Category: Growing

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Growth – A Good Thing

This morning I would like to talk to you about growth. Facebook reminded me that five years ago we were just starting construction of our front courtyard wall. There were only a couple native plants, a short little sidewalk and no wall. It was a blank canvas, a barren land.

But Dave and I had a vision of what we wanted it to become and the work was started…

Fast forward to today – five years later we have a beautiful courtyard wall, a long sidewalk, gates, tons of vegetation and benches so we can sit out front and enjoy the view and the solitude.

Change is good! Growth is good!

That got me to thinking. I can look at our front courtyard and our back patio and see growth. How much growth can I see in my spiritual life? I read once that if we aren’t growing everyday in our relationship with the Lord we are regressing because living things grow.

“My dear friends, you have been warned ahead of time! So don’t let the errors of evil people lead you down the wrong path and make you lose your balance. 18 Let the wonderful kindness and the understanding that come from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ help you to keep on growing. Praise Jesus now and forever! Amen.” II Peter 3:17-18 CEV

Peter had written a letter to Christians everywhere and the verses above were his final admonishment in that letter. This is how he started the letter:

“From Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. To everyone who shares with us in the privilege of believing that our God and Savior Jesus Christ will do what is just and fair. 2 I pray that God will be kind to you and will let you live in perfect peace! May you keep learning more and more about God and our Lord Jesus.” II Peter 1:1-2 CEV

He wanted us ALL to keep learning about God the Father and our Lord Jesus. It is a continuing growth process; the deepening of our relationship. It’s change that is good.

We may not notice the daily growth but it’s happening. Sometimes we hit a “grow spurt” and it seems that we have shot up over night in our knowledge and relationship with the Lord. At other times the growth is gradual, almost unnoticeable until we look back and see how things used to be.

Our responsibility is to stay attached to Jesus. He is the vine from which we draw our life.

“Get your life from Me and I will live in you. No branch can give fruit by itself. It has to get life from the vine. You are able to give fruit only when you have life from Me. 5 I am the Vine and you are the branches. Get your life from Me. Then I will live in you and you will give much fruit. You can do nothing without Me.” John 15:4-5 NLV

When we stay in our relationship with Jesus good fruit will grow! It’s a natural occurrence, just the same as apples and oranges grow on the branches of the tree we will see fruit growing in our lives. Good and beneficial fruit.

“But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 NLV

Branches naturally grow when they are attached to a strong trunk. There is no stronger trunk (or vine) than Jesus. We can trust Him to produce spiritual growth in us.

Grow today – grow strong – grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour!


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Our Armor is God’s Word

Did you know that the seeds of God’s word grow and when they are developed they produce a harvest of armor? Think about that for a minute.

What happens when you plant God’s word in your heart? It grows! It provides you with strength, strength for daily living. The Apostle Paul tells us to put on armour for daily living so that we can stand strong. Each piece of armour can be tied to God’s word so it is safe to assume that the crop produced when we harvest the seeds of God’s word is armour.

“Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. 11 Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil’s tricks. 12 We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world. 13 So put on all the armor that God gives. Then when that evil day[a] comes, you will be able to defend yourself. And when the battle is over, you will still be standing firm.

14 Be ready! Let the truth be like a belt around your waist, and let God’s justice protect you like armor. 15 Your desire to tell the good news about peace should be like shoes on your feet. 16 Let your faith be like a shield, and you will be able to stop all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Let God’s saving power be like a helmet, and for a sword use God’s message that comes from the Spirit. 18 Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God’s people.” Ephesians 6:10-18 ERV

Let’s look at the individual pieces of our armor:
Belt of truth – Jesus said “Thy word is truth” John 17:17
Breastplate of righteousness – “My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.” Psalm 119:172
Shoes of peace – ” God has spoken to the people of Israel. He sent them the Good News that peace has come through Jesus Christ, the Lord of all people.” Acts 10:36
Shield of Faith – “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17
Helmet of Salvation – “…whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.” Acts 13:6
Sword of Spirit – “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,” Hebrews 4:12
Prayer – “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:” I John 5:14

Prayer is effective when we speak the will of God which is his word.

When we plant seeds we will get a harvest. I am praying that you have a harvest of armor from God’s word today and that you stand strong!

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Construction Zone

I’ve heard it said that hope is our blueprint and faith is our building materials. We need both, working together to achieve a desired result.

“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 NLT

As I was thinking about that this morning my mind came up with several examples of hope and faith working together. The first example comes from God, Himself. He had a blueprint, a hope, for the world He was to create and by faith He spoke out the words and the world was framed. Light be and light was.

“By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” Hebrews 11:3 NLT

Then there was Noah – God gave him the blue print for the Ark and Noah brought the materials together and made it just as the Lord told him. Moses did the same thing with the tabernacle in the desert. Solomon built the Temple according to the plans that the Lord had given his father, King David.

Peter built the church, the body of believers according to God’s blueprint. Jesus said “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”, that was the blueprint for world evangelism. Then he told the disciples to go to Jerusalem and “Wait for the power of the Holy Spirit”, that was building material. As soon as Peter received the proper material (the Holy Spirit) he went out and started building, preaching. And that first day 3000 people gave their lives to the Lord, that’s a good first day of construction no matter what project you’re working on.

“On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability…Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” 41 Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.” Acts 2:1-4, 37-41 NLT

From there on out God gave His word, the blueprint for our lives, to those who wrote the Bible and He also gave us the building material we need, the Holy Spirit.

What is it you need to build? It is peace, joy, strength, forgiveness, healing, victory, understanding, etc. Find the blueprint for it in God’s word and then let the power of the Holy Spirit construct what God has promised.

“He gives us everything we need for life and for holy living. He gives it through His great power. As we come to know Him better, we learn that He called us to share His own shining-greatness and perfect life. 4 Through His shining-greatness and perfect life, He has given us promises. These promises are of great worth and no amount of money can buy them. Through these promises you can have God’s own life in you now that you have gotten away from the sinful things of the world which came from wrong desires of the flesh.” II Peter 1:3-4 NLV

God’s plan or blueprint is ALWAYS good! I am determined to let God design and build my life according to His plan.

“Come to Jesus Christ. He is the living stone that people have rejected, but which God has chosen and highly honored. 5 And now you are living stones that are being used to build a spiritual house. You are also a group of holy priests, and with the help of Jesus Christ you will offer sacrifices that please God.” I Peter 2:4-5 CEV

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Oil & Wine

When we first moved to Rio Rico and began working to make this house our home we quickly became acquainted with the hard, stony, clay infused ground. I don’t think we have ever lived anywhere with soil as hard as here.

It was necessary to soak it for several days, a slow soak, and then use a pick to break through. When the footers were dug for our courtyard wall it took several men, several days to dig deep enough to have a trench that would hold the concrete and rebar for the foundation. When I decided I wanted a flower and vegetable garden we had to mix in many bags of a top soil/garden soil mixture just to provide a good environment for them to grow.

Hard ground. Stony earth. Both of these prevent proper growth of the seeds that are planted. To have a good and healthy growing environment the soil needs to be broken up, the rocks removed and good earth mixed in. The same is true of our hearts.

“The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 17 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.” Mark 4:16-17 NLT

I know what it’s like to work with hard soil, the time it takes to get a good harvest and I know what it’s like to have an unproductive heart and the time it takes to see a good harvest there, as well.

” I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,  and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’” Hosea 10:12 NLT

For years I had memorized Bible verses for Sunday School contests and awards at Vacation Bible School but all they were, were words on a page. My heart was hard and there wasn’t much fruit. But I remember when I prayed “Lord, I want to know your Word. I want the Holy Spirit to make it come alive in me.”. It was only a couple days later, as I sat at my kitchen table, Bible open before me and I read…

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ” Philippians 4:19 NKJV

I had memorized this verse over twenty years earlier but it had never taken root. That day as I read it out loud, I began to cry. That Bible verse, that seed, planted in the soil of my softened heart, took root and immediately brought a harvest of hope. That was just one of many examples I could share with you.

If the soil in a garden isn’t tilled regularly it will harden. It needs to be watered and the sun baked surface needs to be broken up. The same is true of our lives. Our hearts can become hardened and the seed of God’s word won’t produce a good harvest. So, we must break it up with repentance and water it with prayer.

When our older children were in high school, they went to a winter camp with the church group. The kids came home and on a Sunday evening sang a song they had learned at camp. The words of that song are still captured in my heart. The song was written by Keith Green, My Eyes are Dry.

“My eyes are dry
My faith is old
My heart is hard
My prayers are cold
And I know how I ought to be
Alive to You and dead to me

But what can be done
For an old heart like mine
Soften it up
With oil and wine
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love
Please wash me anew
With the wine of Your Blood

The good news is we don’t have to go through the dry spells. We can keep our hearts tender and always producing good fruit if we work the soil everyday. We do that with prayer and applying God’s word.

Reading the Bible and praying doesn’t get the Father to love us any more than He already does. But it does keep us in constant remembrance of His promises and HIs love.

Maybe you’re like I was, hard and unproductive. Let the oil and wine soft you again.

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Importance of Light

Have you ever gotten up in the middle of the night in a new place and everything was pitch black? You walked carefully across the room, stubbing your toes more than once, wishing there were a night light that could give you some assistance in your journey. I have. As a child Dave was a sleep walker and would wake up lost, so needless to say, we have night lights in our home. Very helpful indeed.

But what about those times when you need a “night light” walking through life?

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.” Psalm 119:105-106 KJV

It would be silly to ask someone for help or directions when we don’t know the way and then ignore what they say. The same holds true for mental and spiritual direction in our lives.

When we have God’s word to light the way and give us direction we shouldn’t be second guessing or ignoring the instruction we receive.

“If we live in the light as He is in the light, we share what we have in God with each other. And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, makes our lives clean from all sin. ” I John 1:7 NLV

“Once again Jesus spoke to the people. This time he said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” John 8:12 CEV

“I am under an agreement with You, O God. I will give You gifts of thanks. 13 For You have set my soul free from death. You have kept my feet from falling, so I may walk with God in the light of life.” Psalm 56:12-13 NLV

When we walk in the light of God’s Word our way is smoother! Walk well today!

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Do It Again

Have you ever noticed how sometimes things we had victory over in the past come back and start to cause problems again? Little things like temper, doubt, pride, insecurity, jealousy, criticism or even laziness.

This morning it’s not about writing a thought that will inspire or encourage; it’s about DOING what we have already been taught. We should never stop learning, never stop receiving good teaching but it’s imperative that we LIVE what we hear.

“17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.

19 My dear brothers and sisters, always be more willing to listen than to speak. Keep control of your anger. 20 Anger does not help you live the way God wants. 21 So get rid of everything evil in your lives—every kind of wrong you do. Be humble and accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save you.

22 Do what God’s teaching says; don’t just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves. 23 Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror 24 and doing nothing about what you saw. You go away and immediately forget how bad you looked. 25 But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard.

26 You might think you are a very religious person. But if your tongue is out of control, you are fooling yourself. Your careless talk makes your offerings to God worthless. 27 The worship that God wants is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence. This is the kind of worship that God accepts as pure and good.” James 1:17-27 ERV

If we aren’t doing the things that God has put in His word for our instruction we cannot be surprised when our lives experiences are less than we hoped for. We need to be diligent to keep “doing” God’s word. Here’s a novel idea, we can’t do God’s word if we aren’t reading it. We must apply what we read and hear. It’s like anything in life that we become skilled at. We have to keep doing it or our skill level decreases.

I’m glad you join me each day for this blog. It is my goal to stay focused on God’s word. I ask you to put Bible reading on the top of your “to do” list each day. You won’t regret it.

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Facing the Sun

This morning I will be recycling a devotional for the blog from a few years back. Our friends are leaving in a couple hours and I want to send them on their way with a good hearty breakfast. To make the most of my time, I decided to reuse a teaching from the past.

The teachings from God’s word are timeless. This one struck a chord with me – I’m still growing in Christ. That’s something I want to do everyday. I hope you do too.

So many times we think that growing as a Christian means we are becoming more like Jesus in the things we say and do. I believe that should be our goal. For years, I tried to be more like Christ; trying hard to do the right things, keeping my attitude in check, putting others first, etc. I wanted to make sure I was reading my Bible, attending church, tithing, serving; but those things were really works of the my own selfish effort. Those are the things that good Christians do, right?

“Let the wonderful kindness and the understanding that come from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ help you to keep on growing. Praise Jesus now and forever! Amen” II Peter 3:18 CEV

We are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus. That’s where the change comes. My works will be frustrating and futile and my relationship with Him will be shallow but if I allow His word to do work in me, my growth will be permanent and lasting.

God’s amazing grace covers me when I fall, picks me up, encourages me to keep going and not lose hope. When I began to realize what grace truly was, growing in it, my relationship with the Father and with Jesus began to grow.

Knowledge of His deep unconditional love brought me from a place of working for the Lord to letting Him work in and through me.

I love the example that sunflowers give us. Each morning their heads are bowed but as the sun appears they lift and become strong and tall. They face the sun, soaking in its rays, basking in it’s warmth, finding strength. They remind me that each day I should face the Son and let His light change my life.

“Our Lord and our God, you are like the sun and also like a shield. You treat us with kindness and with honor, never denying any good thing to those who live right. 12 Lord God All-Powerful, you bless everyone who trusts you.” Psalm 84:11-12 CEV

Face the Son! You’ll gain strength and warmth from Him.

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Camp In God’s Word

When we lived in the Northwest it seems our first camping trip of the year came on Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed getting away with friends, back to nature and the creek side.

Do you like to camp? As a kid I grew up camping with my folks. In the different places we lived, there was always a lake or river close by and we would go for the day, the weekend or even a week at a time. It was great! Fishing, campfires, hot chocolate, card games, marshmellows and the stars! So peaceful and life was simple and unhurried. Awe yes, I love camping.

I don’t just like to camp by a lake or a stream. I like to camp in God’s word. One of my favorite places to camp spiritually is in the Psalms and a favorite campsite is Psalm 1. And then in that campsite my favorite spot is verses 1-3.

“God blesses those people who refuse evil advice and won’t follow sinners or join in sneering at God. 2 Instead, the Law of the Lord makes them happy, and they think about it  day and night. 3 They are like trees growing beside a stream, trees that produce fruit in season and always have leaves. Those people succeed in everything they do.” Psalm 1:1-3 CEV

With Memorial Day coming, many of you will be getting away for a camping trip or a short vacation. Why not take time today to camp by a stream of living water, rest in the grass of green pastures and enjoy the warmth of the Son?

God’s word is a great place to camp and enjoy the Creator!

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I Want More

That’s the way my morning prayer time was headed this morning and then the Lord caught me mid-sentence. I was praying, “Lord, I want more of you in my life.”

That’s really not a Scriptural prayer. You see, the Apostle Paul tells us that God the Father has invested all He is in Christ and we are in Christ so we have all of the Father as well.

“I say this because all of God lives in Christ fully, even in his life on earth. 10 And because you belong to Christ you are complete, having everything you need. Christ is ruler over every other power and authority.” Colossians 2:9-10 ERV

It’s kind of like another prayer I have often heard. “Lord, be with us” but since God has promised to never leave us or abandon us, and He can’t lie, that prayer isn’t really Scriptural either. However, I completely understand the intent of each of those prayers. Let me share this story with you to explain.

Yesterday, we spent a good portion of time researching our Norwegian heritage. My great grandparents on both sides of the family came from Norway. Something I have always been proud of. My children and grandchildren are too. Our oldest granddaughter is in New York and went to Ellis Island. She wanted to research our family names and see if she could learn more about their arrival in America.

My oldest daughter called me asking questions for her daughter. Then we, my daughter and I, talked with my Mother and my cousin, Sally, who have more knowledge on the family history than I do. They provided some insight. I don’t know how long Lex spent searching the archives but she was able to find some family names registered. It was exciting to all of us.

However, none of the research made us more Norwegian than we had been before the day started but it did give us more knowledge.

And that’s what our prayers of wanting more of the Father and wanting Him to be with us really are. They are prayers for more knowledge that will help us understand and grow deeper in our relationship.

The Apostle Paul prayed this:

“But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. 8 Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ 9 and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. 10 All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, 11 so that somehow I also may be raised to life.

12 I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. 13 My friends, I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. 14 I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done. 15 All of us who are mature should think in this same way. And if any of you think differently, God will make it clear to you. 16 But we must keep going in the direction that we are now headed.” Philippians 3:7-16 CEV

We should always want more – not that the Father hasn’t given us everything we need because He has. But as we learn more, as we increase in knowledge we also show more of His character to those around us and we understand more of who He is and what He is wanting to do in our lives.

“I pray that God will be kind to you and will let you live in perfect peace! May you keep learning more and more about God and our Lord Jesus.

3 We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. 4 God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.” II Peter 1:2-4 CEV

It seems we all have a desire to know more about our heritage; our story, what makes us unique. So join me today in coming to the Father and saying

“Lord, Father God, I want to know you more. Show me how to increase in my knowledge of You and Your goodness.”

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Today’s Goal

What do you want to accomplish today? Do you have a goal or a purpose for the hours that lay ahead?

I woke up this morning singing the little chorus I learned years ago:
In my life Lord be glorified, be glorified. In my life Lord be glorified today.

That’s my goal today – to glorify or give honor to the Father today!

When Jesus came He said His purpose was to glorify the Father and then He went on to say that he came to cleanse the leper, heal the sick, raise the dead, heal the broken hearted and to set free those who were imprisoned (spiritually and emotionally). He quoted a prophesy from the book of Isaiah. At the end of that prophesy it says that we will be called trees of righteousness that the Father may be glorified.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives, and to open the eyes of the blind. 2 He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God’s favor to them has come, and the day of his wrath to their enemies. 3 To all who mourn in Israel he will give: beauty for ashes; joy instead of mourning; praise instead of heaviness. For God has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.” Isaiah 61:1-3 TLB

The purpose of the miracles is to draw us to Christ and into a relationship with the Father. That relationship will so change our lives that we are living examples of his love and mercy.

We are planted, as trees, in our relationship with the Father, ever growing, firm, stalwart, able to stand in the storm, growing in our awareness of His righteousness working in us.

“God is wonderful and glorious. I pray that his Spirit will make you become strong followers 17 and that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. Stand firm and be deeply rooted in his love.” Ephesians 3:16-17 CEV

In my life Father, be glorified today!

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