With each new year we ring in innumerable possibilities for new beginnings, adventure, and discovery. Each year holds the hope of 365 brand new days never before experienced and yet to be written in the history of the world. All the mistakes and failures of the years past are behind us. Laid before us is the hope of the future, a place where all dreams are possible and nothing is too insurmountable for us to achieve.
As we set off on our many journeys of 2016, perhaps the greatest one we could take is to make a commitment to grow in our faith and relationship with God.
Here are five steps to enhance your spiritual growth in the coming year.
As we set off on our many journeys of 2016, perhaps the greatest one we could take is to make a commitment to grow in our faith and relationship with God.
Here are five steps to enhance your spiritual growth in the coming year.
1. Make your spiritual growth a priority.
As with anything in life, unless you have an absolute undying desire to do something, it usually will not last. In the Apostle Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, he writes, "And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:1-2)
Paul was so committed to growing in his faith and knowledge of the Lord that he says he desired to know nothing except for Christ. This same Paul who was so fervent in persecuting the early church that he would actually go out searching for believers in order to put them in prison, has now surrendered his life and time to knowing nothing but God.
In the busy and hectic world in which we live it can be difficult to give God our full attention. From school to work and all the other daily distractions vying for our time, very little, if any, of our time is left for God. While certain things like our education or our job are important, other daily distractions such as television, the internet, social media, etc. should not take the place of our time spent with the Lord. The sad truth in today's society is that many people can easily converse about their favorite sports team or the latest movies, but when asked about their faith, they are so inadequately prepared to share what they believe.
As you move through the year, resolve to know Christ just as Paul did. Make your faith a priority, not an afterthought.
2. Put God first and foremost in your life.
God 1st, everything else 2nd. The concept is simple, living it out however, not so much. In Luke 14:26, Jesus takes this idea even further by saying "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even life itself - such a person cannot be my disciple." Jesus is saying that if you ever want to be used by God - more than just going through the motions, but actually sold out to God - then He has to be first. This doesn't mean you have to physically hate your family and your life, but that they must not become more important than God. He has to be our number one. No relationships, jobs, sports, leisure, or anything else can come first before God.
Make a list of your priorities and how you spend your day. Where does God fit in? If He is not at the top of your list, pray and ask God how you can make Him number one in your life.
3. Don't live a single day without God in your life.
It's been said that in the Christian life there is no standing still. Either you are moving forward or you're moving backwards. This is true for every believer. Everyday not spent with God gives way to the distractions and pull of the world. This is why it is so important to spend time throughout each day with God. Even a couple minutes spent throughout the day in prayer, reading the Bible, or any other ways you worship the Lord can make a huge impact on your overall attitude during the day as well as in the growth of your spiritual walk.
Make it your goal to seek the Lord throughout your everyday routine. Rather it's during your lunch break, alone in your car, or wherever you can find the time, make it a priority to share part of your day with the One who gave it to you in the first place.
4. Put off everything that hinders your growth.
In our walk with God, it is important that we don't let other distractions or false ideas coincide with the truth implanted in our hearts and minds. We cannot move forward in our spiritual growth if we continue to let those things that are contrary to the will of God hold us back. It's like the Parable of the Sower that Jesus teaches in Matthew chapter 13. The seed which fell among the thorns grew up with the thorns and was eventually choked out by them. It's the same with our lives; if we try to grow spiritually and yet still cling to our old ways, eventually they will choke out all of the good in our lives.
Take a moment to seek out the thorns in your life. What part of your lifestyle is hindering your walk with God? Make it your priority to eliminate those thorns in your life that are choking out the development of your faith. As you begin to disperse these things from your life you will start to see your faith blossom as the thorns once holding you back are now removed.
"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Hebrews 12:1-2
5. Obey God's commission for you.
That is, the great commission, as found in Matthew 28:19-20.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The great commission is one of the most important aspects of growing our faith. Everything else we could do to strengthen our spiritual growth still comes up short without the fulfilling of the great commission. Even if we devote our lives to Christian scholarship and learning and are able to know the Bible cover to cover, but don't share that knowledge with the world, what good does it do? It would be like a doctor who devotes his life to finding a cure for cancer. Finally, after years and years of research, he finds the cure that can save millions of lives... but yet he keeps it to himself. As crazy as that sounds, that is exactly what Christians are doing when they don't share their faith with the world. God is the cure. We have found Him, but many have not. As a result they are spiritually dying without the hope of a cure, because we are so often afraid to share it with them.
As you make a plan to grow in your faith and knowledge of the Lord this year, make it your priority and desire to share God's love with the world. The world is hurting, but you can point them to the Healer.
"Therefore go..."
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/99744233@N05/12308616524/">chrisotruro</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
As with anything in life, unless you have an absolute undying desire to do something, it usually will not last. In the Apostle Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, he writes, "And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:1-2)
Paul was so committed to growing in his faith and knowledge of the Lord that he says he desired to know nothing except for Christ. This same Paul who was so fervent in persecuting the early church that he would actually go out searching for believers in order to put them in prison, has now surrendered his life and time to knowing nothing but God.
In the busy and hectic world in which we live it can be difficult to give God our full attention. From school to work and all the other daily distractions vying for our time, very little, if any, of our time is left for God. While certain things like our education or our job are important, other daily distractions such as television, the internet, social media, etc. should not take the place of our time spent with the Lord. The sad truth in today's society is that many people can easily converse about their favorite sports team or the latest movies, but when asked about their faith, they are so inadequately prepared to share what they believe.
As you move through the year, resolve to know Christ just as Paul did. Make your faith a priority, not an afterthought.
2. Put God first and foremost in your life.
God 1st, everything else 2nd. The concept is simple, living it out however, not so much. In Luke 14:26, Jesus takes this idea even further by saying "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even life itself - such a person cannot be my disciple." Jesus is saying that if you ever want to be used by God - more than just going through the motions, but actually sold out to God - then He has to be first. This doesn't mean you have to physically hate your family and your life, but that they must not become more important than God. He has to be our number one. No relationships, jobs, sports, leisure, or anything else can come first before God.
Make a list of your priorities and how you spend your day. Where does God fit in? If He is not at the top of your list, pray and ask God how you can make Him number one in your life.
3. Don't live a single day without God in your life.
It's been said that in the Christian life there is no standing still. Either you are moving forward or you're moving backwards. This is true for every believer. Everyday not spent with God gives way to the distractions and pull of the world. This is why it is so important to spend time throughout each day with God. Even a couple minutes spent throughout the day in prayer, reading the Bible, or any other ways you worship the Lord can make a huge impact on your overall attitude during the day as well as in the growth of your spiritual walk.
Make it your goal to seek the Lord throughout your everyday routine. Rather it's during your lunch break, alone in your car, or wherever you can find the time, make it a priority to share part of your day with the One who gave it to you in the first place.
4. Put off everything that hinders your growth.
In our walk with God, it is important that we don't let other distractions or false ideas coincide with the truth implanted in our hearts and minds. We cannot move forward in our spiritual growth if we continue to let those things that are contrary to the will of God hold us back. It's like the Parable of the Sower that Jesus teaches in Matthew chapter 13. The seed which fell among the thorns grew up with the thorns and was eventually choked out by them. It's the same with our lives; if we try to grow spiritually and yet still cling to our old ways, eventually they will choke out all of the good in our lives.
Take a moment to seek out the thorns in your life. What part of your lifestyle is hindering your walk with God? Make it your priority to eliminate those thorns in your life that are choking out the development of your faith. As you begin to disperse these things from your life you will start to see your faith blossom as the thorns once holding you back are now removed.
"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Hebrews 12:1-2
5. Obey God's commission for you.
That is, the great commission, as found in Matthew 28:19-20.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The great commission is one of the most important aspects of growing our faith. Everything else we could do to strengthen our spiritual growth still comes up short without the fulfilling of the great commission. Even if we devote our lives to Christian scholarship and learning and are able to know the Bible cover to cover, but don't share that knowledge with the world, what good does it do? It would be like a doctor who devotes his life to finding a cure for cancer. Finally, after years and years of research, he finds the cure that can save millions of lives... but yet he keeps it to himself. As crazy as that sounds, that is exactly what Christians are doing when they don't share their faith with the world. God is the cure. We have found Him, but many have not. As a result they are spiritually dying without the hope of a cure, because we are so often afraid to share it with them.
As you make a plan to grow in your faith and knowledge of the Lord this year, make it your priority and desire to share God's love with the world. The world is hurting, but you can point them to the Healer.
"Therefore go..."
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/99744233@N05/12308616524/">chrisotruro</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>