So What Now?

So What Now?

by David Brenneman 

What do you purpose to do in your life to grow in Christ?  To what are you being intentional concerning knowing Jesus Christ better?  

My struggles daily are in the memorization of the Scriptures, but I refuse to let that stop me.  My personal struggles impact my drive and ambition, but I strive anyway.  I make it a point, a high priority, to be intentional in regarding what the Spirit says is important.  What about you?

Are you more concerned about your personal happiness than what you need, what you must, go through to grow in your sanctification in Christ?  This way lies those who would enlist in the military and want out after a few weeks because it's hard and they simply miss someone.  Jesus doesn't want visitation rights to you, He wants all of you.

What are your plans for 2024 to know Jesus more?  What are your plans on spending more, not less, not the same amount of time or effort, to knowing your Savior? 

Paul wrote often of the pressures with and without himself in his concerns for the Church.  Hearing stories that caused him to pray all the more for them, hoping that he and others hadn't labored in vain.

Jesus saved you...are you, have you been, giving Him the table scraps of your time and efforts to know Him?  

While my struggles are heavy upon me, I can't give up.  Once upon a time I had never read through my Bible once.  That bothered me greatly.  Today, I have lost track of how many times I have read through it.  What once was a struggle is now such a part of my life that I hurt when I don't do it. I add whatever tools that the Spirit shows me as I find them.  Most notably, recently, is specific portion of Dr. David Jeremiah's Study Bible on only Psalms and Proverbs.  Soon the group that I am in is going to start a study book by Dr. Charles Stanley on the 30 Life Principles he wrote.  Charles Spurgeon is another good source.  I have a Spurgeon Study Bible that Alistair Begg had a part in.

What did I give up?  Nothing that I truly miss.  I'm not into nor am interested in watching television.  Don't go to movies.  I might watch short video clips to fill time, but mostly I seek ways to learn something new.  

In your 2024 be intentional about your growing in Christ Jesus.  

All those things that you pursue in life that are not helping you to grow in Christ Jesus will one day burn away.  What we do in our lives for Christ are all that will remain when our lives are tested by fire.  

Some do not pursue all they can be in Christ out of fears of what He might ask them to do.  Some do not because they know exactly what it is He wants of them to be doing.  Some have run from His plan and purpose for their lives because they got hurt while serving Him.  They only think they are successful now because they foolishly believe their success defines them.  His plan and purpose for each Believer is both personally growing into the likeness of Christ and to show others the light of Jesus Christ.  To let that light shine before men in such a way that people see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.  That they too might come to Christ for salvation and become His child as well. 

What are you doing in life if you aren't growing in Christ?  You become sedentary, you become lazy, your spiritual muscles will atrophy.  When an event happens that will call for strength, you won't have any.  

My challenge to you all is to do as Paul encourages towards that upward call of God in Christ Jesus for you.  It matters. 

So...for me...my path is clear on personal growth in Christ.  What about you?  Pursuing what the world values is not going to grow you in your walk with Jesus.  Success as the world values it is honesty failure in life spiritually.  Health, wealth and prosperity are doomed to perish with time.  The word of God will last forever.

All NASB 1995 and NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) Lockman Foundation.