Standards

 By: Grace Metzger

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, 
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭30‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Lately I’ve found myself on the beauty part of social media. If you’re unfamiliar with what I’m talking about, this is a part of social media that gives makeup tips, styling ideas, and weight loss help. In theory this could be a great thing, women coming together to give ideas and encouragement to other women about ways to improve. But sadly it’s not always a super positive thing. Time and time again I’ve seen videos of women judging others for their looks, hating on people for what they eat, laughing at women for ways they dress, and overall just showing that no one can fit the beauty standards of today’s world. Being on this part of social media is hard. You start to question how others see you.

In today’s world, beauty is one of the most important things to people. People are starving themselves and getting surgery after surgery just so they can look like the world says they should look. It horrifying to see the lengths people are going to fit into the world’s standard of beauty

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair
and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you
wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person
of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and
quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

When you start having the worlds point of view shown to you over and over again it starts to taken a residence in your mind. I started questioning my looks and appearance, becoming fearful that I wasn’t fitting into the standard of beauty. Then one day I read 1 Peter 3:3-4. I was so focused on my external self that I was abandoning my internal self. 

Was I working on being a gentle, kind, and loving spirit? Was I focusing on being precious in God’s mind? Sadly the answer is no. I was so focused on how others perceived me that I forgot to focus on how God is perceiving me. 

The beauty standards of the world are a constantly changing thing that you can never keep up with. One day it says you should look like this and the next day it’ll say you’re ugly unless you look like the complete opposite of yesterday’s idea of perfect. Trying to keep up with this will do more harm than good. But God’s beauty standards are not only doable but also they are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. His beauty standards are us being kind, loving, and gentle souls. His idea of a beautiful person is one who follows and loves Him. That’s how you fit into His beauty standards. Which I don’t know about you but it seems much more doable rather then starving yourself to become a size zero. 

This week I challenge you to put away social media and instead work on becoming God’s standard of beauty. You’ll quickly notice that while the world’s was overwhelming and cruel, God’s idea of beauty is going to improve your mind, body, and soul in every way. 

Discussion Question: How do you handle the world’s beauty standards and God’s beauty standards?