Tag: GrowinGrace

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New Growth

One of the first Science experiments I remember as a kid was taking dry pinto beans, wrapping them in a moist paper towel, placing that in a dish and setting it on the kitchen cupboard.

Each day I added a little water to the paper towel and in a few days the seed began to split and the tip of a tiny root began to appear. After a few more days the root got longer and the seed pod split even more.

I was growing beans!

As the root got longer, a shoot started growing from the other end. It didn’t take long for leaves to begin to form and the plant was taking shape. I was a successful farmer. The seed was doing exactly what God designed it to do. It was producing – seems I read those words in the first chapter of Genesis. From the beginning, this is what seeds did.

“The earth produced plant life: plants yielding seeds, each according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit with seeds inside it, each according to its kind. God saw how good it was.” Genesis 1;12 CEB

As I was thinking about this experiment, I was reminded of the verses I wrote about the other day, you know, the ones about understanding and growing in the fullness of God. Some will say, like I used to, “I know that I will have that fullness once I get to heaven. We all will.” But the Scripture tells us that we are to grow into that fullness here, while we’re still on earth.

I was trying to figure out how the two teachings tied together when I remembered these verses from the Bible.

“As you set yourselves apart by your obedience to the truth so that you might have genuine affection for your fellow believers, love each other deeply and earnestly. 23 Do this because you have been given new birth—not from the type of seed that decays but from seed that doesn’t. This seed is God’s life-giving and enduring word.” I Peter 1:22-23 CEB

Our new life in Christ is a result of the seed of God’s word. Planted in our hearts, God’s word produces eternal life from a seed that will not decay. The pinto bean shriveled and died as the bean sprout got larger but the seed of God’s word won’t decay or die, it continues to feed our new life so that we can grow into the fullness of God.

Amazing!

“Then Jesus said, “This is what God’s kingdom is like. It’s as though someone scatters seed on the ground, 27 then sleeps and wakes night and day. The seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer doesn’t know how. 28 The earth produces crops all by itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full head of grain. 29 Whenever the crop is ready, the farmer goes out to cut the grain because it’s harvesttime.” Mark 4:26-29 CEB

God’s character, His love, grow in our lives like that seed of grain grows in the ground. It grows to full maturity. Just look at what the seed that God plants produces.

“ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against things like this.” Galatians 5:22-23 CEB

Maybe we all need to start some bean seeds on the kitchen counter just to remind ourselves that God’s word is producing new fruit in our lives!

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Revealing Character

Talk about getting to practice what you preach, this morning brought a whole new object lesson and a reminder of why I need to experience more growth in the “fullness of God”.

Dave and I are heading out for an early appointment this morning. I got up intending to have my Bible reading, prayer time and writing the blog before I jump in the shower. I had an idea of what I thought the Lord wanted me to share this morning, so I turned the coffee on and sat down to pull my thoughts together, praying, and waiting for the coffee to finish.

Really no time to spare before we need to head out the door.

Coffee’s done – yes! Picked up my cup and was filling it when I realized the auto shut-off didn’t. There was coffee running down on the burner plate and I had a mess! This was not my idea of what the verse “my cup runneth over” should mean.

Darn it!! I discovered that the filter, for whatever reason, hadn’t drained the way it should. When I opened the filter basket, it was still filled with hot water and grounds were everywhere. That also meant that my coffee decanter would have grounds in it. This morning I get to chew my coffee – not my favorite thing.

I wish I could say that the first thoughts that came to mind were “oh good, another example to share on growing in Christ”; those were not my first thoughts. I was frustrated and still am. The coffee pot will have to wait until later to be cleaned but my heart and my mind needed an immediate tending too.

“And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient. 4 And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope. 5 And this hope will never disappoint us. We know this because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts through the Holy Spirit he gave us.” Romans 5:3-5 ERV

Happy with troubles? I will be perfectly honest. I handle big situations quite well, it’s the small and unexpected things that catch me off guard. Patience proves our strength and gives us hope. A hope that doesn’t disappoint because God has poured out His love to fill our hearts. (There’s that fullness again that we were talking about yesterday.)

“If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be.” James 1:4 ERV

Am I glad for the coffee failure this morning? Not at all. Am I thankful that the Lord can speak to my heart through the little things? Absolutely!

The Father isn’t chastising or condemning me because of my immediate frustration. Instead, He is teaching me through it and revealing His character for me to conform too. He wants me to grow up into Him!

What areas of character growth is He revealing to you today? Be happy – you’re growing!

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Goodness – Gracious

My new backyard has me looking at the Superstition Mountains. Each morning and evening when I look at their majesty, I find myself using an old expression, Goodness Gracious. That’s something my grandmother would have said.

I started thinking – what does that really mean? When she said it, it would have meant
“God, you are so good; look at the beauty You have designed”.

What does it mean to be gracious? Some definitions are godly character, kindness, dignity, mericiful, compassionate. Gracious – displaying grace.

Nature is a display of God’s goodness and grace.

So what is grace?

Grace: receiving the goodness of God that we don’t deserve. It is given freely with no strings attached. The grace of God took Jesus to the cross long before we were ever born so that we could be brought into right relationship with the Father.

In II Peter 3, the entire chapter is written about the return of the Lord to earth. Peter says that some will grow weary waiting, others will call it foolish but he admonishes us to be ready. God is not willing that any should perish but He desires that all should repent. The reason it’s taking so long for Him to return is the Father wants all to come to salvation in Him. He wants everyone to experience His grace; He is gracious!

We are to grow in grace. That doesn’t mean we acquire more grace but that we understand the scope of God’s grace to a greater extent. When we are born human, we have all the “humanness” we will ever have but we grow in our capacity to understand and function in our humanity. It’s the same with our life given to us by grace.

As we grow in our knowledge of the Father, we see more clearly how His grace is given to each and everyone of us. We see that He has provided for us through His amazing love and goodness. He is merciful and He is gracious (full of grace). We are to be like Him. Growing in grace causes us to see that our failures and those of others are covered by His grace and so we can go forward, forgiving as we ourselves have been forgiven.

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” II Peter 3:18 KJV

or maybe you understand it better this way

“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

I pray that you have “goodness – gracious” moments in your day. Things that take your breath away – things that remind you of God’s goodness and grace!

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Looking Grown Up

I didn’t intend for these last few blogs to be a Bible Study on the book of Ephesians but that seems to be the direction they are taking. I hope you don’t mind; in fact, let me encourage you to take the next few weeks to slowly read and ponder the teachings of Paul to the Christians in Ephesus.

Yesterday I kept a watch on my own actions and heart attitudes to make sure that I was showing growth in the area of love.

Sometimes when we are applying Biblical principles to our lives it’s a bit like playing dress up. Do you remember trying on your mom or dad’s shoes and coat when you were little? For some of us that’s going back a long way. But I do remember trying on my mom’s high heels and a necklace or two. I also remember watching our kids do the same with our clothing. Tromping around the house in our boots and hats – it still brings a smile to my face. They wanted to be like Dave and I.

And that’s what growing in the love of God is, acting like the Father. Imitating Him.

“ You are God’s dear children, so try to be like him. 2 Live a life of love. Love others just as Christ loved us. He gave himself for us—a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 ERV

It takes a while for the character of Christ to develop. That’s why I mentioned a growth chart yesterday. When we look back over the last month or year, we should see a difference in how we reacted in certain situations and have a greater victory over temptations.

Less apt to be bitter, more apt to replace it with forgiveness. Less prone to be critical and more bent on being an encourager. Subtle little differences but all growth is good.

“You must be made new in your hearts and in your thinking. 24 Be that new person who was made to be like God, truly good and pleasing to him…29 When you talk, don’t say anything bad. But say the good things that people need—whatever will help them grow stronger. ” Ephesians 4:23-24, 29 ERV

Do you remember years ago when someone came out with the acronym WWJD? People wore bracelets, necklaces, signed notes with WWJD, What Would Jesus Do. That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul is telling us to implement.

We might feel awkward, changing life actions can be. But let me encourage you to keep at it. Runners don’t start with a marathon as their first race, weight lifters never start by lifting 200 pounds. A chef wasn’t successful with their first souffle and we won’t imitate Christ perfectly in our first attempts either but keep at it, don’t give up.

Mastery in imitating Christ is a goal we should all strive for; it’s the life He has designed for us. Let’s grow up into His image!

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Jumping In

Have you ever noticed how much fun kids have jumping? It can be jumping in to a pool or jumping in a puddle; they like jumping on trampolines and jumping rope. They have to be told not to jump on the bed and the furniture. Jumping houses have become a favorite at backyard birthday parties. Yes, jumping seems to be a favorite pastime for kids.

Now, some adults seem to enjoy jumping as well but it’s a different kind of jumping. They like jumping to conclusions. This kind of jumping can be quite dangerous.

Without much background information and little research, snap judgements are made and conclusions are improperly drawn. Reputations can be ruined and discontentment can surface when we jump to the wrong conclusion.

The religious leaders of Jesus day jumped to the wrong conclusion about Him.

They had been waiting for the “coming Messiah”. It had been prophesied by their prophets for hundreds of years. They talked in their synagogues of His coming – would He deliver them from Roman oppression?

But when He came, they accused Him of blasphemy. They said He came from the wrong region of the country, that He had a devil because He could do miracles and that the Messiah wouldn’t associate with sinners who drank wine or had scandalous reputations. They jumped to the wrong conclusion.

“Later, Jesus and his disciples were having dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and other sinners were also there. 11 Some Pharisees asked Jesus’ disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other sinners?”

12 Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. 13 Go and learn what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others.’ I didn’t come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.” Matthew 9:10-13 CEV

You know, I jumped to a few wrong conclusions about God’s love myself. I felt I had to be good enough to earn God’s love and if I messed up God would distance Himself from me. I felt my relationship with the Father was based on my good merit and didn’t understand His grace.

“But the gift that God was kind enough to give was very different from Adam’s sin. That one sin brought death to many others. Yet in an even greater way, Jesus Christ alone brought God’s gift of kindness to many people.

16 There is a lot of difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gift. That one sin led to punishment. But God’s gift made it possible for us to be acceptable to him, even though we have sinned many times. 17 Death ruled like a king because Adam had sinned. But that cannot compare with what Jesus Christ has done. God has been so kind to us, and he has accepted us because of Jesus. And so we will live and rule like kings.” Romans 5:15-17 CEV

I had jumped to the wrong conclusion. God is gracious, loving and kind. He is forgiving. He desires to have relationship with us.

Let’s all jump to the right conclusion – God is love; jump into relationship with Him, the conclusion will be acceptance and an abundant life in Him.

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A Healthy Tree

There is a single verse in the Psalm 40 that I want us to look at this morning.

“O Lord my God, many are the great works You have done, and Your thoughts toward us. No one can compare with You! If I were to speak and tell of them, there would be too many to number.” Psalm 40:5 NLV

Now look at this phrase “many are the great works which You have done”.

Think about that for a moment – what great works do you see that God has done? Was it last night’s sunset or this morning’s sunrise? Was it the love and compassion you felt for a stranger who was in need? Or was it the unpretentious love and acceptance of a child? What did you experience just yesterday that you can see was a wonderful work of God in your life?

“Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:8 NJKV

“He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; The Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” Psalm 111:4 NJKV

“O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them.” Isaiah 25:1 NLT

Our Father is a planner; He plans good things. The things that are “wonder full” are the things that have the character of God woven through them. Things like faithfulness, truth, love, forgiveness, peace, gentleness, patience, joy…

Oh wait, did I just list the fruit of the Spirit? When God’s love fills us, we begin to produce fruit.

In the natural fruit a tree produces fruit for the kind of tree it is. Apples, oranges, bananas, and so on – you know what I’m saying. Nothing tastes as good a peach picked fresh from the branch. When we grow in Christ we will begin to produce fruit that is consistent with the vine we are growing on – we will begin to produce godly character.

Our lives should be producing Father-fruit. Do you know that He is wanting to use us to do wonderful things in the lives of those around us? And don’t think that everyone will be happy that we are an example of the Father – they won’t be. Jesus faced that opposition.

“God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 ERV

The love of the Lord will grow in our lives as we stay connected to Him. Just as a fruit tree first breaks forth with buds in Spring and those buds ripen into mature fruit we will produce the fruit of God’s character.

May the trees in our yards and neighborhoods be a reminder that we were made to produce the fruit of godly character.

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Discovering Your Roots

A few years ago we took our young grandson camping with us. We took a couple of “nature walks” around the campground.

He was excited to find different kinds of wild flowers (which he picked for his Mom), pine cones of every size, a hollowed out log, a downed tree which was wide enough to walk on and a tree stump which had been up rooted.

He was amazed to see how big the exposed roots were and fascinated by the rocks that were tangled in these large tenacles beneath the earth’s surface. We explained to him, as best you can to a three year old, that these roots were what helped the trees stand tall and not fall over when the wind blew hard or the snow was deep.

What was a fun adventure for a kid was also a great reminder for us as adults.

So many times I find myself drawing on things I learned or experiences I have had as a child. My parents taught me honesty, to be respectful, how to handle hardship, to be a gracious winner, to have a good work ethic and to be loving and friendly to all people. Those roots have supported me throughout my life.

In the last blog we saw that God had kept a mystery hidden through the ages and that mystery was Jesus. Like the lessons my parents taught me, the Apostle Paul is teaching us to have our roots in anchored in the wisdom and knowledge of God.

“I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. 3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:2-3 NLT

There have been times when I have been tested to stand strong. Hard winds of adversity have tried to blow me over. Sometimes I have swayed dramatically with their force and have almost been completely devastated. But when the winds subsided I was standing, thankfully standing, because my roots were firmly planted in my faith in Christ.

“As you have put your trust in Christ Jesus the Lord to save you from the punishment of sin, now let Him lead you in every step. 7 Have your roots planted deep in Christ. Grow in Him. Get your strength from Him. Let Him make you strong in the faith as you have been taught. Your life should be full of thanks to Him.” Colossians 2:6-7 NLV

My faith in Christ is what has been my anchor. He is the one who holds my roots secure. Without Him in my life I would fail to stand, I would be completely uprooted during the storms.

I am so thankful that my roots are deeply planted in Christ and that I am growing stronger in Him with each passing day.

May I encourage you to discover your roots. Let them go deep – it will keep you from falling.

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Like A Diamond

This morning I will be starting a new teaching, one that will take several weeks. Over the New Year weekend I was praying about what I should be sharing and I felt strongly impressed to share excerpts from my book “Like A Diamond”.

These are teachings that gave me knowledge and strength for daily life many years ago. They are the foundations that are keep my feet firmly planted on the Solid Rock during life’s most tumultous and trying times.

“My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests.” Hosea 4:6a NLT

The Jewish people had forgotten God’s word; they no longer remembered God’s promises and were following false teaching. Their enemies had captured them and there was chaos and devastation in their land. God said it was because the priests had not been teaching them His word and they had no knowledge of His promises.

“I was saved when I was a small child and for many years my Christian experience was limited. I grew up with the concept that we just struggle by the best we can while we are on earth. Then one day we will go to heaven when we die and it will be worth all the pain and heartache we went through here.

However, all that started to change in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I began to hear teaching on victorious Christian living. This was all new to me and to be honest, my first thought was this seems too good to be true.

Yet, it was true! The word Gospel means exactly that – good news. Reading my Bible became a delight. Each page was filled with promises and stories of God meeting the people He created and filling their lives with blessings.

The Holy Spirit began to open my understanding to the miraculous transformation that the Lord would like to make in each of our lives. It is a refining process, a development – it takes a Master touch to reveal our true potential.

Our lives, when we come to Christ, can be compared to a diamond in the rough. When the diamond hunter first finds “diamond rough” it is unattractive. It is often encased by common mineral deposits.  

It is the work of a Master Diamond Cutter that gives the stone its brilliance. They assess the stone to determine the size and weight of the finished product. Will they choose to cut one large diamond or perhaps two smaller ones will be more valuable? Will it be a round or a square brilliant cut?

Once the sawing or cutting of the diamond rough is complete the bruting process begins. Bruting is the art of cutting a diamond round. From here the diamond is polished, enhancing its many facets, weight, and clarity. A final inspection involves a thorough cleaning.

Our lives as Christians have greater value than that of the world’s largest diamond. God, the Father, is our Master Diamond Cutter. He sees us when we are encased in dirt. He chooses us to be His own. Through His Word what is detrimental to our beauty is cut away.  We are then polished and refined so that our true beauty shines brilliantly.  

Our Christian lives, like a diamond, are multi-faceted. In each chapter of this book we will look at some facets of our new life in Christ. For some this will be new information like it was for me all those years ago. For others it will be a refresher, an opportunity for another polishing. God’s word always brings a change, a glorious change.

As the facets of our life in Christ begin to be revealed we will shine “Like A Diamond”.”

“And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.” Malachi 3:17 AMPC

I hope you will join me over the next weeks as we mine the truths of God’s Word and It reveals the value that God places on us, His children.

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