10 essential elements for spiritual growth and development (Part 1)
After reading so many New Year’s resolutions I kept thinking about our “Spiritual” New Year’s Resolutions that are in charge of our spiritual growth and development. We can call them our Christian New Year’s resolutions, but let’s emphasize the spiritual side of our Christian walk. There are probably a lot more than just 10 essentials; they could add up to 100 essentials or 50. We’ll see how far we get. Today we will not go beyond 5 or 10. You know, our choices have to line up with the Word of God.
1. God must be your first priority in all areas of our lives.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). You must give God the first place in your life. Many people tend to be crisis oriented; they wait until a crisis develops before doing anything about it.
The Spirit of God can lead and guide you if you first acknowledge him in all your ways. He can take you away from an environmental problem; he can get you to the right room, right place, right building and away from the wrong room, wrong place, and wrong building.
The first thing you do is pray, Father, I want to thank you and recognize you in all my ways and that you can direct my path. Say, “Thank you Lord, your healing power flows through my body from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet.” Before you do anything else, spend some time with God. You want God to be Number One in your life and if you put God first you will get direction from him first. If you put it last, you’ll get the address from it last.
2. Putting God first means, of course, that we “learn to pray and talk to God.”
Click here for a great lesson on prayer. Everyone has a call to prayer. The Father longs for us to come to Him and talk with Him, to give us whatever we ask for in Jesus’ name. We tend to limit the great love and promises of our God. The Church (that means you and me) needs to learn that God wants prayer to have an answer. We have not yet fully understood what God will do for the one who truly believes that his prayer is heard.
3. Fasting and Prayer.
Fasting without prayer is not fasting; that’s just dieting. You may want to know how to fast and pray effectively. There are many resources on the Internet such as wake21.org. Jentezen Frankin is a pastor who calls many other churches and people to fast: click here. There’s a lot and it’s not too late for you to start! The disciples asked the Lord why they could cure a lunatic child. Jesus said: “Because of your unbelief… but this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” Matthew 17:14-21. Faith needs prayer for its development and full growth, and prayer needs fasting for the same reason. Fasting has worked wonders when used in combination with prayer and faith.
4. Live by faith.
The Bible clearly says that the just shall live by faith.
Faith is like a house; it must be built on a solid foundation if it is to withstand trials and storms. The foundation of faith is the Word of God. You cannot build a great life of faith without it. The best part of this truth is that the Word of God will never fail. In Mark 9:23, Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” According to this and other Bible verses, what you believe determines what you receive from the Lord. In other words, your belief has a huge effect on how and what you receive from God. Faith is the language of heaven.
5. Walk in love.
God’s kind of love is full of kindness and tenderhearted. Since God’s love is kind and tender, he is always ready to forgive. Faith works by love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 in the expanded version says:
“Love (I) is enduring and is patient and kind; Love (I) is never envious or overflowing with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, is not haughty. It is not conceited (arrogant and puffed up with pride); is not rude (lack of manners) and does not act unseemly Love (I) (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, because it is not selfish, it is not touchy or irritable or resentful; does not take into account the harm done to him [pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. He does not rejoice at injustice and injustice, but rejoices when good and truth prevail. Love (I) endures anything and everything that comes, it is always ready to believe the best in each person, its hopes are unfading in all circumstances, and it endures everything. [without weakening].”
If we all practiced this passage daily, we would live peaceful and productive lives. However, our flesh often gets in the way. Instead of ignoring the injustices done to us, we want to take revenge. Instead of walking in love, we want to return evil for evil.
Ok, today we get to the 5 essentials, this week I will add five more to get to the 10 essentials. If there’s one you’d like to add, drop it in a comment and we might just come up with 100 essentials for our spiritual growth and development. The power of choice is to act on these truths and to be doers of the word is always at hand. Our life is really driven by choice.
Thanks for your reading!
olga hermans