SEEK TO GROW IN THE LORD...EVERY DAY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

2 Peter 3:18

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It has been said that within each day of life, we are either growing or dying. There is no middle ground.

Now, a cynic might quickly say that this statement is foolish because from the minute you are born, you begin to walk a path to death, death that’s inevitable. But while this is true in a sense, I think you would agree that there are things we can do in life that can either hasten or delay that moment of inevitability when our physical body will cease to function anymore.

What we eat can either make our bodies healthy or can drive us into obesity and the diseases associated with it, diseases that will definitely shorten a lifespan.

Different habits we might adopt like smoking or excessive drinking also tends to lessen one’s years as opposed to someone who doesn’t do either.

Exercise has long been known to help one’s body function optimally where a sedentary lifestyle can speed the body’s decay and demise.

You get the point. There’s definitely truth to the matter of taking the initiative to do things that help to improve our physical selves every day so to get the most time out of the life God gives us. And if that’s not enough, remember what the Word says about these bodies we live through:

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20  

If you embrace these verses, you will see your body in a whole new light for whatever you do to it, good or bad, is either taking care of or abusing the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity that God placed within you the moment you believed in Jesus as Savior. The scriptures call all believers to self assess themselves and the things they are doing to ensure they’re doing everything they can to take care of their temples.

So taking care of one’s body is important to ensure it is in optimal condition for the Holy Spirit and the work the Lord wants you to do. It’s also important to work daily to improve yourself spiritually because it’s another place where you will either grow or die daily. This is the key point we find Peter making as he concludes his second letter in verse 18 of chapter 3. There he writes:

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

“Grow in the grace and knowledge” of “Jesus Christ”.

There couldn’t be a better daily task for a Christian to adopt. In fact, believers would be well served to write this in the form of a question and put it where it can easily be seen when they begin every day. Perhaps on a bathroom mirror or on a kitchen table where breakfast will be had or inside a car that will be started and driven somewhere.

What’s the question?

How can I grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ today? Or you could say it this way, “How will I grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ today?”

The latter causes us to have a plan, right? It helps us be intentional about the things we intend to do in order to become more Christ-like, which is always the goal for a Christian, right?

Perhaps the answer to this question can be found through a couple of spiritual disciplines, disciplines that we should adopt as easily as we brush our teeth daily or tidy up our disheveled hair or feed ourselves.

First, we need to make time to pray, asking the Lord to help us grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. If we ask, He will provide.

Second, we need to read the Word each and every day, preferably either at the start of a day to plan how we’ll grow spiritually or at the end of a day when we can prepare ourselves for the day to come. Either way works and the Lord is always ready to provide His instruction every time we open up His Book.

Finally, we need to fully engage the power of the Holy Spirit within us. This Spirit will convey to us the direction of the Lord when we pray and provide the understanding needed when we read and study the scriptures. He will also perfectly guide us in the things we should say and do through everything that comes our way within any day.

When we exercise these disciples, then we will not only reap a harvest of righteousness, becoming more and more like our Savior Jesus, but we bring Him glory, now and forever.

There could be no better life than this but we have to seek to grow in our Lord...every day.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.