If ya think you have arrived, ya better think again!

Colossians 1: 9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

We are all on the path to spiritual maturity as the Spirit opens our hearts to Him day by day. Each day offers us the chance to worship and praise God, to ignore God, or to turn away from the things He lays on our hearts to accomplish in His name that day. We can find in our lives when we worship Him in my prayers, our words, and our thoughts and in all we do that day we are blessed by the fullness, joy and peace of our relationship with the Father. But, if we ignore God and turn from Him or intentionally rebel against the commandments we rob ourselves of His blessings.

Yet, if we daily study God’s Word, if we obey His commandments and live in the midst of His will we will not be like a pond with no outlet that the Word flows into but never flows out and just becomes stagnant. We will instead be growing in our faith and sharing the Word that flows in with others as it flows out of us. That is exactly what God wants for our lives. Many of my life’s most important lessons were painful to learn, but in this pain I have found that spiritual growth does not take place only in times of trouble.

We must seek to grow in His wisdom, knowledge and love of Jesus in every situation in our life. This is what a Biblical worldview teaches us let all our thoughts be taken captive by our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Thankful always that He is there, never changing and never leaving our hearts, when we call His name, there He is.

I find in these quiet times when my heart is open to the Father, the Creator, that made us and continues to make us daily to be more like His Son, our Savior,. Jesus. He gives us direction, His joyful perspective, His wisdom and His courage. And, the perfect time to accept these awesome gifts from a gracious, loving Father is in this moment right now.

Are we as spiritually mature as we’re ever gonna be? I think not, I know I have a long way to go!
But, when it comes to our faith, God does not intend for us to be fully grown, at least not in this lifetime. We are and will continue to be taught many lessons by the Father until we are seen as Jesus is. So let’s wake to every new day we are given asking, Father teach me what You want me to learn today?

Lord, when we open ourselves to You, we are truly blessed. Let us accept Your love, Your wisdom and teach us Your knowledge. Father, show us Your way and deliver us when we make the painful mistakes that we make when we rebel against You and turn from Your commandments. We pray You guide us according to Your Word and help us to grow more in our faith and become more like Christ Jesus everyday, and it is in His powerful name we pray. Amen.

Totally filled with His love,
Sandy Perry
11/2/08