Category: Time To Grow Up

Time to Grow Up, Part 7

8/29/2016

“causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”
Ephesians 4:16(c)

This is week seven, the conclusion of our “Time to Grow Up” segment; and, the final reason in regard to the question, “Why is it so important for us to grow up spiritually?”. And let me say that we could not have ended this topic on a better note: LOVE.

I think it is sad that we as Christ followers (myself included…especially), often take offense at the attempts from others to help us grow. I understand that there are lots of reasons for this. Correction can be embarrassing, or can be delivered in a spirit of meanness; instruction can be resisted because of a lack of understanding, a lack of desire to change, or poorly communicated; encouragement can come off as belittling, patronizing, or manipulative; challenges can feel overwhelming and be delivered mercilessly. The reality is that resistance to growth can occur even if it is done in complete love. Growth is never easy, and it takes courage and humility to embrace it.

By the same token, being a vessel to help others grow is not easy. It takes courage, humility, and most of all love. Paul concludes this segment of Ephesians four with that word, “love.” Why does it take love for us as individuals to cause growth of the entire Body [of Christ] through edification of one another? Because only love will cause us to see the true potential of another and what they can contribute to the whole, and risk possible rejection, hostility, and alienation in order to help them reach that potential. Nothing else will embody all of those components.

So how would I summarize our “Time to Grow Up” segment of Ephesians Four? I would summarize it like this… If we want to see the love Christ came to show us, manifested in the earth, it will be embodied in a mature, effective, unified body of Christ followers; and, the end result of a mature, effective, unified body of Christ followers is Love. That’s it. Why grow up? The answer is Love. Love in the world; love in the church; love in our relationships; love in our homes; love of God...

If you want to find out more about this correlation between Love and maturity in Christ, you can go to the 2015 Winter Session Christian Woman Chronicles Bible Study Blog. Let's be motivated by Love to grow into full maturity in Christ!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

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Time to Grow Up, Part 6

8/22/2016

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“according to the effective working by which every part does its share,”
~Ephesians 4:16(b)

Last week we talked a little about the fact that being connected to Christ is simply not enough for us to individually grow in our walk with God…we need each other…and we need each other at our best!

This week, our passage further clarifies that not only do we need to be at our best, we each need to do our part in order for the Body [of Christ] to work effectively. Let’s once again go back to the analogy of a physical body. Having a physical body is a matter of conception. Having a functioning body is a matter of birth and breath and brain cells. But having an effective body is a matter of 2 things: 1. God’s divine will, and 2. Our personal choices. God's divine will determines to what level of effectiveness our body will function at according to His purposes for our life; and, our personal choices can grow, hinder, or stunt the effectiveness of a fully functioning body God has given.

We know that if we look at God’s divine will in the matter of the Body of Christ, Christ was perfect, He had everything He needed in order to live a victorious sinless, purposeful, pleasing life before God. As members of the Body of Christ, as we each remain connected to Christ, the Head of the Body, we have the supernatural ability to walk in and experience everything that Christ did. How is that possible? Does one person have or supply everything needed to make that happen? Even in their own life? No. Each individual member supplies something that makes the Body work effectively by doing their part. And this is where our personal choices come in…

Many people prefer to take the position of “God knows what needs to happen and so He will make it happen one way or another.” This is absolutely TRUE! But then why the need for us mortal, limited, fragile humans at all? It is a deep and wonderful concept: Just as we can choose whether to live for and in Him, He makes it clear that He has chosen us to partner with Him in His plan to overthrow the power of Satan here on earth. Let’s take just a moment and let that sink in….. The God of the universe wants us to help HIM!!! Wow! How do you respond to such a powerful invitation like that? Not by being passive, I can tell you that much! And yet, yes, we have the freedom to be passive, and make excuses for others who are passive. But just know that every time a Christ follower makes a decision to be passive in their share of what God is doing through the Body of Christ, the Body gets weaker, less effective, and reflects less and less the image of Christ.

Let’s not be passive friends. Let’s be engaged, intentional, dynamic, relevant, and connected to one another and all that God is doing. Let’s pray and diligently seek God about what our “share” looks like, and get busy! If you know what your part in the kingdom of God looks like, then seek God and His people for opportunities to do “whatever your hands find to do,” and “do it all to the glory of God!!” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 & Colossians 3:17)

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

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Time to Grow Up, Part 5

8/15/2016

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“from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies,”
~Ephesians 4:16(a)

We are still addressing why it is so vital for us to grow up in our walk with God and others. This week’s reference passage is extremely pregnant with the purpose of spiritual growth, even though it is only part of a single Bible verse! Let’s take it bit by bit…

“from whom” : Who is Christ, the Head
“the whole body,” : The entire body of Believers, Christians, Christ followers, flows from and is attached to Christ, the Head
“joined and knit together” : This phrase has the implication of unity in the sense of putting pieces together in order to make one whole. We are all joined to one another based on our connection to Christ.
“by what every joint supplies,” : But we are unified and become truly one Body based on what we each individually contribute to the whole.

Let’s use the analogy of a physical body from a couple of lessons earlier in 2016. What happens to a physical body if one joint, organ, bone, ligament, or muscle does not grow to full maturity? Right. That one function is not the only thing affected. Its stunted growth affects the entire body.

We all must be connected to Christ, but shockingly, that is not enough. This passage says so! It is not enough to just have a relationship with Christ. We must be connected to one another - both contributing and receiving nourishment - in order to grow into full maturity; and, also to help the entire Body of Christ to function in a unified, healthy manner.

Friends, you are important. You are vital to my success as a Christian. What God has gifted you with is necessary for His will to be done on earth. Don’t limit or diminish your value in God’s eyes or His plan. You are needed! Invest in whatever God gave you. Invest in your own spiritual growth, so that God can use you to the fullest. We ALL need you at your best!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

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Time to Grow Up, Part 4

8/8/2016

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“but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—”
~Ephesians 4:15

“but…” : When we devote ourselves to growing spiritually, instead of being victims of 1. Satan’s seeds of doubt about Christ and forgiveness, and 2. Schemes of man, we will begin to share the truth of what we know and have experienced, out of true Love for others, all the while developing Christ-like character in every area of our lives. It’s that simple.

But what does that look like practically? First and foremost, we will begin to develop some very specific character traits that are basic attributes of what a Christ follower should look like. Many of those attributes are discussed in the last eight verses of Ephesians four, and are the focus of our 2016 Bible Study Blog on The Christian Woman Chronicles page, which begins tonight. The character traits we will be studying are by no means an exhaustive list of what a Christ follower fully develops into; but, it is a great starting point for growing Believers…which is the entire point of this year’s theme – to get started on the path of spiritual growth. I invite each of you to join me as I delve into two verses a week to explore the fundamentals of what a growing Believer should look and act like. This week's Make Monday Matter blog passage is the theme for our four-week Bible Study Blog, which is summarized in the first paragraph. Can you find a better, more solid explanation for what it means to be a growing Believer?

Return to The Christian Woman Chronicles page later this evening, and let’s get started putting our feet (action) where our Faith is!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

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Time to Grow Up, Part 3

8/1/2016

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“by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,”
~Ephesians 4:14(c)

First of all, let me make a distinction: Being immature and being child-like in Christ are two very different and opposite conditions. One is the starting point of the Salvation lifestyle; the other refers to the character our walk with God and others is developing within us. We all Believers begin as immature, but we each have different stages and seasons of where we are in becoming child-like in Christ. One is a fact, the second is an option; but trust and believe, one does NOT equal the second…which is a different teaching for a different time. If you want a taste of what I am speaking of, go to this blog for more info.

One of the next reasons it is absolutely vital for us to grow up is because as difficult as it is to grasp, some individuals prey on spiritually immature people. There are individuals who look for and create scam theologies and philosophies that deceive the spiritually and mentally weak. Although the Apostle Paul’s words don’t state it in this passage, the primary reasons these deceitful men of cunning and trickery do this is for personal profit, pleasure, and power. The Apostle Peter calls them “false teachers,” and has this to say in various places of 2 Peter chapter 2 (taken from the New Living Translation of the Bible),
“Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.”
and
“These people are proud and arrogant…”
and
“They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight... They delight in deception…”
and
“They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed…”
and
“They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception.”

Wow. Did you grasp that last part?? “…they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception.” Do you see why spiritual maturity is vital?? The biggest problem with deception is that you usually don’t realize when you are being deceived. This is why it is so very important to place heavy emphasis on being grounded in the truth of our Faith and Salvation, and growing into full maturity. Decide today that it’s time to grow up!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

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Time to Grow Up, Part 2

7/25/2016

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“that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine,”
~Ephesians 4:14(a&b)

...but why grow up?? Believe it or not, coming to Faith in Christ is not the ultimate goal of Salvation. We are to come to Him as we are, but we are not meant to STAY as we were. We are to be as Christ told the woman at the well…, “Go and sin no more.” Not that we are ever going to be completely without sin, but instead growing away from and out of our former lifestyle and mindset. This week’s passage tells of one specific, and probably most fundamental way we are to show our maturity in Christ: grounded in the conviction of our Faith and Salvation. I say Faith and Salvation instead of using them interchangeably, because Faith refers to what we believe, and Salvation refers to what we receive.

We should eventually and quickly grow out of being confused about whether Christ really is the only way. Our spiritual growth should lead us into an intimate relationship with Christ that defies the scientific evidence, and any doubts others may feed us. Our growth in Christ should ground our Faith, proving that Salvation is in Christ alone. In the same way, our growth in our Faith and knowledge of God should silence any doubts about whether we have truly received Salvation, as we have confessed. Sometimes individuals hear a sermon every week and decide that they have to “get saved” over and over again. This is not God’s plan; it is simple immaturity. When we begin to grow up in our walk with God, we won’t ever doubt our Salvation, and no one will ever be able to convince us otherwise!

Next week we will learn more about why it is so important to grow up out of our state of immaturity in Christ. If you have ever felt like sharing your Faith was a losing battle, that you were being “shown up” and embarrassed for what you believe, next week will be the week to convince you that what you need more than anything else is GROWTH in Christ!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn

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Time to Grow Up, Part 1

7/18/2016

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“to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;”
~Ephesians 4:13(b)

There is a reason we go to church. There is a reason Believers have come into the habit of gathering to sit under those we deem stronger, wiser, more experienced and gifted than we are. It should not just be to socialize or, even to “assemble” as Hebrews 10:25 commands us to do. Neither should we despise coming together as Believers out of frustration with “organized religion.” Why do I make all these statements? Because the purpose for our gathering is so that we, individually and corporately, can GROW UP in our Faith in Jesus Christ!

From this moment on I challenge you to really delve into the passages we are studying throughout the summer, and seek God to show you the value in sitting under those who teach in wisdom and righteousness. If you don’t have a church home, I challenge you to begin seeking God daily to lead you to a place where you can grow and give! If you are not growing where you are, ask God if you can be the catalyst for growth! My point is this, don’t stay [physically or spiritually] where you’re stuck! It’s time to GROW UP!

Last week’s passage suggested that the work of the fivefold calling, work of ministry, and edification of the Body of Christ must continue on until we all, each of us, every predestined Believer in Jesus, comes to 1. The unity of The Faith and 2. Unity of the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

This week we examine the rest of Paul’s thought along this same vein...
3. A perfect man: This does not mean without fault or sin. This word is originally defined as: Mature.
4. The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That’s a mouthful, so let me put it another way: The level of growth that reflects that we have the fullness of Christ. We walk in His commands and promises; we live out His character and compassion; we see life through His perspective; we act the way He acted; we believe what He believed; we expect what He expected. In short, we keep growing until our lives become a reflection of His life.

These four points above indicate what the work of the fivefold calling, work of ministry, and edification of the Body of Christ leads to. Next week, and through the month of August, we will talk about why we need to GROW UP.

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

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Time to Grow Up, Part 7

Time to Grow Up, Part 6

Time to Grow Up, Part 5

Time to Grow Up, Part 4

Time to Grow Up, Part 3

Time to Grow Up, Part 2

Time to Grow Up, Part 1

Make Mondays Matter

~dlb~
dawnlbedingfield

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Time to Grow Up, Part 7

Time to Grow Up, Part 6

Time to Grow Up, Part 5

Time to Grow Up, Part 4

Time to Grow Up, Part 3

Time to Grow Up, Part 2

Time to Grow Up, Part 1

Make Mondays Matter

~dlb~dawnlbedingfield

Archives

Categories

~dlb~
dawnlbedingfield