God makes NO MISTAKE in instructing his followers to become spiritually mature. So that’s our goal and our life-long quest, right? Of course.  But it has never been and will never be “easy.” That’s why we are spending this month on spiritual growth.     “We are not meant to remain as children, but to grow up in every way into Christ.” Ephesians 4:14-15.     In...

The power of INCREMENTALISM has had a profound and significant impact on my life. It was a guiding tenet in my business career as a CEO and an important influence in my personal life, too. But it has TRANSFORMED my faith walk.    in·cre·men·tal·ism: changing something gradually in step-by-step phases.    We’ve already established in the past couple of messages that our goal to...

Yesterday we explored the notion that GROWTH, in and of itself, is not the primary goal behind our life-long journey to become ever-more spiritually mature. That message focused on growing and deepening our RELATIONSHIP with Jesus in a way that GLORIFIES him. And it quickly raised this important question: Should our spiritual growth be fast or slow?    The answer can be found on two tracks:...

It won’t take long during this month’s exploration of SPIRITUAL MATURITY to see that the word GROWTH circulates through most of the messages. That’s a good thing because God’s calls us to GROW our faith.    “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18    But before we get too far down the critically-important GROWTH road, I want to shake a...

The summer breeze is flipping the calendar’s pages and replacing May with June. In the process, it will also produce a new opportunity for all of us to “turn over a new leaf.”    TURN OVER A NEW LEAF: to start over, to act in a different manner or change your attitude about something.    This idiom was birthed in the 16th Century when pages in books were referred to as leaves...

We’re headed into the home stretch on our month-long look at SPIRITUAL AUTHENTICITY. The ride has featured myriad looks at the subject, but every angle takes us back to GOD as the anchor.    We’ve learned that SPIRITUAL AUTHENTICITY is about developing an intimate relationship with Christ. Then that builds our Christian character. Then that prompts us to emulate Jesus. No mask wearing....

Our deep dive into SPIRITUAL AUTHENTICITY this month has focused largely on what others see in our faith walk and how they would characterize it on an AUTHENTICITY SCALE. We have stressed the need to always look to God as our spiritual authenticity guide. And we have covered the imperative to be SINCERE in our heart as we seek to be ever more like Christ.    That is the sturdy foundation...

For nearly a month now, we have been drilling deep into what it means to be SPIRITUALLY AUTHENTIC. That exploration has been built on a foundation of this immutable truth—SPIRITUAL AUTHENTICITY is defined by God’s Word…NOT by our ideas; NOT by our manufactured attempts; and NOT by our cosmetically-contrived charades.    We’ve identified the clear and present danger of trying to manufacture...

Like it or not, authenticity has become a buzzword in modern-day Christianity. So as we head into the final stretch on our month-long look at SPIRITUAL AUTHENTICITY, it’s time to deal with the uncomfortable subject of BUZZWORD FAITH.    buzz·word: a word or phrase, often jargon, that is fashionable at a particular time or in a particular context.    That pretty much describes...

SPIRITUALLY AUTHENTIC Christians are “walking letters from God” (2 Corinthians 3:1-5) exhibiting a transformed life that CANNOT be explained by anything else but God’s hand. They are infused with boundless joy. Held up by hope. Freed from shame. Rescued from darkness. Protected from fear. Powered with purpose.    Many Christians try—without success–to manufacture this kind of spiritually-authentic...