Tag: Spiritual Growth
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Saved, But Not Yet Subdued – Genesis 31:1
Genesis 31:1And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was our father’s hath he gotten all this glory. Jacob had been saved back in chapter 28, but he was not yet subdued. He belonged to the Lord, but he was still…
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Growing Simpler in Jesus – 1 John 2:12-14
1 John 2:12-14 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye…
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Fruit That Follows – 2 Peter 1:8
2 Peter 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter now tells us what happens when these qualities really begin to take root. If faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and…
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Love at the Top – 2 Peter 1:7
2 Peter 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. Peter now brings us near the summit of the staircase he has been building. He has talked about faith, virtue, knowledge, self control, patience, and godliness. Now he says that godliness must be joined to brotherly kindness. That matters more than we might…
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Strength Under Control – 2 Peter 1:6
2 Peter 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness. Peter keeps building carefully here. He is showing us that spiritual growth is not random. One grace prepares the way for the next, and each one protects the one before it. That matters. Because even good things can become dangerous…
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Make Room for the Word – 2 Peter 1:5
2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge. Peter now turns a corner. He has already told us that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. He has told us that precious promises have been placed in our hands. He has…
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Living Up to the Promises – 2 Peter 1:4
2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Peter says God has given us exceeding great and precious promises. That is a rich phrase. These are not small words…
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Already Given – 2 Peter 1:3
2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Peter says something here that many of us struggle to believe. He does not say God will someday give us what we…
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What You Feed On Matters – 1 Peter 2:1–3
1 Peter 2:1–3 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Peter is showing us something very practical here. The Christian…
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Persuaded of Better Things — Hebrews 6:9
Hebrews 6:9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. Just before this verse, the writer of Hebrews speaks very seriously. He talks about ground that receives rain yet produces only thorns and briers. The warning is real. It’s meant to wake people up and…
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From Milk to Meat — Hebrews 5:12–13
Hebrews 5:12, 13 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word…
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When Hearing Becomes Ignoring — Hebrews 5:10–11
Hebrews 5:10, 11 (a) Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered… The writer pauses in the middle of something deep. He is about to unfold the mystery of Jesus as our High Priest after the order of Melchisedec.…
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Grace That Teaches — Titus 2:11–12
Titus 2:11–12 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Paul now comes to the heart of the whole chapter. Grace. Everything he has said about older men, older women, younger women,…
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What Sound Doctrine Looks Like — Titus 2:1
Titus 2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine. Paul now moves into the next part of his instruction to Titus. After warning about false teachers and empty talkers, he tells Titus what he must do instead. “Speak the things which become sound doctrine.” That phrase “sound doctrine” literally means healthy teaching. Doctrine…
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Going Farther in the Faith — Titus 1:1
Titus 1:1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; Paul begins this letter by telling Titus who he is. Not a title meant to impress anyone. Just a clear description of his life. A…
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Every Word Matters — 2 Timothy 3:16–17
2 Timothy 3:16–17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Paul now makes one of the most sweeping statements about the Scriptures found anywhere in the Bible. All…
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Strength That Starts at the Table — 1 Timothy 3:12–13
1 Timothy 3:12–13 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Paul brings it back home. Before a man…
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The Full Orb of Blessing — 1 Timothy 2:15
1 Timothy 2:15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. That verse has puzzled people for centuries. “Saved in childbearing.” It cannot mean that childbirth guarantees eternal salvation. Nor does it mean a promise that no godly woman will ever suffer loss in that…
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Faithful Is He – 1 Thessalonians 5:23–28
1 Thessalonians 5:23–28 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.Brethren, pray for us.Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.I charge…
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Keep Walking – 1 Thessalonians 4:1
Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. Paul isn’t correcting a disaster here. This church was doing well. They had received instruction. They were walking in…
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Pour Me – 1 Thessalonians 3:11–13
Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you. Paul isn’t just praying for safe travel. He’s praying for growth. “Increase.”“Abound.” That’s not maintenance language.…
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Sleepless for Their Sake – 1 Thessalonians 3:10
Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face… Paul wasn’t casually praying for these people. He says “night and day.” That tells you something. There were probably nights when sleep wouldn’t come easy. Nights when the room was quiet but his mind wasn’t. Instead of staring at the ceiling or replaying the…
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The Word That Works – 1 Thessalonians 2:13
1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. Paul is not…
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Why Live Like You’re Still There? – Colossians 2:20–22
Colossians 2:20–22 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,(Touch not; taste not; handle not;Which all are to perish with the using;)after the commandments and doctrines of men? Paul’s argument is simple. You died. If you died with…
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Keep Walking in the Light – Philippians 3:15–16
Philippians 3:15 (b) …and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Paul has just said, “Be thus minded.” Think forward. Press on. Refuse to live in yesterday. But he is realistic. He knows not everyone will immediately see it that way. Some will still be tangled in…
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The Ongoing Exchange – Philippians 3:7–8
Philippians 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Paul uses accounting language. Columns. Profit. Loss. Everything that once appeared in the “gain” column—heritage, discipline, zeal, reputation—he moved into the “loss” column. Not because those things were evil in themselves. Because compared to Christ, they were worthless. Imagine holding…
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The God Who Works Within – Philippians 2:13
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. You are not the engine. You are the vessel. It is God who works in you. Not only giving you strength to act, but shaping the desire itself. He plants the will and supplies the…
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He Finishes What He Starts – Philippians 1:6
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Ten years had passed since the riverbank in Philippi. Ten years since Lydia’s heart opened.Ten years since a jailer trembled.Ten years since a small gathering of believers became…
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Grown Up by the Fire – Ephesians 4:15–16
Most of us think maturity is about knowing more. Paul says it is about growing up. Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. The goal is not that we become sharper debaters.The goal is that we resemble the Head. Truth…
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Sit Before You Step – Ephesians 4:1
Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. That word therefore is a hinge. It swings the door from belief into behavior. Paul does not begin chapter four with commands. He begins with a reminder. For three chapters he lifted our…
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Strength Where It Counts – Ephesians 3:14–16
Ephesians 3:14–16 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; Paul is chained, but he…
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Fitted for His Dwelling – Ephesians 2:19–22
Ephesians 2:19–22 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:In…