That last post was amazing for me to share. If your read it, kudos to you. I really spoke to me, and now I'm all excited to continue sharing about my discoveries in the book The Gospel by JD Greear.
The next topic was spiritual growth. This guy just doesn't give you a rest, which is a wonderful thing. Beauty/conviction to Beauty/Conviction. Whew. Amazing.
Well as I said, I had a good length of time where I was spritual"discipline equals works, and so I was figuring out that I was failing. I was doing everything 'right' it seemed but I wasn't growing spiritually. My life wasn't looking any better than it did yesterday, even if I did learn how to love God. Which I warn you is a practice. It doesn't just appear.
I was wondering. Have you ever felt that? Have you ever hit a point in your life where you just said to yourself "I don't feel like I'm growing spritually?" A lot of people do hit this point in their life. I did. Again, my humanistic brain told me that if I learn more about God, perhaps listen to the message, or um, read the bible, then I'd grow spiritually. Nope! I'm sure you've found the same.
So how do you grow spiritually.
The book said this, and I believe it. "Abiding in Jesus."
Deep, right? If I just left it there, we'd probably say, "Yep, heard that one before." and keep looking for another different answer, as Christians often do. Well. The book went into an explanation of abiding in Jesus, and I think we should to. This really touched me, because I was seeing myself in everything I outlines, not half of it good, and realizing I was SO WORK ORIENTED. My gulay it was bad.
[the word for abide is meno in the greek] "The Greek word Meno means literally 'to make your home in'. When we 'make our home' in His Love -feeling it, saturating ourselves with it, reflecting on it, standing in awe of it- spiritual fruit naturally begins to spring up like rose bushes."
So when we focus on God's love for us and appreciate his lovlieness, spiritual fruits will come. You see? Spiritual fruits -love, joy, peace, patience, etc.- CAN'T BE GOTTEN. THE CAN'T BE EXCERSISED by TRYING. No, if you want spiritual fruits, you have to appreciate God's love. Not eat less chocolate, not spending time with the family, not waiting patiently for your turn. Thats NOT spritual fruits. It's NOT TRUE FRUITS. Only by loving God will your life produce REAL Fruit.
"To see spritiual fruits in your life, don't focus primarily on the fruit." This is the first part to a two part statement. This really Got me. THE WHOLE TIME I WAS FOCUSED ON THE FRUIT. In my head I was keeping tally marks. Was I patient, was I self-controlled, was I loving. This lead me to ultimate despair. Why? BECAUSE I'm human! I FAIL! Big surprise there. I kept focusing on how I WASN'T getting the big numbers, and it just bothered me.
"Focus on Jesus acceptance of you, given as a gift to you." There is the second part. Now this. THIS was alien to me. I hadn't heard that one to much. The sermons and messages I'd heard was about repentance and becoming broken WHICH IS WONDERFUL. But I needed this. I needed to know Jesus accepted me. This statement out of context might have upset me, especially awhile back. Why? Because I believe that a person needs to realize repentance and sorrow before gaining acceptance. I'll tell you a fear about this statement that I have. I fear that if I take this statement to seriously, I'll end up with the catergory of people who thought they were going to heaven and didn't. Because if you never repent, never feel sorry, and focus only on acceptance, you so easily will forget the God of Wrath in the old Testament. Thats what I'm afraid of. So thats just something to think about.
YET, all that said, I realize a lot of people, including me need to know the acceptance of God. Maybe your out there repenting of your sins, you don't know how to love God, you don't know why your life isn't producing spiritual growth, and you've just hit a wall of despair. That was me. But there IS HOPE. I found so many answers in this book. I've found so many answers in the bible.
God is listening to your pleas. Ask him to bring you a book, whether is beautiful hand written one, or a tool that helps, such as this book. He his faithful to his children. He accepts them.
"In Christ there is nothing I could do to make you love more, and nothing I have done that could make you love me less." -JD Greear
~Hannah
No comments:
Post a Comment