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SPIRITUAL GROWTH ARTICLES |
What is your heart’s desire? Since you have clicked on the “Spiritual Growth of a Christian Woman” section, most likely your desire is to grow spiritually. Perhaps you long to move from the place of quiet desperation to liberty in Christ. | who is at work in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure. ~Philippians 2:13 |
to increase or become greater
(John 3:30)
How does anything grow? It must be in an environment that fosters growth.
Willingness and obedience.
Insincerity: Neither willing nor obedient.
When I was training my young children to obey me, I would give them an instruction and then ask them to say, “Yes, Mommy, I will.”
One of my children learned to say this phrase with ease and repeat it when asked to obey, but yet this child continued in the current activity without actually acting upon the “willingness” expressed by the response. The child was simply repeating the words with no intention of obeying. This is an example of being insincere—neither willing nor obedient.
| For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. |
Note: I added one thing to child training after that. When I would instruct my young children to obey, I would say, “Remember to say, ‘Yes, Mommy, I will and then do it.’” I’d also follow up to be sure that the children had actually done what I asked of them.
Obedient but not willing.
Perhaps you’ve heard the story about the parents who told their child to sit down. When the child refused, the parents threatened and so the child sat down. When the parents expressed their pleasure at the child’s obedience, the child replied, “I may be sitting down on the outside but I’m standing up on the inside.” This child was obedient but not willing.
| In Matthew 19:16-22, Jesus also addressed a man who was obedient but not willing. This rich man was obediently keeping all the commandments (v. 20) but yet was not willing to obey the Lord’s specific instruction to him. This rich man was willing to obey the law but not willing to obey the Lord. Additionally, Jonah, by coercion, obeyed God although he was not willing. The Pharisees were obedient to the law but yet not willing or yielded to God’s will for their lives. |
Willing but not obedient.
Have you ever tried to lose weight? Perhaps you struggle with keeping your house in order. Or maybe you really want to stop yelling at your children.
You sincerely want to make changes in these areas—you are willing—but yet you reach for the chocolate bar when you know you shouldn’t, or you simply leave the laundry stacked up on the couch when you know you should put it away, or you continue to yell at your children because, you reason, they are getting on your nerves. You are willing to change, but you are not obedient (Matthew 26:41).
| Simon, who claimed to be someone great (Acts 8:9), was a believer who had a willingness to possess the authority of God but whose heart was not right before God. His willingness was not coupled with genuine obedience to the Lord inwardly but rather counterfeit obedience to the things of the Lord outwardly that would bring him personal gain and power. He was willing to receive and practice what appeared to be from the Lord, but he was not obedient to the Lord. |
will renew your mind about the process of spiritual growth
as you open the door of your life to Him
through your willingness and obedience.
By God’s grace, mercy, and love for you
may you grow up into Christ, your Head,
and by His power be
released to love.
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SERIES
Links and Navigation Help
- Create Margin
Purposefully develop an environment that fosters spiritual growth. - Hearken!
Cultivate discerning the meaning of His message to you. - Invite the Lord’s Chastening through Obedience
Obey—through your personal conduct—the seemingly little things God has set before you.- Distinguish Between Works and Obedience
A practical example - Love is Born of God
A Failing Marriage Testimony
- Distinguish Between Works and Obedience
- Believe and Abide, Part 1 of 3
Believe and Abide, Part 2 of 3
Believe and Abide, Part 3 of 3
Believe Him as you abide and be released to love. - Simply Surrender
Now that the flesh has no power over you, walk in the Light and simply surrender. - Worship and Pray Without Ceasing
God seeks you to worship in spirit and in truth moment by moment. - Be Content and Hope in Christ
Serve the Living God, in Whom you find your contentment. - Wisely Steward Your Liberty
You are free indeed! Praise the Lord!
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