Tag Archives: spiritual growth

March 6, 2024 · 5:45 AM

The Foundation Of Cooperation

Trust is the strength of any relationship. Think of any relationship you have. It’s only as good as your ability to trust that person. Trust in a relationship is the belief that they can be relied on to do what they say, and it’s the foundation for cooperation. Without it, you don’t have much of a relationship. Some of us go into any relationship trusting the other party and for some of us, trust must be earned. The more we trust them, the more we can accomplish together. This doesn’t just apply to people. Think about your relationship with God. It’s only as strong as your ability to trust Him to guide your life. The more you trust Him, the more input and control He has in your life. The less you trust Him, the more you make the decisions and view Him as just a consultant or advice giver.

In Genesis 22:1-19, we read the story of Abraham. He trusted God to give him a son in his old age and God did it. When Isaac became a young man, God spoke to Abraham and asked him to sacrifice his only son. Abraham didn’t question God to save Isaac or to give him another son even though he was now around 120 years old. He took Isaac on the journey carrying the wood and the fire and climbed the mountain. He built the altar and bound up his son. Abraham had learned to trust God over the years. As Isaac questioned his father, Abraham simply replied that God would provide another sacrifice. It wasn’t until the knife was raised to kill his on,y son that God intervened. God knew he could trust Abraham and Abraham knew he could trust God. Because of that trust, he became the father of many nations and the spiritual father to billions.

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding” (AMP). How deep is your trust in the Lord? How confident is your reliance on Him? If He asked you to sacrifice your most prized possession would you do it even if you didn’t understand? Don’t answer too quickly here. Take an honest evaluation. That last part is the hardest. You see God almost always asks for trust without our understanding. We will obey what He asks up to the level of our trust regardless of our understanding. If you want a deeper relationship with God, you’re going to have to learn to trust Him more. You’re going to have to do things that may not make sense to you or anyone else. Remember trust is the foundation for cooperation.

Photo by Joseph Chan  on Unsplash

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 22, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Leaving Survival Mode

One of the activities I love doing is camping. When I was younger I was taught bushcraft and how to do a survival camping trip. They dropped us off in unfamiliar territory, only let us carry what we could fit into a bandaid box, soaked the bandaid box in water, then left us. We had to find shelter, build a fire, hunt for food and sleep on the ground. We had no help or provisions. It was a rough weekend that I’ll never forget.

Compare that to how I like to camp. I enjoy taking my tent, a queen size air mattress, a cooler full of food, lanterns, chairs, pots and pans, cooking utensils, plates and lots of comforts. It’s still outside and in the woods, but I have everything I need for a great weekend. I even have transportation and a phone if something were to happen. This form of camping is a lot more enjoyable because of what’s available to me.

Many of us live our faith as if we were on a survival camping trip. We feel like we’ve been abandoned, we don’t have anything, we are in unfamiliar territory and we’re left to fend for ourselves. I’ve spoken to so many Christians who feel this way, and think it’s normal. Let me tell you it’s not. God has not abandoned you and left you alone on this journey. He doesn’t leave us to survive on our own. Instead, He has given you everything to have the other style camping trip.

2 Peter 1:3 says, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (NLT) God has already packed the car for you. It’s a matter of us unpacking it and utilizing what He’s given us. You have special giftings, the Bible, the Holy Spirit living in you, direct communication with God and so much more. We as believers need to start utilizing the things God has made available to us, and get out of survival mode. That’s the life God has called you to.

Photo by NEOM on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

February 12, 2024 · 5:38 AM

Stewarding The Seed

Seeds are fascinating to me. They can lie dormant for the longest time waiting for the right conditions in order to activate. The first thing they need is water. The water causes a seed to expand and release enzymes. Those enzymes cause the seed to ramp up metabolic energy and release food storage that’s built into it. Then a tap root breaks out of one end and starts heading down. On the other end a stem comes out heading upwards. Once it reaches the surface, two leaves form and photosynthesis begins. Depending on moisture and oxygen levels in the soil and sunlight, the seed takes on life and becomes what it was designed to be.

A seed was planted in Terah, Abraham’s father, to go to the land of Canaan. When his father died, he gather his sons and their families to head to Canaan. Genesis 11:31 says that while on their way, they stopped in Haran and settled there. In the next chapter, the word of the Lord co,es to Abraham and tells him to leave where his father stopped and continue the journey to Canaan. God then planted another seed in Abraham. He told him in the new land he would become the father of many nations and would bless him. The seeds in him began to sprout so he packed up everything and left his father. When he arrived, the Lord planted another seed in him telling him that He would give him all that land to his descendants.

In Isaiah 30:21, the Lord tells Israel that he will respond and guide us telling us which way we should go. Verse 23 says, “Then the Lord will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock” (NLT). I know that God has already planted seeds in you. They may be lying dormant right now waiting for the watering of the Lord. It will come when the time is right. The seed will grow, send down roots and sending a shoot up. Though it’s been dormant for a while, it is not dead. God will bring it to pass. You may have to get into a place, like Abraham did, where it can grow. You may have to get in the right environment so it can thrive. Seek God on what you need to be doing in the meantime to steward that seed and prepare it for growth. God will bring about a harvest to every seed He’s planted in you.

Photo by imso gabriel on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

January 31, 2024 · 5:36 AM

Leaving Crisis Mode

Stephen Covey says we typically spend our time in one of four quadrants, and the amount of time we spend in each matters to our growth and productivity. Quadrant 1 is where most people live. It’s urgent and important things. The problem with quadrant one is that we’re on a treadmill not going anywhere really. We’re just constantly putting out fires. Quadrant two is not urgent but important. Here is where we focus on the future, relationships and planning. Being in this quadrant brings growth, control and balance. The other two quadrants are urgent and not important (quadrant three) and not urgent and not important. These aren’t connected to your big picture goals and prevent you from doing what really matters. The more time we spend in quadrant two, the more fulfilled our life will be is his point.

David was a man living in crisis before he became king. Saul was constantly hunting him to kill him. He spent a lot of his time in the wilderness of the Negev. It’s a very dry climate there where there isn’t much water and the biggest body of water is undrinkable (Dead Sea). David could have spent all his time during this season in quadrant one handling all the urgent and important work of trying to find water, food, shelter and safety. He had to do those things, but David took time to live in quadrant two in the middle of all that. He focused on the future and on the One who could rescue him. He grew his relationship with God in the difficult times. He knew he didn’t just need a series of temporary solutions. He needed to know the One who could solve his problems and fulfill the anointing on his life. During this time, he wrote Psalm 63.

Psalm 63:1 says, ”O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water“ (NLT). Where do you spend your time when things aren’t going according to plan in your life? Do you jump on the treadmill in quadrant one or do you build your relationship with God who is more than able to help? Do you search for Him in your wilderness or for the solutions by yourself? If you find yourself spending all your time in response and survival mode, it will be hard to break free from the cycle. While you still have to spend time on those things because they’re urgent and important, make time to search for God, to seek His face and to study His Word. He is the One who gives peace, deliverance and wisdom. When we draw close to Him, He draws close to us.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

December 29, 2023 · 6:30 AM

Stop. Start. Continue.

At the end of a long class, I like to debrief by asking the participants to reflect on what they’ve learned. I then ask them to think about things they need to stop doing, things they need to start doing and things they need to continue doing. At the end of the year, it’s a great way to think about how you want to head into the new year. As a disciple of Christ, it’s something we should do as well if we want to mature in our faith. There are many things that the Bible tell us we should stop, start and continue as we live for Him. Think about what you will change in the new year. If you don’t stop or start new things, you can’t expect to grow.

Here are some Bible verses on things we all should stop doing.

1. Since a great price was paid for your redemption, stop having the mind-set of a slave.

1 Corinthians 7:23 TPT

2. So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.

Hebrews 6:1 NLT

3. Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.

1 Corinthians 15:34 NLT

4. “Stop fighting,” he says, “and know that I am God, supreme among the nations, supreme over the world.”

Psalm 46:10 GNT

5. So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.

Romans 14:13 NLT

Photo by Cynthia Magana on Unsplash

3 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

December 14, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Getting In The Wheelbarrow

I like to tell people that you will always act on what you truly believe, especially when you’re under pressure. It’s easy to say you believe something, but the proof comes when stress is applied. There’s a story of a man named Charles Blonden who famously put out a tightrope across Niagara Falls. He crossed it several times using different methods like stilts, backwards, blindfolded, carrying a stove and cooking on it. One time he pushed a wheelbarrow across it. When he arrived on the other side, the crowd applauded. He then asked who believed he could push someone in that wheelbarrow across the tightrope. Everyone cheered agreeing that he could. He then asked for a volunteer from the cheering crowd. The crowd fell silent and no one volunteered. Later his manager Harry Colcord did ride across on his back.

It’s easy to say we believe something until we have to get I to the wheelbarrow. In the Old Testament, God asked Abraham to take his only son to the land of Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice (Genesis 22). This was a faith testing moment. God had already told him that through Isaac he would have many descendants. He took Isaac to the mountain anyway because He truly believed God. David’s faith was tested too. He had been anointed king, but God delayed in that promise. He had several opportunities to kill Saul, the current king, but he trusted God’s timing instead. Many opportunities presented themselves, but he passed on them all as he waited for God’s perfect timing.

Testing is part of God’s means of proving our faith just like He did for those in the Bible. If He tested them, He’ll test us. 1 Peter 1:7 says, “Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed” (GNT). Testing purifies and solidifies our faith. Don’t back down from what you believe when hard times come or when you’re called out on it. Get in the wheelbarrow and trust God to carry you across Niagara’s Falls. He’s proven time and time again He’s able to, but it’s up to us to trust Him enough to get in.

Photo by Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 30, 2023 · 5:48 AM

Filling Gaps

If I asked you what your worst subject in school was, what would you say? Now if I asked you why it was your worst, you’d probably think of some reasons. It could be you didn’t like the teacher. That could be the class that had the most homework in it. Maybe you never did quite understand it and once you got behind, you could never catch up again. When we have a learning gap in a subject, it can create tension, especially if you struggle to fill that gap. Some parents get their kids a tutor to fill the learning gap. Some spend some extra time trying to help their kids. Then there are those who say, “I didn’t like it either. You’re just going to have to live with it.” That person lives with that gap and has a mental block that they may never get past.

Let’s take that same concept and apply it to our faith. There are people in the Bible who had some gaps. In Mark 9 we read the story of a man who had a son that was possessed by a demon. The disciples had a gap in their faith and couldn’t cast it out. When they approached Jesus, the boy went into convulsions and Jesus asked how long had he suffered like that. He told him it had been happening since childhood and asked if Jesus could do anything to help. Jesus said, “What do you mean ‘if’?” He then flipped it on him and said, “If you are able to believe, all things are possible to the believer” (TPT). The man recognized his gap and said, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” (NLT)

I Thessalonians 3:10 says, “Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith.” Where are your gaps in your faith that you need filled? What are the areas you struggle to understand or grow in? We all have them, but not all of us are doing something to fill them. We become like the student who just lives with the gap and struggles with it their whole life. Once you’ve identified your gap, join a life group that covers that subject, ask your pastor to recommend a book on the subject and seek God for understanding and help like the man in Mark 9. There are lots of ways to grow in the different areas of our faith. You don’t have to live with the gaps. We should be constantly growing and learning in our faith to fill the gaps so we can be have strong roots that grow down deep into Jesus.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

October 9, 2023 · 5:43 AM

Yielding To God’s Process

In high school I was on the varsity basketball team. At the beginning of each season coach would run us a lot to condition our body. He would make us do jumping exercises too so we could increase our vertical leap. It was after we were worn out that we would begin shooting practice. He wanted us in mid game condition so we could learn to shoot while our boys was tired. After that, we went through our plays and then ran some more. Finally, we had to make 100 free throws before we could leave. Coach always pushed us hard because he understood that while we had skills and talent, there was a gap from where we were to where we could be. His job was to increase our skills and our endurance which meant he had to push us.

Early in the Gospels we read where Jesus called the disciples to follow Him. Some were fishing when He asked them to give up catching fish so they could learn to fish for men. Matthew was in his tax collection booth when Jesus called and redeemed him. Each one he called was asked to give up their life, their routine and their normal life in order to learn from Him. They lived a nomadic life while they listened to each sermon, watched the compassion Jesus had and asked questions around the campfire at night. Jesus pushed these 12 men to be more than they were. He taught them, trained them and gave them opportunities to put into practice what He did. When He went to Heaven, they grew even more and turned the world upside down. It didn’t make sense to the outside observer, but because they had spent time with Jesus and submitted to being disciples, they changed the world.

Hebrews 12:11 says, “Now all discipline seems to be painful at the time, yet later it will produce a transformation of character, bringing a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who yield to it” (TPT). God sees potential in you and wants to help you reach that potential. There’s a gap between where you are right now and where you could be. In order to get there, you’re going to have to submit to His process of discipleship. You’re going to have to endure being uncomfortable, being pushed and stretched so that He can produce in you a harvest like you’ve never experienced. It starts with yielding to Him as the authority of your life. You must give Him control rather than just letting Him be a guide. Discipleship is sitting at His feet, learning from Him, giving up what you want for what He wants and accepting His plan over yours. Only then will you reach the potential He’s placed in you and bring in a harvest like never before.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 17, 2023 · 5:40 AM

Seeking To Know God More

Several years ago I was at work when a crazy thunderstorm popped up. My boss called me and said she needed help. When I went out the front door of the building, her car was in the street with water over the hood. I waded through the water into the street and told her to put it in neutral. I then pushed the car into the parking lot. As she was getting out of the car, I noticed my wedding ring was missing. I began searching through the high water for it while lightening was striking and it was pouring down rain. I searched for an hour and a half and couldn’t find it. I then waited for the storm to stop and started looking again as the water receded. After another hour of searching, I couldn’t find it. I prayed, “Lord, I give up. I don’t know what to do.” When I opened my eyes, the ring was between my feet.

In Acts 8 there’s the story of an Ethiopian eunuch who went to Jerusalem to worship and was on his way home. What you may not know is that the Old Testament forbid eunuch from entering the Temple. This man had traveled a long way searching for God only to have been turned away. Even in his rejection, he kept searching for God and bought a scroll of Isaiah to help him. As he was reading it, God sent the disciple Philip to go meet him. Philip heard him reading and asked if he understood. The eunuch said no one had guided him to know God or to understand it. So Philip explained the prophesy of Isaiah 53 in reference to Jesus and the Good News. The eunuch wanted to be baptized after that and asked what laws would stop that. I’m sure Philip smiled and said that Jesus was available to all who seek Him. Then he baptized the eunuch.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart” (GNT). Even though you have found Jesus as the Ethiopian eunuch did, you must still continue to seek God. Just as you can’t know a person after one encounter, you can’t know God with one. That first encounter brought salvation, but there is so much more God wants us to know about Himself. Have you grown complacent with where you are in your relationship to Him? He says if we will seek Him and search Him out more, you will find there more to Him and that He wants to reveal Himself to you, but you must seek Him with your whole heart. Don’t stop trying to get to know Him, His Word or His ways. Search for Him like a lost treasure. Don’t give up in the middle of a storm. Don’t quit searching just because things are going well either. There is more to God than you can ever know or search out, and He’s willing to show Himself to you if you’re willing to seek Him out.

Photo credit Unsplash

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 27, 2023 · 5:43 AM

Heart Soil

Micro-farming has become a thing in recent years. People are buying a lot in a neighborhood and turning it into a small farm. Whether you’re building a huge farm or a micro farm, you success depends on prepping the soil. Depending on the crop you want to grow, you’re going to have to start with fertilizing it. Your soil needs the proper nutrients if you’re going to have abundant crops. Next, you’ll need to till up the ground. This will soften the dirt so seeds can grow and help you get out any rocks or items that would prevent seeds from taking root. Finally, you’ll need a fence to keep out people and animals that would try to rob you of your fruit.

In Mark 4, Jesus told a parable about a farmer. This person scattered seed all over his lot. Some fell on the footpath, some fell on soil with rocks underneath, some fell where there were weeds and some fell on good soil. Birds came and ate the seeds on the footpath which prevented a harvest there. The ones that fell on the soil with rocks underneath couldn’t take root and dried up in the heat. The ones that fell among the weeds fought for nutrients with them, but were soon chocked out. Only the ones that fell on fertile soil produced good crops. As Jesus told this, He was illustrating how our hearts receive the Word of God. We can go to church all we want, but the condition of the soil of our heart will determine our growth, not how good the preacher is.

Hosea 10:12 says, “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” (NLT). Notice how the responsibility of plowing the soil of our own heart belongs to us. It’s not someone else’s responsibility. We must fertilize the soil of our heart to make sure it has the right nutrients. Think about what you’re putting in your heart and mind daily. Then we must break up the hardness we’ve allowed to accumulate under our soil by letting God heal our past. Then we need to build a fence to guard our heart and mind from the enemy who wants to prevent the seeds from taking root. We do this by building relationships with godly people whom we’re able to confess our sins to. Don’t let another day go by without taking responsibility for the soil of your heart. If you’re not producing the Fruits of the Spirit like you want, work on your soil.

Photo by Toni Reed on Unsplash

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , ,