Standing Still or Moving Forward

Once again our Discipleship class last night was very challenging to say the least. We have been studying from the book of Philippians and looking at the Apostle Paul's encouragement concerning the development of our relationship with Jesus Christ. What would happen in the modern day church if we were as concerned about the development of our relationship with God as we are receiving the blessings of God? 

The teacher reminded us that it is possible that we spend much of our time gathering spiritual information but it is also possible that we are doing very little with the information that we may have gathered. Ouch!! Those words do hurt somewhat if we are honest with ourselves.  I had to ask myself this question, "What am I doing with all the spiritual knowledge that I have gathered through the years of my walk with Christ?" Am I actually making application of that knowledge/understanding to my daily life. 

I would like to share a portion of a letter that I wrote earlier this week. I ask that you review these thoughts with an open mind and heart and listen for the Spirit to speak into your life.

I read this passage of scripture this morning and I was challenged through the New Living Translation of 2 Corinthians 3:3, "Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts."

Did you ever hear the old saying, "You may be the only Bible some people read." Could that saying have come from this passage of scripture? I can't necessarily answer that question but I do know that our lives are visible to our families and friends. I also know that people do pay attention to how we conduct the affairs of our lives and that they observe our personal conduct on a daily basis. These thoughts remind me of the importance to do my best and represent Jesus Christ to the best of my ability. I realize that we are humans and that we possess our faults and failures but that does not excuse us from not allowing the Spirit to work in our lives and to direct us on our journey.

The words of a song came to my mind this morning; "If we ever needed the Lord before we sure do need Him now..." I truly believe that song is an appropriate cry from our hearts this morning. I want God to realize that I recognize that I need Him in my DAILY LIFE and not just every now and then. Our family, friends, and even our co-workers need to recognize our desire to follow Christ to the best of our ability.