Category: Key Growth Posts

relationships, couple

How Can I Improve My Relationship? Part 2 of 4

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Today we continue with our big question, how can I improve my relationship? In the previous post we looked at the importance of knowing each other’s weaknesses and prayer. KEY FOUR: Remember your role as an influencer You have heard it said “You can’t change people.” Hopefully, people who say that mean that you can’t make people change, but many people don’t understand it this way. Many people think they can’t be a channel of change for someone else, or they use that idea as an excuse not to even try because it seems like hard work. But of course we can change people in the sense that we can influence people. In fact, scripture repeatedly asks us to influence people! We are to express kindness to them even if they are an enemy (an “enemy” for the moment?), hoping that they will be affected and follow the Lord. Scripture also Continue Reading →

relationships, couple

How Can I Improve My Relationship? Part 1 of 4

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Many of us have at least one challenging relationship in our life. It hurts and we find ourselves asking, How can I improve my relationship? Most of what Jesus taught is connected to relationships. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love others. This is the foundation and end of spiritual growth. Relationships are the most important element of Christianity! This means we should learn to master relationships and how to love people. Thus, relationship difficulties are our biggest testing ground and our biggest growth opportunity. We will look at 12 keys to dealing with the difficulties we have in relationships. KEY ONE: Know your weaknesses. We all have relationship weaknesses. If we can be honest about them we will be able to take them into account when confronting a relationship difficulty. Be aware of your patterns and how they affect people. Be Continue Reading →

stages of growth

What Spiritual Life Stage Are You In?

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In the last post we looked at the benefits of understanding stages of spiritual growth as well as two repeating patterns of growth. In this post we look at two popular models of progressive growth. The second one is an expansion of the first. These models are non-repeating models of growth. This means they cover the entire lifetime of a believer and do not repeat; they will help you identify your spiritual life stage. These models are part of spiritual theology, or the theology of maturity. They are based on what the writers saw in Scripture and in their experience so they are attempts to do biblical spiritual theology. As you read through this it will help to ask yourself how it applies to your life. What spiritual life stage do you most identify with? Do you see a flow to your spiritual growth that is reflected in one of these models? Continue Reading →

fivefold way stages of growth

What Stages Of Growth Are You Going Through?

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Many have found it very helpful to understand the different stages of growth that Christians go through. Here are some of the reasons we might find it helpful to recognize stages of growth: Stages of growth can be grouped into three categories: non-cyclical, cyclical, and felt. This post looks mostly at cyclical stages; sequences of stages that repeat during our lives. Below are two different models of cyclical stages. CROSS AND RESURRECTION This is the most basic and biblical model of stages of growth. We follow the same pattern that Jesus did in his life and in his death. This two-fold process is mentioned many times in scripture. 1.Cross. The old self is crucified. 2.Resurrection. The new self dominates more. We can see that it is biblical, for example: Cross=“putting off” (Eph 4:22), Resurrection=“putting on” (Eph 4:24). Also, in Philippians 3:10 Paul desires: … that I may know him and the power Continue Reading →

heaven

Focusing On Your Eternal Destiny

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In the book of Genesis we hear of the tragic beginning of humans. How they lost their union with their Creator and lost harmonious community with fellow humans. But in the New Testament we hear a happy ending. All our prayers, and suffering, and trusting, and sacrifice finally bring us to our eternal destiny. God wins over sin and evil. After death He will give us new bodies and new souls that can receive all He has for us. And his followers will enjoy living with Him forever. This is a key foundation of spiritual theology and spiritual formation. In Revelation we learn that God restores all that was lost in the fall. The Bible begins with a Garden of Paradise that humans must leave because of their sin. But in the end, God cleanses our sin completely and permanently, and restores us to a paradise in a Garden that Continue Reading →