As we begin this new year, I thought I would share with you what I have learned about following Christ to help you on your spiritual journey.
- Everybody is a minister of the gospel. Although we hold different positions in the church and have different spiritual gifts, each of us should be intentional about impacting someone for Christ. The work of ministry is not left for pastors. Pastors, teachers, etc. equip us to do the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12).
- We are called to make DISCIPLES not believers (Matthew 28:18-20). Our goal is not baptism. Our goal is every area of life surrendered to Christ and His principles. Accepting Christ is the beginning of a lifelong journey to be like Christ and represent Him well in the world. Believers need to build relationships with one another so that true transformation can take place in the hearts of God’s people.
- Spiritual disciplines are tools to make us more like Christ not a checklist of items to prove we are Christians. I like to work out and I have learned that having the right form and being mindful of what part of the body should be impacted during an exercise is important for an effective workout. In the same way, we must be intentional about using the exercises of prayer, bible study, fellowship with other believers, fasting, etc. to make us more like Christ (1 Timothy 4: 7-8). For example, if we fellowship with other believers but we never have real conversations about life to receive correction, encouragement and direction, we miss out on the benefit of the fellowship. If we read the Bible but we do not ask questions of the passage for personal reflection, we miss the benefit of reading the Bible.
- Being involved in a local church is important. Believers will not grow to the capacity that God desires without being in community with other believers. Many of us choose not to be a part of a church because where there are people, there is mess. Yet, despite this, we still show up for our jobs. We still participate in the organization that will advance our careers. The church is a hospital and whether you know it or not, you are a patient as well. Seek God’s guidance about what local church you should be actively apart of and grow through the abrasion (Proverbs 27:17)
- Everybody is on their own spiritual journey. Everybody’s journey to surrendering themselves to God in every area of their lives is unique to them. Someone may find it easy to surrender their financial lives to God and live out His principles in this area while someone else must overcome years and years of misinformation and lies to get to a point where they will accept God’s ways. We must give everyone space as they journey through life to surrender their whole selves to God. It will be easier for us to extend mercy and grace toward others when we recognize that we need the same mercy and grace to cover our areas of rebellion. (Galatians 6:1-5)
0 Comments