Luke 2:52 (NIV) And Jesus
grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Spiritual growth (being formed into the
likeness of Jesus) is not automatic. Nor is it “simple”. Jeffrey Zacks,
professor of psychology and radiology at Washington University in St Louis,
laments what he calls a "global trend" of looking for short cuts to
solve our problems.
“Is it just me, or is everybody out there
looking for a quick fix? There is something highly compelling about the idea
that there is a secret switch we can flip to become suddenly smarter, to reveal
cognitive abilities hidden inside each of us. It is a notion that certainly has
commercial appeal. Over just seven years, the games-maker Lumosity rocketed from
zero to 50 million users, promising rapid improvements in general intelligence
by playing brain-training video games for just a few weeks. (Lumosity recently
settled with the United States Federal Trade Commission for making unsupported
claims that its product was scientifically validated.) "Memory
health" nutritional supplements have sales of more than $1.5 billion, and
"smart drugs"—pills to enhance cognitive performance—have become
prevalent on college campuses. Purveyors of products based on subliminal
messages promise to teach us foreign languages and cure our addictions while we
sleep. And makers of headgear that attaches electrodes to our scalps promise to
rev up our brains to improve gaming performance and other cognitive activities.”
Sanctification, the goal of the
Christian, is a process. There are no shortcuts. The Holy Spirit is given to us
at conversion and one of the things He does for us is continually point us to
Jesus, that we might glorify Him in thought, word, attitude, and action… that
all of life would come under His lordship and oversight. Disciples of Jesus are
simply apprentices in what it means to be completely and continually
surrendered to Jesus in all things. There are no shortcuts in this process of
becoming holy. Our enemy, the devil, seeks to get and keep us off track. He is
behind the temptation we experience, and together with our own desires and
proneness to self-oriented living, we experience an ongoing struggle/battle with
sin and self. Our flesh (our sinful human nature) wars against the development
of spiritual maturity. But we have received the resources we need for this
struggle. We have the Word of God. We have the Spirit of God. We have the Body
of Christ (the Church). We have close brothers and sisters in Christ. We have
received much. And we need much in this battle. We also have the example of
Christians who have gone on before us in the practice of spiritual disciplines,
or “soul-training exercises” as author James Bryan Smith describes them. These
practices impact and provide a framework for growth in Christ. His list includes
things like sleep, silence in the presence of God, (intentionally and
carefully) counting your blessings, praying Scripture, reading Scripture in
listening mode, creating margin, solitude (intentional time alone with God),
slowing down, writing to God, practicing hospitality, keeping the Sabbath,
fasting from media, learning to pray for things we don’t want, serving in
secret, practicing de-accumulation, stretching our time without gossip (and
other specific sins), sharing our faith, focusing on treasuring the right things,
loving those we disagree with, experiencing reconciliation, practicing
accountability, learning to be stewards, and worship.
We can practice any and all of
these, and out of that practice comes a deepening experience of the likeness of
Jesus and of His abiding presence. Sanctification is a process. There are no
shortcuts. Anything that grows (into anything good) takes time, and the
bringing together of right circumstances and the resources necessary for health
and wholeness. Whether it is fruit, vegetable, animal, or human, growth
requires nurturing and care. Believers in Jesus are born (again), not made. Spiritually
mature believers are not born that way. We grow… over time… through good times
and bad… with the steady application of practices and relationships that train
our souls.
Please pray for our deacons as they
undergo a long-term study of these things, in anticipation of sharing them with
others in our church. Pray for their growth in Christlikeness and holiness.
Psalm 92:12-14 (NIV) 12
The
righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of
Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts
of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
1 Corinthians
3:5-9 (NIV) 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only
servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each
his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but
God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who
waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The
man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be
rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's
fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
Ephesians 4:14-16
(NIV) 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and
forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by
the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead,
speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the
Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body,
joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself
up in love, as each part does its work.
2 Peter 3:18
(NIV) But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
PRAYER: Lord, please provide everything I need to grow
in holiness, including my desire and my willingness to engage in practices that
create in me a place for growth. Fill me with Your Spirit, and may my likeness
to Jesus be ever increasing… by your grace and for your glory. Thank you. In
the name of Jesus, AMEN.”
Jesus
Christ is Lord!
Scott
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