Tag Archives: grow

Morning and Evening – Psalm 92:1-6

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There is SO much to give thanks to the Lord for.  Sitting here pondering this I realise how much

I take for granted, and how very little credit I offer to the Lord for everything He has done in my life and the lives of countless others around me and accross the world!

I can thank the Lord for the very fact I woke up this morning!  Yes the Lord has given me another day.  I pray I use it wisely and for His glory.  What other things might we want to be thanking the Lord for in a morning?  I will list a few that come to mind.

Thankyou for:

  • Giving His Son
  • Loving me
  • Family and friends
  • Food on the table
  • His beautiful creation
  • Fellowship with others
  • The car still works!

OK, my list is seemly random, but to make a point!  Psalm 92:4, reminds me how much God has done for us!  Jesus death for our Sins is mind blowing, and I cant thank the Lord enough.  What I often forget is that God doesnt stop there.  He has a hand on our lives, influencing those around us, caring for the creation around us, guiding our hearts and carrying us through those difficult times!

How often I take it all for granted, how often I forget to “declare my love” for Him in the morning, and my faith in Him in the evening (Psalm 92:2).

Check out my recent post about “Starting Right“.  And consider this.  What better way, to start the day, than spending time with God, praising, thanking, communicating with, listening to and growing in the Lord our God.

Thank you father.

Starting Right Psalm 5:1-3

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Over the past few months I have discovered the importance of “Starting Right”.  What do I mean?  Well as they say Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I believe that the beginning of the day is also the most important time to spend time with the Lord.  By not skipping your breakfast they reckon you will enjoy better health.  Spiritual Health can also be blessed by ensuring we do spend time, reading the Word and talking to the Lord.

In recent months since my holiday, I have been spending time with the Lord in different ways.  It stemmed from a bad habit of not doing my daily readings during the holiday, thus continued afterwards in a “now and again” attitude.  I would read the word at work, or in an evening, and only when I had time and the end result was, in my experience, a feeling of spiritual “unhealthiness”.  I felt I mas neglecting my relationship with the Lord, and by only reading the word as and when, it wasnt sticking!  I was quickly forgetting what I had read or learnt within hours.

Why the morning

? – Psalm 5:1-3

I have realised that concentrating on God first thing in the morning when I wake up is the most important time.  By waiting till further in the day my brain has become full of problems I am dealing with at work, stress of life situations, and constant interruptions from collegues or family.  So getting up early again and maintaining this devotional blog will become my way of spending time with Him.

What better way to start the day, than spending time with Creator God!

I do encourage you, if you to struggle with a daily time with the Lord, or just to get time in your hectic lives to get up those 15 minutes earlier, read some scripture, make some notes if it helps (that why I do this blog to help me remember what I have learnt) and also pray.  You can get so many daily devotionals to help you if you struggle to find a place to start in the Bible, and they ususally have some very good write ups explaining the passage(s) you have just read.

Our Daily Bread and Word for Today are 2 I have used regularly and learnt so much from.

Succession Planning – 2 Timothy 2:1-14

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2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. (NLT)

Here we see the importance of succession planning.  In modern day society, succession planning is very much a business orientated word, where management are always scouting people who have potential within their business to develop.  Once they locate these people, they then ensure that the potentials are given the training they need and the opportunities to succeed so that eventually, when the time comes, they can step into the next level of management when the time comes.

In verse 2, I understand succession planning to be ensuring that there is a trustworthy team of believers who will be able to carry on spreading the good news, and or serving either when you have gone, or for when the Lord calls you away from a particular area.  Churches built up in the way of the Acts church should continue to seek to minister to and care for “up and coming” evangelists, prophets etc to ensure that the Lords work can continue, not only when age takes over but also to GROW!

With regard to growth, churches can get very settled in their small group of friends, and they forget the original command, “make disciples of all nations”.  They cease to grow, they cease to evangelise, they cease to invite other friends, and eventually the church dies as it members pass on.  Its a sad state of affairs but so common as the principle of “succession planning” from 2 Timothy 2:2 gets ignored.  However if the 2 Tim 2:2 principle is applied, not only will there be people to carry on the work once others have passed on, but there will be more available to do the work TODAY to spread the word, and grow the church.

Each of us as Christians have a maturity level.  Some have spent many years with the Lord and are extremely wise and it is their responsibility to help and nurture those younger Christians.  I myself am no where near a mature Christian, however even at a “teen” level of maturity, it is our responsibility to help those who are just starting out in their Christian walk and help them grow.  We can do that with regular prayers, regular feeding on the Word and regular fellowship with each other.

Can you see potential in someone?  Then don’t just sit back!

New Living – 2 Corinthians 5:12-21

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When you become a Christian, you have taken a huge step of faith and asked for the Lord Jesus forgiveness of your sins, and for him to come into your heart so that you can live for him. Read more about becoming a Christian here. The moment you do that your life immediately is changed. For many people there is no flash of light, and BANG everything is different, but over the next few days and weeks, as they grow to learn more about Jesus, their lives are transformed.

Once we become a Christian, we wonder what the next steps are. Do we need to follow a set of rules? Can I eat certain foods

? Must I wear certain clothes? Speak in a certain way

?

Remember, to be saved, you need to have taken the step and asked Jesus into your life, you have accepted that he died for you, and you wish to be forgiven. Its a FREE gift, a gift of Grace. Read Ephesians 2:8-9. You don’t earn this gift because we as humans would never be good/holy enough to earn salvation. Therefore you don’t follow a set of rules to earn salvation, you have it!

How to live as a Christian is your living “thank you” to the Lord for saving you. He sacrificed his Son to die in our place so that we may have eternal life and that we may have a relationship with him. Therefore once we accept his as our saviour, we want to live our lives in a way that says “thank you” to the Lord for what he has done.

Therefore, by imitating how Jesus lived, by reading the Bible, Praying and through your relationships with other Christians at church and in groups you learn how to grow and live as Jesus lived, thus breaking free from any sin that’s in your life and being a changed person.

If you have asked him in, then you already have the gift, so the next steps are to learn to live a “thank you” for him. If you are a new Christian then make sure you join a Bible orientated church and make Christian friends so that you will have support in growing as a Christian and fixing anything in your life that you need help with.

Also please contact me if you want more information or have any questions.