Feed your faith and it will grow.

Remember how you learned to do something for the first time? You probably messed it up.  You probably messed it up a lot for a while, depending on how complicated it was. But that’s all part of the learning process. No one faults you for that, because it’s expected. Neither does God fault us for not be perfect.

Some people come to Christ out of very rough lifestyles. The transition can be difficult if perfection is expected. In fact, it can be downright humiliating. Trying to measure up against other people is always a mistake, but for new believers looking at those more mature in Christ, the difference can be depressing.

It’s ok. You’re not expected to be mature when you still have lots of growing to do. The only one who thinks otherwise is you. Give yourself some slack. Growth takes time. Of course some will grow faster than others because they will give themselves completely to God. Other people will never grow because they refuse to get past the gates of salvation.

Read the Bible. Spend time talking to God. Be encouraged by other believers. It’s all part of the growth process. Pretty soon, you’ll look back at how far you’ve come and have so much to thank God for.

Growing Pains Take You Higher

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God is a God of great blessing.

God has always been a God of blessing. In the Old Testament, blessing was dependent on the laws being obeyed. In the New Covenant, we live under grace, but the idea is similar. If you walk in love and kindness towards God and people, you will be blessed. It’s automatic.

I love the blessings of God. He knows just how to touch our lives with goodness.

“And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.  And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.” Deut 28: 11-13

That pretty much covers your family, your job, your whole life. I don’t know about you, but I’ll walk with God if the good treasure of heaven opens to me.

You Determine Your Level Of Blessing

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Pick yourself up with grace and God will be open new doors.

Did you think that when you came to Christ He’d make you perfect? That’s actually a lie of the enemy. If we think we’re supposed to be perfect, then the first time we fail, and we will, we’ll be seriously disappointed in our faith. That’s exactly what the enemy wants us to feel.

The truth is, we are human and that’s not a surprise or revelation to God. He’s very aware of our humanity, and He loves us for it. He knows what our challenges are. He knows how hard they are, and He is compassionate when we fall. He’s not as judging as you may think.

Remember the story of the prodigal son. The father ran to meet his fallen son and love on him. God is always kind to us. We have so much grace as His sons and daughters. He can take what ever we’ve broken and breathe life into it in ways we never see coming.

The question is, how will you react to your own failure? Will you beat yourself up because you agree with the enemy that you shouldn’t be human afterall? Or will you ask for favor and start again? Don’t allow failure to guide your life or your decisions. You will fall, it’s part of life and growing, but you don’t have to dwell on it. Learn and go on.

There’s a lot riding on how you deal with failure. People you are not even aware of are watching. If you can take a face-plant and get up graciously, then you communicate more than volumes of sermons ever could. The ability to pick yourself up in humility, without a bruised ego, is the work of God in you.

If you can admit your mistakes with grace, ask for help where you need it, and move on to the next thing in the peace of God, you show the kingdom in a way that is usually never seen by the world. They are used to tantrums, depression, and finger-pointing. Honesty and humility go a very long way to showing how amazing God is in us.

And when you move on in grace and humility, you free God to do exactly what you need. If you blame other people or berate yourself, then you actually prevent God from helping you. He needs your faith that He can be all you need Him to be–in your successes and your failures.

The Smart Ones Know How To Be Corrected

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