Ready. Set. Grow!

It's been somewhat of a life long dream of mine to someday have a garden. They seem to bring such beauty to a home. I shared this with one of my aunts who has a garden and she explained to me that there's much entailed in being a gardener. At the end of the conversation I concluded that one must put in great effort to tend to/ maintain a garden on a regular basis (often times on a daily basis) in order for it to grow and flourish.

Just as a garden, we are to maintain our relationship in Christ on a daily basis in order to grow and flourish. Believe me I know at times it's easy to get stuck in neutral. Stuck in a comfort zone and distracted by the  mundaneness of life. But the Lord has definitely made it clear to me that He does not want us to ever be satisfied with where we are in Him. So here are three ways to insure continuous growth and maturity in Christ:

Maintain the Revelation of God

Seeing who God is and viewing life from His perspective requires us to continuously investigate, search, and study His word. Meditating on it day and night (Psalms 1:2-3) and putting it into practice (James 1:22-25). Only then will this allow Christ to dwell and remain in our heart, mind, and spirit as He so desires to do. Only then will  he reveal more of Himself to us. Only then will the noise of this world be dulled out so that we can actually hear Him when He is speaking to us.

Maintain Your Responsibility to God

If Christ is dwelling within us we have a responsibility to inform, influence, and inspire those around us. To be the light in this dark world. To be the salt with savor. Remember folks...

"You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

  "You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. "
(Matthew 5:13-16)

Maintain Your Relationship with God

When it comes to being in a relationship with someone you often spend a lot of time with that person. You probably talk/communicate with each other on a daily basis, probably multiple times a day.We tend to do this because we desire to know more about that person. More so, because of the love we have for the person and because we're just  simply in love with them. God desires the same when it comes to having a relationship with us. He wants to be first priority and our first and only true love. Hmmm...how might I spend time with the Lord? Glad you asked my friend. Keep in mind these three simple words and you'll be set...Prayer. Praise.Worship. Told you pretty simple.

I hope/pray that this nugget of goodness has served as a bit of encouragement and inspiration to some of you. I'm so happy that I was given the opportunity/privilege to encourage and inspire. Happy growing everybody!