Are You Standing Still?

In this letter from Peter, he talked about false teachers, the last days and Christ return. At the end of his letter, he warns us to be on guard so we would not be fooled by those who would attempt to mislead us. So how do we do this? How do we protect ourselves against those who would attempt to mislead us? We do this by growing in grace and knowledge. Peter says we MUST grow in grace and knowledge, think of this as not a simple suggestion but as a command. There are some professions where you are required to take continuing education courses in order to keep your job. So why are we willing to continue to learn for work, but we are a little less enthusiastic when it comes to our faith? Is your life more important than your paycheck? Yes, I know we cannot live in this world without money, but without God we cannot live at all, with Him we find eternal life. With knowledge comes understanding and growth which leads to change. Unfortunately change has gotten a bad rap over the past couple decades, many see no reason why they should change. But just as with growth comes change so change comes with growth. If you are in a relationship and one of you is growing and changing but the other remains the same, this will eventually cause division. How many times have you heard someone say their divorce was because they simply “grew apart”? In other words, one person was growing while the other was satisfied with standing still. Are you the same person that you were at 5 years old? How about at 11 or 16, 20 or even 30? Hopefully your answer is no because otherwise you have learned nothing in life. Just as our life is filled with growth, so should our Christian walk be filled with growth. Not all of us will grow at the same rate, some of us will have to work hard for that growth and understanding while others will find it less difficult. The important thing is we don’t give up; we don’t stop learning; we don’t stop growing. Peter saw the importance of spiritual growth, he knew it was an ongoing process that would help us to develop a deeper appreciation of God’s word and a closer relationship with Him. Don’t be the person who is standing still, don’t be the one who “grew apart” from God because you were unwilling to grow and to change. Others wrote about growth: 1 Timothy 4:15 tells us “Practice these things; immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” In Jeremiah 12:2 we read “You have planted them and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit.” We need to be intentional with our spiritual growth, we often hear about the transformation that takes place when we accept Christ – but it cannot not stop there. As we grow and mature in faith, we will begin to take on the qualities of Christ; His love, compassion, forgiveness and empathy will begin to manifest in our personalities. We will begin to apply all He has taught us, to understand and use the difficult times as tools to learn and grow, to find true peace and joy through His word. Finding a church, a group or even just a friend that encourages our spiritual growth is important because have no doubt, once you start moving forward, once you make that commitment to learn and to grow, the enemy will do his best to discourage you. Rob him of that joy, if he knocks you down, get back up; remember when God is with you no one will ever be able to keep you down. He is our strength. OK, so my last few posts have been on growth, but next week we are moving forward and hopefully growing as we do. Until then may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.