{"id":3061,"date":"2015-10-04T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2015-10-04T14:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3061"},"modified":"2015-08-10T17:06:35","modified_gmt":"2015-08-10T22:06:35","slug":"choose-to-grow-in-grace-and-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3061","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Grow in Grace and Knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Year of Choices…<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren from Barbara\u2019s Banter at\u00a0www.barbdahlgren.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Grow<\/a>As Peter neared the end of his ministry he left the churches with an exhortation to be steadfast and to \u201c\u2026grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…\u201d\u00a0 (2 Peter 3:17-18) \u00a0These are his last written words to the churches, so they must be pretty important.<\/p>\n

Growing in grace and knowledge means to become spiritually mature.\u00a0 \u00a0God never intended us to remain babes in Christ forever.\u00a0 He expected us to grow up. (Hebrew 5:13-15)<\/p>\n

Babies are cute when they are little.\u00a0 However, twenty or thirty or forty-year-old BIG babies are not.\u00a0 Fifty-year olds who have not learned how to share, play nicely with others, or control their emotions are definitely not fun to be around.\u00a0 Long time Christians who are still selfish, undiscerning, and belligerent are not fun to be around either. (Hebrew 5:13-15)\u00a0 Instead of mirroring how young Christians should live, some need a refresher course in the first principles of following Christ.<\/p>\n

\"Walk<\/a><\/p>\n

Maturity is reflected in our thoughts, words, actions, reactions, attitudes and so on.\u00a0 So Christians wanting spiritual maturity need to \u201cwalk the walk, not just talk the talk.\u201d\u00a0 It can be summed up in James 1:22:\u00a0 \u201cBe ye doers of the word, not hearers only.\u201d<\/p>\n

When James wrote this book it was to the Christians living outside of Palestine \u2013 to those scattered abroad. (James 1:1)\u00a0 Nero\u2019s persecution had caused many believers to scatter throughout Asia Minor.\u00a0 Believers became lethargic.\u00a0 Their focus shifted from Jesus to succumbing to temptations. (James 1:13-15)\u00a0 They were not practicing what they had learned.\u00a0 Therefore, their spiritual growth had halted.<\/p>\n

While it is true most of us aren\u2019t scattered abroad, we do have lots of time wasting temptations of this world to draw us away from Christ.\u00a0 Just having a cell phone, TV and Internet access can make us spiritually lethargic.\u00a0 Spending time with Christ no longer seems to be a priority.\u00a0 Has our spiritual growth slowed or possibly halted altogether?<\/p>\n

Spiritual growth means applying God\u2019s truth in every area of our lives.\u00a0 It means continually seeking God and wanting to know more and more and more about him.\u00a0 \u00a0It means never reaching the point where we think we know it all.\u00a0 It means never becoming complacent.\u00a0 It means fixing our eyes upon Jesus and wanting to become more and more like him \u2013 which is difficult to do if we aren\u2019t spending time with him.<\/p>\n

Consider this\u2026 If we aren\u2019t growing in grace and knowledge we are remaining spiritually stagnant.\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t want us to be stagnant; he wants us to grow. \u00a0When Paul prayed for the church at Philippi he asked for their love to overflow more and more, and that they would continue to grow.\u201d (Philippians 1:9) \u00a0Our spiritual growth should never end.<\/p>\n

\"Spiritual<\/a><\/p>\n

When we aren\u2019t growing in grace and knowledge, we are not becoming all that God wants us to be.\u00a0 Asking God to rekindle our desire to be more spiritually minded will not only bring us blessings, but it will bring blessings to those around us.<\/p>\n

Suggestions for practicing this choice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n