Maturity

This morning's message really got me thinking today....(Good job Pastor Ross)

Ross talked about growing in maturity. He talked about our growth in the Gospel. Our growth does not come from a check list or a "7 step secret"...do this and you will succeed.

For along time I heard a lot about doing the right things in the right formula and God must bless you or answer you....

But it is not about human effort. Does growth take work? Yes I believe it does. But it is not a simple check list that by human effort we achieve our sanctification. It is taking the time and wrestling with the deep things of God. Of knowing who we are and who He is. It is His Holy Spirit communing (back and forth) with our Spirit...(being born again, it is that same Spirit).

In that back and forth, we grow. We see things in the light of Christ. We see things in the mind of Christ. We see things past a mere conversion. We move to a place of a deeper understanding of Gospel.

The Gospel is not a state of salvation. It is the greatest story ever told. It is relationship between God and us. When He said the tabernacle of God is with men...his tent is right in the middle of our lives. His Kingdom is all around us.

Growing in God is bigger than learning moral teaching and completing a list.

What is it God wants to do in your life that you are resisting?

I have returned

I have been asked about blogging again.

I had given it up for a while after I got in a bit of trouble. No I will not write on here what it was. Just know that what I did will not happen again.

The last couple of days have been really cool. I got to have lunch with two couples from Rose Heights. They are dear friends who have always been special to Liz and I. I told them that being around them makes me miss pastoring.

I do want to pastor again as I have said. I still have a vision of working with a small rural church in a bi-vocational setting. Will see how that works out. I will leave it to God.

Today in my Sunday school class our Executive Pastor Fritz Hager came by...no pressure. I got to talk to him a few minutes. Seems like a very cool guy. He is a West Point Grad. I need to swap book stories with him. He has done and lived things I have only read about.

Well off to bed. I am finishing a book by Nelson Demille then I have a new (new to me) book by Brennan Manning I am going to read.