Post by solitarysoul on Mar 9, 2007 5:06:13 GMT -5
"Spiritual Maturity " - Devotion for March 9th, 2007
Today's Scripture
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ " - Ephesians 4:13
Today's Word
There are different types of maturity, but by far the most important kind of maturity is spiritual maturity. As we grow up we naturally mature physically, and we mature emotionally through friendships and other relationships and experiences. But spiritual maturity is the most important of the three because spiritual maturity is the type of maturity that prepares us for eternity, rather than this temporary world, and it does not happen automatically. Spiritual maturity is not determined by age, experience in this life, or even knowledge and wisdom.
While all of these, especially wisdom, can have a big impact on our spiritual maturity, it is a permanet change in the way you live, act, and think, and a commitment to follow and trust Jesus and God's Word, that causes us to mature spiritually. Our status or occupation in society does not determine our spiritual maturity either. I know several young adults, perhaps even myself, who currently have no degree, yet they could probably teach most American pastors today about Jesus and the Bible. As brothers and sisters in Christ we are all suppose to learn from one another after all.
The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 4 that spiritual maturity is a matter of a conscious choice to turn away from our worldly lifestyle, and to focus on becoming like Christ. Some people think that by being an adult or grandparent growing up in church, they are spiritually mature because they are older and more wise. But God's wisdom is very different from the world's wisdom. In fact in many cases they directly contradict one another.
For example, in public schools today there is much emphasis on believing in yourself and having faith in your own abilities. And suprisingly most Christians buy into this as if it's just a simple fact of life. And while this may be a great teaching, and may be the case for non-believers, the Bible says that a true disciple of Christ is one who turns away from the world's wisdom, and focuses their life on God's wisdom. You will not in any part of the Bible ever find a single verse telling you to believe in yourself. Not in the way Jesus meant for us to believe in Him. It is all about believing in God and having faith in Christ and His sacrifice for us, and that alone.
Spiritual maturity is a life-long process. It can never be completed in this life because the result of total spiritual maturity is Christ, perfection. It is a very slow process as well. We don't become spiritually mature the day we are saved. The day we are saved is simply when we begin that life-long process.
So many people today complain about not hearing answers to their prayers, but many times it is because they are expecting God to give them things, without them making a sacrifice themselves to start maturing spiritually. (See my 14-part study on prayer.) Instead of focusing on becoming more like Christ, the majority of Christians today seem to focus on God blessing our lives. But that is not Christianity.
When we mature spiritually, we make a choice, and have a desire, to turn away from our old ways and take on the ways of Christ. If our focus of living is on this life now, then we are not maturing spiritually. We have to literally make a decision to go against the ways of the world. Many times this will mean doing what is unpopular, maybe even what is frowned upon or hated. But if becoming like Christ is the focus of your life, the true center, not just a claim you have, but the true honest focus of your life, then you are maturing spiritually, and you will notice yourself growing in the ways of the Lord all the days of your life.
God is more interested in you becoming like His Son than He is in your temporary life here on earth. When this life here is over, what we owned and what we achieved isn't going to matter. We won't be taking any of that with us into eternity. All that you will be taking with you is yourself, your soul, your character. So we need to be sure every single day that our very purpose for living is to develop our character to be like that of God's Son.
Copyright © 2007 T. Scott Morgan | www.the-daily-blessing.com
Please feel free to forward this message on as much as you like, as long as this copyright stays intact and the devotion is not altered.
This devotion may NOT be redistrubuted for profit.
Today's Scripture
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ " - Ephesians 4:13
Today's Word
There are different types of maturity, but by far the most important kind of maturity is spiritual maturity. As we grow up we naturally mature physically, and we mature emotionally through friendships and other relationships and experiences. But spiritual maturity is the most important of the three because spiritual maturity is the type of maturity that prepares us for eternity, rather than this temporary world, and it does not happen automatically. Spiritual maturity is not determined by age, experience in this life, or even knowledge and wisdom.
While all of these, especially wisdom, can have a big impact on our spiritual maturity, it is a permanet change in the way you live, act, and think, and a commitment to follow and trust Jesus and God's Word, that causes us to mature spiritually. Our status or occupation in society does not determine our spiritual maturity either. I know several young adults, perhaps even myself, who currently have no degree, yet they could probably teach most American pastors today about Jesus and the Bible. As brothers and sisters in Christ we are all suppose to learn from one another after all.
The Bible says in Ephesians chapter 4 that spiritual maturity is a matter of a conscious choice to turn away from our worldly lifestyle, and to focus on becoming like Christ. Some people think that by being an adult or grandparent growing up in church, they are spiritually mature because they are older and more wise. But God's wisdom is very different from the world's wisdom. In fact in many cases they directly contradict one another.
For example, in public schools today there is much emphasis on believing in yourself and having faith in your own abilities. And suprisingly most Christians buy into this as if it's just a simple fact of life. And while this may be a great teaching, and may be the case for non-believers, the Bible says that a true disciple of Christ is one who turns away from the world's wisdom, and focuses their life on God's wisdom. You will not in any part of the Bible ever find a single verse telling you to believe in yourself. Not in the way Jesus meant for us to believe in Him. It is all about believing in God and having faith in Christ and His sacrifice for us, and that alone.
Spiritual maturity is a life-long process. It can never be completed in this life because the result of total spiritual maturity is Christ, perfection. It is a very slow process as well. We don't become spiritually mature the day we are saved. The day we are saved is simply when we begin that life-long process.
So many people today complain about not hearing answers to their prayers, but many times it is because they are expecting God to give them things, without them making a sacrifice themselves to start maturing spiritually. (See my 14-part study on prayer.) Instead of focusing on becoming more like Christ, the majority of Christians today seem to focus on God blessing our lives. But that is not Christianity.
When we mature spiritually, we make a choice, and have a desire, to turn away from our old ways and take on the ways of Christ. If our focus of living is on this life now, then we are not maturing spiritually. We have to literally make a decision to go against the ways of the world. Many times this will mean doing what is unpopular, maybe even what is frowned upon or hated. But if becoming like Christ is the focus of your life, the true center, not just a claim you have, but the true honest focus of your life, then you are maturing spiritually, and you will notice yourself growing in the ways of the Lord all the days of your life.
God is more interested in you becoming like His Son than He is in your temporary life here on earth. When this life here is over, what we owned and what we achieved isn't going to matter. We won't be taking any of that with us into eternity. All that you will be taking with you is yourself, your soul, your character. So we need to be sure every single day that our very purpose for living is to develop our character to be like that of God's Son.
Copyright © 2007 T. Scott Morgan | www.the-daily-blessing.com
Please feel free to forward this message on as much as you like, as long as this copyright stays intact and the devotion is not altered.
This devotion may NOT be redistrubuted for profit.