Grow In The Grace


Praise the Lord! The year has come down to its final days and we are in yet another season of reflection and transition. 2012 has been an incredible year of blessings from the Lord as well as character development and growth. I thank the Lord for His blessings, but more than that, I thank the Father for developing my character and growing in Him.

Development and growth are both terms that indicate maturity. A natural child grows and develops as they are fed, nurtured and taught. This is also true when it comes to spiritual growth however, the scripture commands growth which bespeaks of obedience on the part of the individual.

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.

1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

Notice the word "may" in the above verses. This word expresses possibility, permission or contingency. In other words, it is a conditional term which is dependent upon the action or non action of the individual. Practically speaking, this lets us know that our spiritual growth is entirely dependent upon us.

Now this shouldn't come as any shock or surprise. Everything else in our lives is a product of our choices which have come as a result of some action or non-action we took right? For example, financial independence is available to all, but most are in debt because of poor stewardship. Promotion is available to everyone, but has the individual found themselves faithful in their area to qualify for a promotion? Here's one, salvation is available to all, yet not all choose Christ.

In light of what I have just shared, I present to you what Moses said to the children of Israel right before Joshua was appointed as their new leader in Deuteronomy 30:19 "I call -- heaven and -- earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." Joshua echoed this sentiment in his farewell speech to the Israelites except he added his own personal conviction. He said in the latter part of Joshua 24:15..."as for me and my house we will serve the Lord."

This is powerful people! God tells us clearly to choose life, knowing that all won't choose life because the choice of life and obedience to the Lord is a matter of the heart. Every individual must have have a personal love relationship with the Lord in order to choose to grow and mature. It cannot be forced or coerced. The information is presented and we must purpose to be positioned to catch the revelation that we "may" grow thereby.

I pray that as the sun sets on 2012 and rises in 2013 that you would position yourself to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I pray that you would hunger and thirst for righteousness and desire the things God like the deer thirsts after water. We prevailed in 2012 and now it is time to walk in His love, peace and blessings. Get ready! The best is yet to come!

Prevailing In Him,

Dr. Sheila

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Consider the Consequences

I remember speaking years ago to a friend who is a social worker. She said something to me that has stuck with me to the point that I often share it with others I may be talking to. She said, "There are consequences to everything we do. If you do good, there will be good consequences. If you do bad, there will be bad consequences." This is such a simple truth. It is displayed throughout the Bible, yet, due to the sinful nature of man, many times mankind still make bad choices. Moses told the people in Deuteronomy 30:19 to choose life so that they may live. However, as we know from reading the history of the Israelites after the death of Moses they did not choose life. They chose to disobey God repeatedly and this led to them being taken into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Here's the clincher, God will allow you make bad choices and suffer the consequences. Don't believe it? Look at how Acts 7:42 reads in the Message Bible: "God wasn't at all pleased;
Read more

P - P.R.E.S.S.

Good morning! This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad, and so should you! I am excited about today's teaching in the series, O.C.C.U.P.Y. Until He Comes. This is the area where many times believers faint and give up. However, now is not the time to give up! We must put this leg of the teaching into practice. We MUST, P - P.R.E.S.S. When you think about the word "press," apply this acronym; Put Resolute Energy in Standing Strong. Isn't that powerful? That is what we have to do in the press! You may be caught between a rock and a hard place but you must stand firm in your faith knowing that nothing is too hard for God. P.R.E.S.S.! The thing that I love about the press is that it is the warfare of occupying, and warfare is good because we win! It is the area where we are faced with opposition while training to be about the Father's business. The enemy is prowling about seeking to devour those who are weak. The Word of God tells us to re
Read more

Expect God To Do It

This has been an exciting year! We have seen the hand of the LORD at work in our lives, experiencing His love, peace and blessings. God has taken the good, bad and ugly, and put it all in the mix to work out for the good. Now, a new year is on the horizon. What will come of this year? What new journey will be embarked upon? What kind of growth will be experienced this year? The new year always presents itself with these questions and many others, building hope that the new year will be better than the last. This is a good thing because God wants His children to have hope. The Bible declares in Romans 5:5, "Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." That's the New King James Translation. The first part of that verse in the King James Version says, "And hope maketh not ashamed..." Both translations use the word "hope." This is powerful because a simple definition of
Read more