Grow Deeper You may wonder why you do not feel as close as you once did in your relationship with Jesus, or you may not growing deeper in your relationship.
God Has a Purpose FACT - Jesus wants to be in control of your life (see Luke 6:46). "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"
FACT - God wants your life to be useful and enjoyable (see John 15:10-11). "10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."
FACT - God wants you to live with Him in an intimate relationship (see 1 John 1:7). "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
FACT - God wants to fill your relationship with His Spirit (see Ephesians 5:18). "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."
FACT - God wants to get you ready to do His work (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17). "16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
FACT - When you mess up in your walk with Him, God wants to forgive you and restore your relationship with Him (see 1 John 1:9). "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Our Need FACT - Personal sin will damage our relationship with God (see Isaiah 59:2). "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."
FACT - Situations and circumstances in life may require us to seek God even more and to grow deeper in our relationship with Him (see Romans 12:1-2). "1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
God's Provision God has given us tools to grow deeper in our relationship and to be continually changed by Him.
FACT - God uses the Bible to bring Christians to a place where they can be used for His purposes (see John 17:17). "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
FACT - Spiritual exercises, such as prayer, Bible study, worship, fasting, sharing Jesus Christ with others, and serving others help us to grow (see 1 Timothy 4:7). "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly."
FACT - Family and home influences may encourage us toward spiritual growth (see 2 Timothy 1:5). "I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."
FACT - The church, as the body of Christ, encourages us to grow deeper in our faith and knowledge of Jesus (see Ephesians 4:12-13). "12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
FACT - God uses and works in all circumstances of life to make us more like Jesus (see Romans 8:28-29). "28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."
FACT - God disciplines His children to make us more like Jesus (see Hebrews 12:10). "Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness."
Our Response ACT - Confess and turn from any known sin (see Proverbs 28:13). "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."
ACT - Recommit your life to the lordship of Jesus Christ (see John 20:28). "Thomas said to him, 'My Lord and my God!'"
ACT - Give yourself daily to Jesus and experience the fullness of His life in you as you grow deeper (see Romans 6:12-13; Galatians 2:20). Romans 6: "12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness."
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
My Commitment As you seek to grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus, you will see evidence of the Spirit in your life (see Galatians 5:22-23) "22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."
You may not be able to see evidence of the Spirit in your life as much as you would like. Are you willing to ask God to work in you to help you grow toward the fullness of His life? If so, you may want to pray the following prayer or one like it:
"God, I want to be like Jesus. I commit myself to You and ask You to work in my life to help me develop evidence of the Spirit's work in me."
Copyright 2005 - North American Mission Board (www.namb.net), used by permission. All scripture is quoted from the NIV (New International Version)
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