Azalea

It is spring and we see signs of growth all around us.

USED Crepe myrtle just beginning to open in spring — Crepe myrtle budding in the backyard.

The crepe myrtle in the backyard is just now beginning to open with a promise of beautiful flowers in the near future.

USED First rose of the summer — First rose of the summer!

Outside the bedroom window is the rosebush with the first rose of summer.

USED Azalea blossoms up close — Plethora of azalea blooms grace the yard.

The azalea bush in the backyard astonishes us each year as it blooms with a plethora of gorgeous flowers in a glorious display of color.

There are other signs of growth, however, that are not part of the natural ebb and flow of nature. I am referring to cranes.

I’m not talking about birds — rather, I am referring to construction cranes.

USED Crane visible from interstate in Nashville — Crane hovering over construction in downtown.

USED Crane in Nashville (C) — Crane high in the air over building.

Construction cranes seem to be ubiquitous in some communities. Everywhere you look, you can see a crane hovering over a building site.

While there are folks who will be inconvenienced by the construction indicated by the crane’s presence, a realistic view of the crane is that there is growth in the area. Someone is building something because of their confidence in the community that the investment will be rewarded based on the community’s growth, population, revenue, … all sorts of indicators that go into the decision for new construction.

In short, the presence of construction cranes are an indication of a healthy, growing community.

Growth is observable not just in plants and communities but also in human kind. It is easy to see the changes when the baby grows into the toddler, the toddler into the young child, the child into the teenager, the teenager into the adult, the adult into the senior citizen.

USED Newborn with mother — Newborn baby with mother.

USED Baby - illustration of limber — Baby showing us what limber looks like!

USED Learning to walk (C) — Toddler learning to walk with the help o a little scooter.

USED Baseball player (C) — Child becomes young baseball player.

Changes in our physical growth are fairly easy to see. There should also be growth in our spiritual life as Christians, but sometimes that is harder to see!.

Paul made the distinction between infants and mature Christians when writing to the church at Corinth:

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 [ESV]

While not the only harbinger of immaturity, according to Paul, jealousy and strife between Christians are an indications of immaturity, and such actions reveal that the individual is still acting through the flesh and not following Christ. This type of behavior is allowing our human character to control – it is not an indication of control by the Holy Spirit.

The writer of Hebrews also talks about Christian maturity.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 5:12-14 [ESV]

According to these verses, the Christian who is mature in the Lord is one who has discernment that has been trained by the word of righteousness, that is Scripture or the Word of God. Further, the writer says that this discernment is trained by constant practice. While the Holy Spirit indwells the Christian and is available for illumination of the Scripture, the Christian must read and study the Word and must pay attention to the instruction of the Spirit. In other words, the Christian must work and practice to train their power of discernment. When this is done, the resulting discernment enables the Christian to distinguish between good and evil.

So, what are the indicators of growth in our Christian life? How do I know if I am growing from an infant into a mature Christian?

There are many indications of growth in our Lord, including obeying His commands and loving each other.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

John 15:10-12.

Perhaps the best identification of virtues indicative of growth in our Christian life is the listing is found in Galatians 5:21-22 [ESV].

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

This is no ordinary fruit. While the words sound like things we talk about every day, the imprint of the Holy Spirit on the words takes them to an entirely different realm than that of our world. For example, the fruit of the Spirit of love is way more than casseroles and cards!

On Friday we will begin consideration of the fruit of the Spirit in a separate series on The Ruminant Scribe. In order for us to grow in Christ, we need to understand the work of the Spirit, and praise the Lord and our Almighty Father for the Spirit’s presence in our lives.

I pray that you will follow the Fruit of the Spirit Series and that it will be enlightening and encouraging to you in your Christian walk. Please leave your comments and thoughts about how the Spirit is speaking to you through His Word on this topic. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

We are called to grow in Christ – we are not to remain infants, we are to mature. May I not be satisfied with milk, but may I seek to obtain the meat of the Word.

Praise the Lord, oh my soul!

Father, Thank you for giving us your Spirit Who encourages, teaches and empowers us to grow toward the likeness of your Son. Thank you for loving us so much that you provide the Spirit to do that which we cannot do for ourselves, and thank you for sending the Lord Jesus Christ to take our sin upon Himself so that we could become children of God. Enable me to show forth your Spirit as I interact with people who you bring into my life.

Have you ever just wanted to haul off and shout or sing – as loud as you can – because you were so happy about something?

Baby newborn in hospital bassinet (C) — Newborn baby ready to come home from hospital

A grandchild prompts thanksgiving and praise to our great God for the blessing of children.

Have you ever just jumped for joy – for me, physical jumping is definitely out of the question, but inside I can jump really high!

hummingbird hovering (C) — Ruby Throated Hummingbird hovering before getting a drink.

The Ruby Throated Hummingbird has no problem soaring, hovering, flying or reflecting God’s glorious beauty.

Azalea in full bloom (C) — Azalea bush in full bloom.

There is infinite beauty in the profusion and detail of azalea blooms.

Has praise for your Lord ever just erupted and spilled over into your countenance and conversation after seeing God’s majesty in His creation?

Yosemite mountain view vertical 100_3480 — Yosemite National Park scenic view.

Yosemite National Park showing God’s majesty and power in His creation.

Mt. McKinley from train to Denali National Park — Mt. Denali from train on the way to Denali National Park.

Mt. Denali [formerly Mt. McKinley] in Denali National Park, Alaska evidencing God’s glory in creation.

If not, why not?

Praise for the Lord is scriptural and is a natural outpouring of thankfulness for the working of God in our lives.

In Exodus 14 we read of the escape of the Israelites from the hand of the Egyptians as they crossed the Red Sea on dry land. In Exodus 15, we read the song of Moses as he and the people of Israel praised the Lord for their deliverance.

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. … Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” – Exodus 15:1-2, 11

In 2 Samuel 22, King David sings a song of thanks to the Lord for delivery from his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. … For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises to your name. ” 2 Samuel 22:1-3, 50

When David brought the ark to Jerusalem, he appointed the singers to praise the Lord.

“Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!” 1 Chronicles 16:6-11

The prophet Isaiah says:

“O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.” Isaiah 25:1

The writer of Proverbs says:

An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices. Proverbs 29:6

Praise and singing is not just for Old Testament folks. In the New Testament, we remember Paul and Silas being in prison for preaching about Jesus. In Acts 16:25 we read:

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

Imagine, singing hymns to God after being beaten and thrown into prison. Not only were they praying and singing, they were singing so loud that the other prisoners could listen to them. They were not gloomy guys bemoaning the wrongfulness of their imprisonment. They were not complaining to God, arguing that this unjust imprisonment should not have come when they were obeying the command to carry the gospel to others. No — they were rejoicing – praying and singing to the very God who allowed them to be imprisoned.

And, the story continues. The conclusion of this story is that the jailer became free from his sins. The keeper of the prison asked what he should do to be saved and Paul and Silas told him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul and Silas were released from jail and the jailer attended to the wounds of the former prisoners/now brothers in Christ.

How could Paul and Silas rejoice in those circumstances? Can we praise God when things are dark and circumstances are far from happy?

I suggest that we can praise God in any and all circumstances. Paul and Silas had a correct understanding of who they were in contrast to who God is. We, as sinners, cannot come into God’s presence. A holy God cannot even look on sin. Our very best is as filthy rags before God. We have absolutely nothing that we can offer to Him to seek His acceptance.

But, we have been redeemed by Jesus’ atoning death and resurrection. And this redemption is all about His grace and mercy, not one iota about how good we are. We have experienced the love of God in a way that the heavenly beings cannot imagine. Jesus, the spotless Son of God, paid the price for my sin – for all of it – and has claimed me as His, bringing me into the family of God: granting me access to God through Jesus righteousness, not my own.

Beloved, this is good news and it transcends any negative circumstance that we encounter in this world. We should fall at the feet of our Lord and thank Him nonstop for His grace and mercy, for His forgiveness and cleansing, for His love and atoning sacrifice on our behalf, for our adoption into the family of God.

Praise and thanksgiving are inexorably connected. Thanksgiving flows directly into praise and there can be no heartfelt praise of the Lord if we are not thankful to Him.

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

By the way, no audition is necessary before you can sing in praise to our God! The quality of your voice is completely irrelevant, but the condition of your heart is paramount!

So,

Have you lifted up your voice in a song of praise to your Savior?
Have you expressed your thanks to the Lord for the gift of today?
Have you praised Him for His loving kindness and longsuffering toward you?
Have you praised Him for His compassion and forgiveness?
Have you praised Him for His mercy and His grace?
Have you expressed your love to Him by obedience to His commands?
Have you worshiped the Lord today?

If not, why not?

The Centurymen is a group of over 100 musicians who serve in the music ministry of various churches and who praise the Lord in song. As you think of praise and thanksgiving, listen to the Centurymen sing Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee. I pray you will be blessed by it and that praise to the Lord would come to your lips and heart.

Father, thank you for your Spirit that enables me to give you praise, honor and worship. Thank you for your Son who provided the atoning sacrifice for me so that I can be cleansed of my sin and can come into your presence through prayer, reading your Word and worship. Forgive me when I have taken your blessings for granted, or when I have thought that I was entitled to your blessings. Forgive me when I have focused on outward circumstances rather than on your steadfast love and overwhelming mercy and grace. Forgive me, Father, when I have ignored your Spirit and when I have sinned in thought and deed. May my praise and worship be glorifying to you.