Skip to main content

Maturity in Christ

Philippians 3:12-13
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” 
We will never reach perfection but we must strive to become more like Jesus everyday. In that, we must accept that we are not our own, laying down our life to live out His. We are oftentimes forgetful of what Christ has sacrificed for us and that in His sacrifice there is nothing too mighty for Him to overcome. Once we truly understand this, we are able to surrender our struggles to Him and allow Him to fight for us. Thus, the more we are able to surrender thoughts, feelings, emotions, circumstances, and situations to the Lord, the more we become like Paul who says in Acts 20:24, “But none of these things move me.” Maturity in Christ arises when certain aspects of our lives that used to cause us grief no longer have any effect on us. Anger has kept me in bondage for nearly all of my adult years as it is my initial response when situations become awry. I have always assumed that it was because I was miserable with my career in the health field that I was angry, but after working at MudMan this past week, the Lord has revealed to me that misery follows a negative attitude and an angry heart regardless of where I may be. Though I pray constantly for the Lord to rid me of my anger, more often than not, I refuse to surrender and therefore cannot have victory. It is not until I completely surrender to the Lord what I believe to be my right in acting out angrily that He can truly release me from the bond that has kept me captive for far too long. 

Application
Today, I will keep my mind focused on Christ by fasting.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Overwhelming Conflict

Psalms 91:2 “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.””  This past Sunday, team Uganda had the privilege to lead the two church services. From worship to the sermon, the Lord was present. Having never sung in front of really anyone to being on the worship team and having not one, but two solos, was rather frightening. In addition to having a spirit of fear, the morning of, I was faced with a myriad of conflict as a glob of toothpaste dropped slyly onto the shirt I was planning on wearing, I did not have a necklace to match the shirt I then had to put on, and I ran out of time for curling my hair and ironing my skirt. I knew the enemy was seeking to do whatever he could to focus my eyes on myself rather than on what the Lord was attempting to do in and through me for that day, but I was already defeated and left wondering how a day that had begun so terribly could have a positive outcome. I needed a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spir...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Transformation

Mark 7:17 “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the thins which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.” As I was reading my devotional this morning, it touched on something that I had said early on in my time here in Uganda: “You can’t run from sin because you can’t run from you.” Sin truly does live in my heart and it is only when I run to Jesus, who is the only One who can deliver me from myself, that my heart can be radically transformed. I can and have attempted in my own strength to change my heart, but this has only led to condemnation and failure. The Lord never asked me to fix myself, He has asked me to do nothing other than cry out to Him at street level so that He can fix me in my most broken state. That is how He wants me: battered, bruised, and broken because this is when I am honest; this is when I want nothing more than for the Father to fix what I have ruined, again. But, when I attempt to change what only the L...
Post a Comment
Read more

Slaves for Christ

Romans 6:16 “Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”  Slaves. Most people cringe at this word because they do not want to be owned by something or someone. However, what most people are not aware of is that they are slaves to their sin, which has complete and total ownership of everything that they are. But, where there is fault, there is always redemption. Jesus Christ brought hope to the hopeless so that they might be free, free indeed, from the chains that they are unable to break free from on their own. To be a slave for Jesus is to be a servant and I would much rather be a servant for the Lord than be under the ownership of the things of this world. Before coming to IGNITE, my fire flared vibrantly for everything other than God. I made it to church every Wednesday and every other Sunday - I worked ev...
Post a Comment
Read more