How do we grow as believers? It is always a concern to meet believers who have neither ambition or desire to grow in Christ. I believe it shows just how caught up with material things and the cares of this world we can become. As believers the challenge is to grow into the calling and person that God has destined us to become. So, the question is how do we grow? The first thing we need is a desire to grow, to know more about God to become more like His Son Jesus and to bring Him honour by the way we live our lives. At the foundation of this is a simple but critical change in our hearts, a desire to be good. Not just behaving or conforming to a set of rules but to have a genuine desire to do good to all. Without this so many believers are simply rule followers, seeking to be seen to conform rather than having a genuine love and desire to do good. When our true motive is for God to get the glory and for others to see His goodness the world sees the Kingdom of heaven as it is meant to be. I am convinced that this is why the church in the west is largely declining, because those who see us as we really are see how little we have progressed in our walk with Christ. After all being a follower of Jesus is a journey, not just a destination. It is no good thinking now I’ve come this far, I’ve got it or that I no longer need to learn and develop. I love the way that Paul the apostle describes it when he says, “ Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12). In other words, we do not stop learning and we do not stop growing as believers until the day wee depart this earth for the heavenly realm. So then how do we grow? We feed, we don’t just read but we meditate upon the word of God, we spend time with others who have grown and are mature that we might learn form them as we study together, this is why a Bible study is far more crucial for believers than the Sunday service. We fellowship together, the quality of our growth is always effected by the quality of those we keep company with. The more time I spend around godly people the more godly character and desire are likely to be birthed in us. We spend time in God’s presence, there is no one in scripture or in testimony books who accomplished anything for God without spending time in God’s presence. So let me encourage each of us to develop a heart that desires to grow in Christ, to become more like Jesus. I believe as we take a fresh perspective of how church gathers we will find that fellowship (godly rather than mere entertainment), the study of God’s word and a longing to see God glorified will result in our personal growth as believers no matter how long we have been in church. I encourage you to take a look at your personal journey and consider how to align yourself to grow more.
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