Growing in Christ

The fact that this thread has a newer post caught my eye initially, and then the title jumed out at me. You have some wonderful suggestions here. My initial post talked about being out of touch with the Lord for a while and I am finding my way back. Thank you for sharing your ideas. Patty

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"'But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you." ~ Psalms 39:7

My husband, Eric. Would be so proud to see such loyalty to Jesus these days. God rest his soul. R.I.P.

thank you for letting god use you ,
be blessed

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"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14;


BE BLESSED FAVORED WITH THE LORD.

Out of all the forums I have read on this site I like this one the most. The steps that you list the story that you tell of your own struggles are powerful. But what stands out the most is that even when things weren't going your way and you felt you couldn't hear anything instead of pitching a hissy fit and walking away from God. You told him I am going to love you anyway. I am going to stick to you and I am not going anywhere until I hear from you. Your perserverance and your will to know and find out more about God is a great example of what we as Christians, even new Christians, should be like. I wish I could be this way. I love Christ but I know I could have a deeper relationship with Christ and I know he truly wants one with me. But everything on your list I battle with. I am still learning how to discipline my tongue and that is one of my greatest downfalls. But I think the thing that actually hurts Christ the most is I don't give him the time he deserves to just talk and for me to be quiet and if I do let him speak to me I am so quick to cut him off and take what I want to hear from the little I allowed myself to get. The most ironic thing about this is I have the same nasty habit when it comes to others. It's affected personal relationships and friendships because it's horrible annoying. But it also comes down to learning how to guard your tongue and sometimes just listen. And the part about exercising your faith and how you broke that down. I love that. Because you can set yourself up for failure. God knows your heart and when you truly don't believe those miracles won't manifest themselves and we find ourselves discouraged and feeling as if God is not listening. When in actuality he is and he is ready to make these things come true he is just waiting on our faith to catch up with our miracle. Thank you for the great forum. I also visit another christian website called gracefriends.com where they talk about other Christian issues similar to this. I am going to have to take back what I have learned here on your post or you always welcome to come and check it out yourself.

What a great forum topic! Thank You.
The most helpful book I have found (other than the Bible) for assisting my growth in the Lord is easily one called "Thy Will Be Done On Earth; Understanding God's Will for You" by Russell. It is both simply presented and profound. I'm on about my 15th reading of it. It causes me to really reflect on God and what is important. I cannot recommend it highly enough for all Christians regardless of their spiritual maturity level. The writer is truly profound. Future generations may think of him the way we do of C.S. Lewis.

I have grown by something that is difficult for me and for most people — learning to stop — and then to listen in stillness.

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+Peace
John
Tampa, Florida, USA

Has anyone struggled with conistency? When I ask myself how would I want to grow in Christ - magnitude of life growth didn't come to my mind. But consistency came to my mind.

More devotion? More prayer and reading His word? More staying in His presence? Everything is fine, but what use is it if I am not doing it consistently?

Dear Kingdomwalk:

There are cycles - ups and downs - in all of life, are there not? We breathe in and we breathe out, the earth has seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall, the sap in a tree withdraws to the roots and rises to the branches, dependent upon the time of year. This is the way of all life; in truth it is a necessity - a law or principle of growth - and the Kingdom of God follows that same principle as it grows within each of us.

For me, growing in Christ (Who is the Kingdom of God) is akin to climbing a slippery pole: there are times I am spiritually energized and can climb a fair ways, and there are times when I have less spiritual energy and slide down. What I find however is that overall progress is always made; even during those times I slide down, I am still farther up the pole than I was in the past (last year, last month, last week or yesterday).

Just as you have certain constants in your life regardless of the season, so maintain the constants in your spiritual life regardless of how you feel. Just as you feed your body whether it is winter or summer, so feed your spirit whether you "feel" particularly "spiritual" or not. And you feed the spirit always and only by the Word and by the Spirit.

Remember, the Christian life is just that: a Life in you, and God thru Christ is the Author and Completion of that Life - in you. Christ Jesus has become a Life-giving Spirit Who lives in you, and He is performing His work through His Spirit in your life. It is not through your self-effort - your "works" - that you grow; it is through your faith, your confident trust in Him, that He grows in you.

Never give up. Endure to the end. Walk - and live daily - in the Light that you have.

LeastOne

God bless you all for wonderful posts

Originally Posted by leastone

Never give up. Endure to the end. Walk - and live daily - in the Light that you have.

LeastOne

Timely words of wisdom. Great to see that your still here posting Leastone