Growing in Grace...

Grow in Grace

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18

One of the pitfalls Satan uses in the lives of many Christians, and especially new Christians, is to get them involved with spiritual activity in the ministry of the church. Now, many of these ministries are essential, and we should be active in them, but they are not to take precedence over our need for growing in grace. The problem comes when what we do is more important than what we are. The focus is on outward activity at the expense of inward spiritual growth. This results in having an abundance of Christians not grounded in the truth. They accept concepts of truth without question, and follow without knowing why. They are satisfied with the status quo, no hunger for the Word, a shallow prayer life, and no roots of faith to hold them true and steadfast when adversity comes.

Peter challenges all Christians to grow in grace. You may say, "I go to church, tithe, am active in missions, and I'm even a Sunday school teacher. Am I not growing in grace?" My answer is, only if your relationship with the Lord is maturing, your prayer life is meaningful and consistent, you have a growing hunger to study the Scriptures and gain a greater knowledge of the Word, and you have compassion to reach out to others with your witness. When you yield unto Christ the will to control your life, then you begin to grow in grace. Our spiritual journey is one of becoming like Him. We never reach a point in our spiritual growth where we can say, "We have arrived." Our spiritual journey is a continual growing in faith and spiritual maturity.

Gary Collins, in his book "The Soul Search," gives a wonderful spiritual exercise he goes through during his morning jog. His desire is to focus on who God is, the greatness of God, the nature of God, the characteristics of God, what God is like, the attributes of God, and much more. In his mind, he goes through the alphabet (except Q and Z). For each letter, he tries to thank God for WHO HE IS and WHAT HE IS LIKE. In this way, he expands his vision of the greatness of God. Why don't you take a pen and paper and make your own list, then get your concordance and begin a Bible study by looking up as many verses as you can on each thing you list. Your heart will "well up" in praise, adoration, and worship as you begin to realize the magnitude of WHO GOD IS! It will be exciting. You will begin to see what it means to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no shortcut to maturing in the faith, to developing an intimate relationship with the Lord that will radically change your life. The study of His Word is inexhaustible. You will never spend time that will be more rewarding or will enrich your life more! Jesus said, "Draw nigh unto me, and I will draw nigh unto you." Through communion with Him in prayer, searching the Scriptures, walking in obedience, appropriating by faith His promises, and applying the truth and principles of the Scriptures to your everyday life, your spiritual journey will take on new life. You will begin the exciting adventure of "growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission