Hunger - Obedience- Confidence
If you are growing as a Christian, there are certain aspects of your life that you can definitely inspect and see significant changes in. It seems to me that when I put my life under a magnifying glass, I see most of my growth occurring over the past year. But, I can definitely see that Christ was growing in me before this time. I think that He was preparing me to be ready for so much more. Have you ever inspected your spiritual growth? If so, you may have seen three areas of your Christian walk increase: your appetite to learn more, spend more time in the Word, and desire to talk to God has increased; you seek his guidance and become more obedient to what the Word says and God's presence in your heart guides you more; you become more confident in sharing with others about God's presence in your life, and your capacity to love others increases.
Hunger for God--- Have you ever been so hungry but every food that came to mind wouldn't satisfy what you were hungry for? This is similar to our relationship with God. We are hungry for Him, but what He is offering to us we do not take. Is it because we aren't trusting God to provide for us what we really NEED... or is it because we may not get what WE "want"? Trusting in God means that we trust that every promise He has made to us is truth and is GOOD for us. Joshua 21:43-45 So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed. ALL of god's promises were good and not one of those promises failed.
Obedience to God--- Okay- Here we go... that word that no one likes to hear..."Obedience". Why do we cringe when we hear it? Maybe because when we are not in obedience to God, He disciplines us. Life without discipline would be life without love. We would not allow our children or others we care about make choices that could harm themselves or others. There are consequences to OUR actions; sometimes good, and sometimes not so good. In what ways do we become obedient to the Lord? 2 Peter 5:6-9 For this very reason, make every good effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. If you haven't done so already, break each one of these down into its own part and ask yourself how you are doing on each one. Some of these I think, "Yep, got it," and then I get to something else and say, "Nope, don't got it". Some of these seem difficult to accomplish at times. But it is in obedience and love for our Father that we do these ... and yes, with gladness. 1 John 5:1-5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. Who is that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Confidence that we are growing--- At the "Gathering", Jared spoke about Moses going up on the mountain and meeting with God (Exodus 34:29-35). When Moses came down from the mountain, he was glowing and radiating so much that he had to put his face under a vail as to keep from scaring away the nonbelievers. The Bible says that Moses received this radiance every time that he was in God's presence. It's so true even for us. Have you ever met people that just radiate when they speak about their relationship with God? Maybe you even radiate when you spend time in Scripture and God speaks to you. It's cool to us... but to others who don't know Jesus, it can freak them out a little bit. Jared asked us, as singles, are we showing that we are different? Are we singled out to radiate the love that Christ has given us? Are we confident enough to show others what God has transformed us to be?
Romans 10:8-14 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Prayer: Dear Father, Thank you for loving us- Your love is beyond our capacity to understand. For those that hunger and are searching, please feed them with your word. For those that are not living in obedience, gently guide them to seek you in their choices. And for those that are not yet glowing, we pray that you will bring them to your mountain so that they may see how wonderful your love is. In all of these things we pray in your Son, Jesus Christ's name. Amen.
