ICS Daily Devotions
Growing in Word and Spirit
Jeremiah 17:8 (NKJV) For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.
There is no shortcut in the Kingdom of God. It takes time before a tree or branch grows and bears fruit. Jesus spent three years with His disciples to really make them disciples. It included everyday talks, activities, actions to build up their faith, efforts to inspire them with good habits.
As it takes time for a tree to grow, the days pass by and we may not see any difference. It starts small, but the tree can become very huge and stable. There is a difference in time. You “earn the right” to grow by regular spiritual discipline. When you pray and read the Scripture, it nourishes the roots like water and it grows, no matter what the outward circumstances are. Let your root find the living water! Grow slow in God but be stable, being the good soil for the Word. Such a good tree is not anxious, which means that God’s peace will be present inside. That is the sign of a mature disciple.
We tune on God by being renewed by the Word of God daily and spending time in the presence of the Holy Spirit. That will make our root of faith deep and we will be constantly renewed by the living waters that will just flow out of our belly. We will not be anxious because the water will be plentiful.
Psalm 29:11 (NKJV) The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.
God’s peace will be our strength! Sometimes, we as Christians can be fooled and think that everything in our life is fine, if we do not face a direct opposition. We can be lulled into the false sense of security. We may fall into our comfort zone and drift away from God. Our “living water” on inside can wither. There are many who think they can just put on autopilot once they get saved. But Christian growth is supernatural, not automatic. We need to make the choice daily: “Will I follow Christ today? Will His Spirit guide me? Will His teaching instruct me?”
1 Corinthians 3:1 (NKJV) And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
The tragedy of the carnal Christians is that they will never experience full potential of the promises that God has for them. They experience very little love, peace, joy, or freedom. As a matter of fact, they may not know that there is more of it, even if they read the Bible. They read the Bible on autopilot, doing “good acts” rather than radiating God’s grace and relationship. They are tricked by the devil that they accept their little knowledge as full knowledge because they never experienced anything else. If it is your case, it is time for a wake-up call! You need to experience the living relationship with God!
Sermon series: Being a Disciple of Christ
