I remember the day like it was yesterday. I walk into Barnes and Noble at the Glenbrook Mall in Fort Wayne, Indiana with one purpose in mind – I was about to buy my first Bible. I asked a friend and mentor what translation I should get because I had no idea what those initials meant on all the Bibles I was seeing.
He recommended a few and I chose one of them just for the name. I chose the New Living Translation because the name felt alive.
I bought it, brought it home, and began my journey to where I am now. That was around 6 years ago, maybe a little less. Every evening I would read from that Bible before going to bed. I was so intrigued by God’s word. I struggled figuring out what the passages really meant, but I kept reading. Page by page, I kept reading.
From then to now my life looks completely different. And I’m so thankful.
In hopes that you experience true spiritual growth in your own life, I’d like to offer you 4 ingredients, 4 pieces of the puzzle. When you have these things, I have no doubt that you’ll begin to see yourself become a stronger follower of Jesus with a faith that is deeply rooted.
4 Ingredients to Spiritual Growth
A preliminary word is in order: I wholeheartedly believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and His role in molding you into who God wants you to be. At the same time, I wholeheartedly believe that spiritual growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and the people who have these 4 ingredients will truly experience spiritual growth.
1. Open Heart
Before you ever crack open the Bible and begin to read the words, reflect on them, and meditate on them, you have to start here.
The Bible doesn’t care about your preconceived notions and ideas. It has its own ideas, its own standards, and they will fly in the face of everything you understand about life. You HAVE to have an open heart that is ready to receive things that are different than you ever have known.
If you truly want to experience spiritual growth, you must approach prayer, reading the Bible, and any other spiritual discipline with an attitude of humility. An open heart is ready to receive whatever comes its way. If you never open your heart up to what God has to say, you’ll stay the same wretched person you are today. [shareable]If you never open your heart up to what God has to say, you’ll stay the same wretched person you are today. [/shareable]
2. Action
Spiritual growth is an active endeavor. At the end of the day, you either took action or you didn’t. You either chose to open your Bible and read or you didn’t. You either chose to pray or you didn’t. You either chose to serve or you didn’t. You either chose to show up to church or you didn’t.
As I’ve gotten older and have filled my days up with more and more things, I have discovered a great respect for routine. If you want to create a habit of spiritual growth, create a routine around it. I am NOT advocating that you approach your spiritual growth as a monotonous check list. Don’t do that!
What I am advocating is that you decide on a certain time and maybe even a certain place that you set aside to spend in God’s word, in prayer, and whatever else you decide to do. It could be that you decide to get an audio Bible and listen to God’s word while you drive. It could be that you decide to read His word before bed or first thing in the morning.
One of the biggest problems the Church faces today – in America especially – is that there are a bunch of believers out there who are going through their day with the full armor of God on (see Ephesians 6), except they have forgotten a vital piece to the armor. Sure, they have the breastplate of righteousness and so on fastened to them, but they have forgotten the only offensive piece to their armor – the “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Friend, if you go out in this world without your sword, without knowing how to handle this weapon, you will have an even larger target on your back. Know the word! After all, when Jesus was tempted, He combated the devil’s tricks with the word of God – the sword of the Spirit!
So figure out a routine and take action.
When you discover something in God’s word that convicts you and shows you where you need to make a change, take action!
3. Community
The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. I think I could go as far as to say that it is actually quite impossible to be lived alone. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at all of the “one another” commands we see within the New Testament.
The whole idea of a “one another” command is an assumed participation within community. If you’re a Christian and are not a part of a local church, let me encourage you quite bluntly: You absolutely need to find a local church to be a part of, like yesterday. Why are you trying to live a life of faith alone? You do realize that your faith is not a private faith, right?
If I never became part of a local church as I was seeking God and then growing in my relationship with Him, I would be an absolute mess. If I ever left the local church, I would absolutely miss out on God’s best for me. [shareable]If I ever left the local church, I would absolutely miss out on God’s best for me. [/shareable]
Being in community gives you the opportunity to live out your role within God’s Church – His body which you are a part of.
If your church has small groups, you absolutely need to get plugged into one. You need to make it a priority. There is nothing better than growing in your faith alongside others who are doing the same thing. I am so blessed to be a part of an amazing small group. We have become a family and it is truly amazing to see what God is doing in all of our lives.
It is a biblical mandate to be in community. In fact, it’s a clear assumption that you are in community. After all, every single book in the New Testament was written to a local church, a group of local churches, or a local church pastor. [shareable]It is a biblical mandate to be in community.[/shareable]
Get in community. Like yesterday!
4. Hunger
This last thing separates those who will continually grow and those who will hit a ceiling. The question is, are you ever going to stop growing? I hope you decide in your heart today that you will always remain hungry. To be hungry means that you never stop seeking God, you never stop reading, praying, serving, and changing. [shareable]To be hungry means that you never stop seeking God, you never stop reading, praying, serving, and changing.[/shareable]
To have a hunger for spiritual growth is what will drive you past your comfort level to experience true purpose. You’ll be confronted with things within God’s word that will stretch you and make you uncomfortable. Your hunger is what will help you decide to choose God rather than your comfort.
Engage Culture With the Gospel
I’d love to go on this journey of following Jesus with you and help you engage culture with the gospel. So let’s be email friends. I’d love to send you a copy of my two free eBooks: Bible Hacks: Understanding the New Testament and Do Something: Cultural Crises and the Gospel. And I’d love to give you my free daily devotional: Journey to Knowing God. You’ll get all this (and updates with new content) when you subscribe to the blog.
