How To Grow In Christ

[Butch4HIM]

I am fairly new in becoming a true Christian. I have been praying and praying constantly and I feel so much more closer to the Lord. Last night, I had a lot of birthday cake left over, so my boyfriend and I decided we'd bring the rest down to the bottom of the bridge where all the homeless people stay so they could enjoy it. After we left the cake there with them, the feeling I got afterwords was so unbelievable. It's like I felt Him inside me saying "thank you for using the gift I gave you" which was the ability of helping others and thinking about them so much.

I am so nervous sometimes that I am not fulfilling His will and the way He wants me to live, but then I just have to remind myself that it's not about my body anymore or my desires... He's in TOTAL control of my temple and my actions.

Bless you!
God will honor you.
None of us ever completely fulfill His will for us.
The book I mentioned at the start of this blog would help you and everyone who is as you say "...so nervous sometimes that I am not fulfilling His will and the way He wants me to live..."
God bless you for your honesty and your striving to be more Christlike!

[BruceG]

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Personally I don't think it matters how long one has been a follower of Jesus. We all have degrees of faith that God has bestowed on us. I have been a believer for 40 years and not long ago I really found the key to to what Jesus was all about. I missed it for a long long time. If we look into the heart of Jesus, and his personality we will find that his heart was broken. Broken for the lost, sick, homeless, hungry. Just this alone should tell us what God's will is. We all know what God's will is, it's just some don't or won't do it. Now I am not against any book that furthers one's faith, it's just some make following Christ out to be so difficult. It's all a matter of the heart. The heart is most important to God. We all have asked Jesus into our hearts, we feel because of our heart. Hearts are soft, hearts are cold, hearts are in between. In my case and I believe according to scripture that unless we have broken hearts we cannot do the will of God. Jesus gave himself to everyone around him, he didn't whine, or complain about being near sick, homeless, hungry, or hurting people. The scriptures tell us to put on the mind of Christ, but this has to come from the heart first. How many time do we all drive down the street and see a homeless person and we turn away, or think something stupid like "Get a Job" or whatever. How many times do we turn away the hungry? Our hearts have to be broken, we have to have a compassion that is beyond the norm. Having a broken heart will bring a Love into one's life that all you will want to do is give yourself to others. We all have a task, to spread the Gospel. But spreading that Gospel is more then just telling someone that they need Jesus. Yes it is true everyone needs Jesus, but our actions speak volumes. Love is an action. What I have found after all these years is because I asked God for a broken heart he has led me into a situation where I am involved with children who have cancer. I don't feel I have to do this, I want to do this. If you (in general) have ever sat with a sick and dying child and prayed, or sat with them and held there hand and showed them that you truely cared, the blessings come back to you in waves. Now I am not looking for blessings, I am over blessed as it is. It's all about giving. Lets face it we christians have dropped the ball more then once. We get hung up with doctrine, or just thinking we are doing something for God by going to church. We CAN'T do anything for God. God does not need us, He wants us. He called each and everyone of us to go out into the world. Our human nature tells us not to visit the sick or feed the hungry or to just be there in someones time of need. I use to always pray "Lord what can I do for you" when the answer was so clear. It's just I was so blinded by what others did, or what churches say to do. Sure when I am around these children it is not warm and fuzzy, it's not fun, it's not exciting. But it is doing God's will as far as myself is concerened. Children get it, they know what God is about more then any adult I know. Children are honest. I don't ask or want any props, or awards or any recognition. THis is not about me. It's about Jesus and the broken heart I longed for. Being a musician, I always thought music was my main gift, yes it's a gift, but my main gift is compassion. We Christians could change the world so to speak if we all had a compassion that consumed our hearts.

Psalms 127:3 says it all. "Behold children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is his reward"

God's reward is the children. Think about that. We never think of God getting rewards. Not everone is called to do what I am doing and that is fully understood. However we all need broken hearts to do what God has called us to do.

Dear Major, I too have follwed the Lord for almost four decades, was saved in late 1970, and for 38 of those 39 years, I tried to follow after Christ in my own strength....and failed. Thank God. My abject failure (I was not one who could make a fair show in the flesh, LOL) led me to cry out to God, totally broken, totally repentant for my sin and failures to live the way I knoew He destined me for, yet without any idea of how to change.

May I share with you what I was shown, something that literally has changed me and set me free, free from my old man? It was the truth that we as Christians have failed to, by faith, reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to righteousness. We think we can discipline the flesh, bring it under subjection, but in truth, its rebellious nature will never bow to the authority of Christ. We must die to the flesh, and the last thing we must die to is our fleshly efforts to kill our flesh!

I sat broken before God and told Him that His ways were too high, too hard, and that I needed Him to walk it in me. An amazing thing happened. He opened my eyes to the promises of God and showed me that is exactly what He desires, to have us TOTALLY cease from our efforts, break before Him and BELIEVE the exceeding great and precious promises of God, because it is only in this path that we can partake of the divine nature.

His promises are staggering, we simply do not for the most part believe them. Here is one example:

"Sin shall not have dominion over you."

Another:

"But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwells in you."

Do you see the possibilities? Mixed with faith that these are OUR promises, they come alive and work. I have now walked in this way for almost one full year, and the difference is death to life. God's way works for even the weakest of men, if they will but break, humbe themselves and dare to believe the words of Jesus He has given th each of us.

Great post, by the way!

Gideon

[BruceG]

I am fairly new in becoming a true Christian. I have been praying and praying constantly and I feel so much more closer to the Lord. Last night, I had a lot of birthday cake left over, so my boyfriend and I decided we'd bring the rest down to the bottom of the bridge where all the homeless people stay so they could enjoy it. After we left the cake there with them, the feeling I got afterwords was so unbelievable. It's like I felt Him inside me saying "thank you for using the gift I gave you" which was the ability of helping others and thinking about them so much.

I am so nervous sometimes that I am not fulfilling His will and the way He wants me to live, but then I just have to remind myself that it's not about my body anymore or my desires... He's in TOTAL control of my temple and my actions.

Your post made me smile. Continue on the path you walk, it is a good one. Our God is wonderful.

Gideon

[blessedmommyuv3]

For me, my spiritual growth has been by spending time studying in scripture. My dh and I began a "Disciple" study nearly a year ago that encompassed the entire bible in 34 weeks. We read 5 chapters a day. Now we have begun another bible study that leads you to read 10 chapters a day in a way in which the Bible begins to comment upon itself, as we are reading 1 chapter from 10 different old and new testament books.
The other thing that has led to alot of personal growth spiritually for me has been serving on Residents Encounter Christ and Emmaus weekends; taking the Gospel into prisons and discipling other new Christians. The more I serve, the more I grow, and experience God, and the more He softens my heart and increases the burden I feel for the lost who don't know Him.

In Christ,
Jen

[Dani H]

I honestly don't think there is any substitute for brokenness.

Smash the vessel, release the oil.

Smash the grapes, release the juice/wine.

Smash the olives ... you get the idea.

[luvleleo123]

I am fairly new in becoming a true Christian. I have been praying and praying constantly and I feel so much more closer to the Lord. Last night, I had a lot of birthday cake left over, so my boyfriend and I decided we'd bring the rest down to the bottom of the bridge where all the homeless people stay so they could enjoy it. After we left the cake there with them, the feeling I got afterwords was so unbelievable. It's like I felt Him inside me saying "thank you for using the gift I gave you" which was the ability of helping others and thinking about them so much.

I am so nervous sometimes that I am not fulfilling His will and the way He wants me to live, but then I just have to remind myself that it's not about my body anymore or my desires... He's in TOTAL control of my temple and my actions.

That was very thoughtful and sweet of you.

chele