Skip to main content

Deeply Rooted

    Beginning to follow Christ is an interesting transition. You are just beginning the journey of bringing your mind and perspective into alignment with the mind and perspective of Jesus Christ. This means that you are coming against everything you've been taught from the world's perspective, which is the opposite of the ways of God. It is a very worthwhile transition because it brings all life and fulfillment, but it can also be a difficult one. 

    We have an enemy who is trying to harass us and bring us away from Jesus at every turn. He doesn't want to see us build our relationship with the Lord because that is what will make us and Jesus both happy. It is very important that we be on our toes from the very beginning of our spiritual walk. The enemy will creep in and try to lead us astray with things that look appealing. He will even use things that are masked as something "from God" that are actually lies looking almost like they could be truth. Do not take anything at face value, but test all things to see if they are from God like I talked about a few days ago. 

    That being said, if you are a new Christian and don't know what to trust, start filling yourself up with the word. Follow teachings that are fully backed up with scripture and do not trust things that aren't. Find believers who can help mentor you and keep you from falling into the hands of the enemy. Get baptized in the Holy Spirit as we are instructed to in the word, and tune into your Spirit to tell you what is good and what is not. It is the Lord's will that we be firmly planted in Him so that we can know the difference between that which is from Him, and that which is not.

    No matter where you are in your walk with Jesus, it is important that you never stop growing, learning, and filling yourself up with His word. Stay alert and strongly rooted in Him so that you will not be tossed by every wind that blows, but will be a mature man growing into the complete fullness of Christ. 

Philippians 1:27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel (ESV)

Colossians 2:6-8 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. (ESV)

Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. (ESV)

Ephesians 4:11-14 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (ESV)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1 2 3, Count on Me

     I am thankful to say that for the first time in my life I am surrounded by friends and a community who I know will always build me up and point me in the right direction. More importantly, I know that they will always be honest with me. Honesty is a rare trait these days and I think it to be (combined with love) the most important thing to have in any relationship.    The Bible instructs us to speak life and truth into one another. To be honest and point each other to Christ when we are failing to see straight. I cannot emphasize how much I have grown since having access to that kind of community. Being in close friendships where I am able to be completely honest about my life, my struggles, my thoughts without fear of rejection or judgement is monumental alone. But take that a step further. I have been blessed to have friends that I can not only share my most intimate thoughts with, but they additionally are on their toes looking out for me and honest wh...
4 comments
Read more

Don't Read This!

     It's amazing to me how God so often uses moments in our daily lives to teach us something instead of the moments we might expect (in church, through Christian friends, etc.). I'm a big believer that God can use anything and anyone to teach us something (See Numbers 22:28 where God actually used a donkey to speak to Balaam). This last week, something a coworker said to me in casual conversation really struck my heart and has had me thinking since then. She told me that she quit smoking by buying herself cigarettes and keeping them with her and telling herself, "you can have one if you want. But do you really want it?"      I found this passing statement proved a brilliant point about human nature. I don't think anyone would disagree with me when I say that we as humans want what we are told we can't have. Tell a kid he can't have the cookies in the cookie jar and all he's going to want is those cookies. But I believe this concept is particularly...
2 comments
Read more

A Life of Servitude

   When we are living in the Kingdom of God, we have to abide by a completely different lifestyle than that of the world. The word tells us that to the world, the wisdom of God seems like foolishness. It is completely counterintuitive! Today, I think of this in the context of leadership. To the world, to be a great leader you are often taught to assert yourself and do whatever it takes to get on top. In the Kingdom we are taught that being recognized as a leader means putting yourself below others and letting God raise you up as He chooses to. Luke 14:11    For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (NLT)          So what does that look like? Well, it looks a lot like Jesus. During His life on earth, Jesus never asserted Himself over anyone-- even though He is the true King over all!! That's crazy humble. The mere fact that He even came down to earth in the form of a man is mind-b...
2 comments
Read more