With the Holy Spirit directing your life, you will experience a deeper relationship with God and you will grow in your ability to trust Him.

What does it mean to grow in your relationship with Jesus?

Growing in your relationship with Jesus means to know Him better, to love and obey Him more. “And this is the way to have eternal life-to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth” (John 17:3).

“Jesus replied: ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.’” (Matthew 22:37-38)

Your growing love for God will lead you to obey His commandments.

[Jesus speaking] “Those who obey my commandments are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them, and I will love them. And I will reveal myself to each one of them.” (John 14:21)

Just as it’s natural for a child to grow in a loving relationship with a parent, it is also natural for you to grow in your love relationship with God.

How can you grow in your relationship with Jesus?

Communication is vital to any relationship. Four aspects of communication will help you develop your relationship with Jesus.

i) God communicates with us through the Bible, revealing His character and His will.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

ii) We communicate with God through prayer, sharing our thoughts, our needs and our desire to do his will.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

“And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for.” (1 John 5:14-15)

These verses tell us we can pray about everything. When we pray according to God’s will, he hears us and answers us. Thanking God is also part of praying.

“No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

“And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:20)

iii) We communicate with Christians through fellowship, encouraging and building up one another.

“Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

It is important to spend time with other Christians to encourage each other to love and do good. The Greek word for fellowship, koinonia, means “sharing in common.” We need to share our Christian experience with others who love God, and likewise allow them to share with us. God appoints the church as a place for us to meet other Christians and learn about God. Bible studies and other meetings are also helpful.

iv) We communicate with others who don’t know God personally by sharing about our relationship with Jesus.

“There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them.” (Acts 4:12)

Suggestions for Further Growth

Set aside a time and place for daily personal Bible study and prayer. A good book to begin with is the New Testament Book of John (included in the next section). As you read, underline verses you find particularly meaningful. Pray and ask God to show you who He is and how you can respond to Him.

Study other passages, such as the ones in this lesson. Also read Psalms 1, 34, 103 and 145; Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 9:23-26; John 15:1-7; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; and Colossians 1:9-12.

This is the beginning of your Christian life and there is much more to discover than what’s covered in these four lessons. Take the initiative today to find a church in your neighbourhood, and make plans to attend regularly. For additional Christian materials, check out your local Christian bookstore (try looking under “books” in the Yellow Pages). Or call New life Resources at 1-800-667-0558.

Summary

As you rely on the Holy Spirit for power, read the Bible, pray, spend time with other believers and tell people about Jesus, God will produce His character in you and you will mature spiritually.

Keys to spiritual growth:

• Understanding your relationship with Jesus
• Experiencing God’s love and forgiveness
• Power for living a dynamic Christian life

Back to Spiritual Growth articles

Copyright © 2002 Campus Crusade for Christ.

It’s a heavy question, one that seems better suited to far more experienced hands than mine.  But how will we learn if we always look to someone else for the answers? Sometimes we need to face the hard questions on our own.

About a year and a half ago a friend of mine had a perfectly normal first pregnancy followed by a perfectly normal birth.  She held her beautiful baby girl, Kennedy, and started making phone calls to tell everyone that she was here.  Everything was perfect and then everything went horribly wrong.  Kennedy lived for 45 minutes.  There are probably medical reasons why but none of them are good enough.  God could have spared Kennedy and He didn’t.

Does God break people on purpose?

Whether you think of it as God causing suffering or God allowing suffering to happen, the fact remains that we live in a broken world and terrible, awful things happen to the people God loves.  One of the hardest things to deal with in times of tragedy is balancing the idea of a God who loves us so much He sacrificed His Son to save us, with the reality that not everyone gets healed on earth.

I know all of the correct answers “He uses our suffering for His glory”, “it’s so that others will come to know God”, “God has a bigger plan” or the truly  horrific  “they’re better off in Heaven”.  None of these answers are enough.  I think that God does work in our suffering, and He does use our suffering, but I don’t think that’s WHY we suffer.

We forget that the world is not the way it was supposed to be. When sin entered the world in the garden of Eden everything was broken, and that includes us as well.  I don’t think that suffering is tool created by God to do great things. I think it is an extension of sin, another branch of the evil that entered the world.  God doesn’t break people because he can use that.  People are broken because the days are evil and in the midst of the suffering that was not God’s original plan, He does work.

There are much grander minds than mine to delve into God’s motivations and the state of the world.  I have to stick to what I know.  I know God loves me.  He loves me in ways too great for me to understand.  I know He loves me because He said so and because He went so far out of His way to save me. He reaches down into every detail of my life.

God doesn’t need my suffering to make Himself great – he is already the greatest of them all, Lord of Lords and King of Kings.  He doesn’t need to borrow glitter from me.  He works in my suffering, He is with me when I suffer, but I do not believe He breaks people because it’s great marketing for Heaven.  Where is the mercy in that?

My niece Corrina is deaf.  God could have fixed that, He chose not too.  He did provide surgeons and the amazing science of cochlear implants to give Corrina the chance to learn to hear and speak and sing.  I am incredibly grateful for that, but Corrina is still deaf.  Every time she takes her processors off – for bed, in the bath, at the park where the static from the slides is too much for the delicate equipment – she is plunged back into her silent world.  She will always be deaf, always be different.

Did God break Corrina? I don’t think so. I believe that God knitted her together.  I believe that He knew, long before we did that she would be born this way and He gifted her with the tenacious spirit needed to endure the therapy. He gifted her parents with the strength and patience to walk with her.  It’s tempting to compare suffering, to say that one road is harder to walk than another.  That’s probably true, but no road of suffering is easy.  Mercifully, miraculously, God does walk each and every road with us.

Not at His hand, but in His arms

Some are healed, some are saved, some are lost and others are irretrievably broken.  I don’t think we break at the hands of God; I think we break in the arms of God. He is with us in our suffering, He counts our tears.  He gives us hope and some days He is the only way we can keep breathing.

British poet John Milton wrote a sonnet I have always loved called “On His Blindness”.  Towards the end he poem he writes:

God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.

God does not need to break me to make Himself better known or more glorious.  As the poet wrote “his state is kingly”.   Suffering is not a marketing plan or a cruel joke.  Suffering came in to the world on the back of sin.  Humans are fragile; we break.  But thank God Himself that He is there to put us back together.  Whether it’s in this life, or the next.

If you are suffering, you are not alone. Many years ago the music pastor at my church gave the sermon that has stayed with me more than any other.  He was speaking about worship and praise and all of the things that it does, and then he said this: “If you are heart broken today, if you cannot sing, don’t stay home.  Come to church and just sit quietly.  Let me sing for you.” If that’s where you are today I invite you to talk to one of our email mentors.  Let us sing for you.  Whether you have a prayer request to share, need someone to listen or are looking for resources to help, whatever your situation we would love to help.  You can use this form to contact a mentor.  All mentoring emails are confidential and there is never a fee.

“For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” (Psalm 22:24, NIV)

Are you facing an unfamiliar future? Try our interactive Life Lesson: Understanding Pain.  You will be matched with a study coach who will respond to your answers and offer additional resources.

Upcoming online chats: Join us for daily online chats! One of our features will be “Do you worry about losing your home?” on March 15 at 12:15 pm EST. Please join us to discuss how to stop worrying!

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer.
Praying is simply talking to God.

God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart.

Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.  Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life.

As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

“I have been crucified with Christ: and I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the real life I now have within this body is a result of my trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”(Galatians 2:20)

After many years of working with thousands of Christians, I am convinced that a person cannot enjoy the supernatural life – which is a believer’s heritage in Christ – apart from the proper balance between Bible study, prayer and sharing Christ with others out of the overflow of an obedient, Spirit-filled life.

We need to be able not only to experience this great adventure with Christ ourselves, but also to share this good news with others.

A word of caution and reminder is in order at this point. We become spiritual and experience power from God and become fruitful in our witness as a result of faith and faith alone.

The Bible clearly teaches that “the just shall live by faith” Romans 1:17. However, it is equally important to know that good works are the result of faith – “trusting in the Son of God” – and unless there are “good works” there is not faith, for “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).

Many Christians are confused on this point. They think of works (Bible study, prayer and other spiritual disciplines) as the meansto, rather than the resultsof, the life of faith. They spend much time in these activities, seeking God’s favor and blessing.

They may even attempt to witness for Christ and to obey the various commands of God, thinking that by these means they will achieve supernatural living. But they remain defeated, frustrated, powerless and fruitless.

As you are filled with the Holy Spirit – “Christ living in me” – and walk in His power by faith, the Bible becomes alive, prayer becomes vital, your witness becomes effective and obedience becomes a joy.

Question: How can people tell by your daily life that Christ lives in you?

About the Author: Dr.Bill Bright

God’s word by its very nature changes us to make us like Christ: “God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey” (Hebrews 4). If you read what God has written, think about it, pray through it, but don’t allow it to change you, you’re missing a big point.

James puts it this way: “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God – the free life! – even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.” (James 1)

Imagine going on a dream date – the right person, the right clothes, the right food, the right conversation… perfect! You excuse yourself from the table, take a look at the mirror in the restroom, and… uh-oh, not so perfect. “Aaah! How long has that been there in my teeth? Did my date notice? How could someone not notice?” Then having seen yourself clearly, you walk back out and sit down at the table, with a piece of your dinner adorning your teeth in all its glory.

The same kind of thing happens when you read the Bible and do nothing. Not only is the sin that you leave in place ugly and damaging, but it stands in the way of your relationship with God – in a much bigger way than something hanging off your face. For God to share his mind and his heart with you, only to have you do nothing about it, implies more than a self-destructive choice. Instead of doing what God says, you have chosen yourself as master, as God.

The great part is that God doesn’t leave you alone. He doesn’t show you how lost you are and then leave you high and dry. God helps you live the way he wants. Like Paul told the Philippians, “Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure” (Philippians 2).

The amazing thing about reading the Bible is that as you spend time with God, this reading becomes part of you. Like the way relationships with other humans change us and shape our lives, our relationship with God changes us on a much larger scale. In lectio divina, reading, thinking and praying come together within us, become part of us, and we are lived out even beyond our awareness – like the way a baseball player swings a bat or catches a ball or the way a violinist performs a concerto. Over time, soaking in God’s word leads to our living out those words without even thinking about them.

This offers a tremendous sense of freedom – from our futile and determined attempts to save ourselves by being “good enough,” from the captivity of sin that makes us slaves. In Matthew 11, Jesus says, “Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

The Bible and its message help you leave behind things that seem to offer pleasure (like living for ourselves) but fail and leave us empty. God’s Word does more than that. You’ll find true life. Jesus says in John, “I came so that they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (John 10). Jesus himself is life (John 14). So don’t miss this: When you live the Word, you truly live.

back to page 1 >> Conversing with God through the Bible >> 1.2.3.4.5

Text taken from the Introduction to THE MESSAGE REMIX: The Bible in Contemporary Language.  Copyright 2003 by Eugene Peterson.  All rights reserved.  Used with permission of NavPress, a division of The Navigators.

Did God reveal something new about who he is? Did he reveal something about who you are in his eyes? Is he asking you to think about someone in a different light? Talk to God about it. Ask God to show you more about what you’ve just read: “Help me to understand these things inside and outs so I can ponder your miracle-wonders” (Psalm 119). Don’t just read through the Bible and breeze through the prayer part. Go beyond the usual “thanks for this or that, help me to be a better person” routine. Have a conversation with God. He wants to do that with you.

These conversational prayers that flow out of what you read may be less about you and more about God. Your focus may shift away from yourself and toward your creator.

Don’t be afraid to pray about a passage more than once — in fact, that’s a good thing. You may want to pray with a different focus at different times – talking to God about what you’re learning, thanking him for the truth in the passage, asking God questions, asking him to show you how to make the words real in your life, asking forgiveness for what you see in yourself after reading, just listening… there are a lot of ways to go about prayer.

As you continue on in this process, trying it several times, you may be thinking, “Praying over the same part of Scripture seems pretty redundant. I’m doing the same thing over and over and over again” – and you’d be right. The point of all this is not to be doing something new at each step. The point is to focus more intentionally on God and what he’s communicating to you through this process.

Think about it this way: If you have a friend who constantly asks you for things but never really wants to listen to you, how deep will your relationship go? Sometimes we forget that God has a personality and want to engage us at a deeper level. Let prayer be a time that you can come to savour and look forward to. Allow this to be a time in which God speaks to you and you actively seek him. An audible voice may not come booming out of the clouds, but many things will be revealed to you through this process – about God, about reality, and about you.

page 5 >> Living It Out >> 1.2.3.4.5

It might surprise you to learn that the tradition of fasting has very little to do with food

In his article, “Fasting: Is it Healthy?” Darren Hewer explores many aspects of fasting from its health benefits to potential pit falls.   Throughout history people have fasted, for a variety of reasons.  Some fast an act of worship, others do it to create time for prayer and contemplation.  As with all changes to your diet, if you are considering a fast, be sure to talk to your doctor first.

Fasting is often associated with the season of Lent which began a couple of weeks ago.  Some time ago I found a blog post about fasting written by a Catholic Nun.  While I am not Catholic myself, I found her perspective both insight and refreshing.

Sister Julie writes:
Eventually I learned more about fasting in a variety of religious traditions as well as an overall aesthetical practice, a spiritual discipline. I realized that fasting is not about denial but about freedom … freeing ourselves from the things that bind us and keep us from right relationship with ourselves, with others, with creation and with our God. Fasting from food is one form of fasting.

We eat simply (if at all) and only what is necessary. This has a profound effect on the body and frankly feels very good. It also lends itself to a clearness of mind. Just as our body and mind are affected, so also is our spirit. Our fasting from food is a way of simplifying, getting down to basics, clearing oneself to be in a place of openness, receptivity. It gives us a chance to take stock of where we are in our life and what we need to do to continue to grow in life and love. (from anunslife.org)

Sounds lovely doesn’t it? I know that Lent has already started, but there’s still time to put some of that space and freedom to work in your life.  Have you ever participated in a fast? If so, I’d love to hear what you learned from it.

Are you struggling with anxiety? Facing loss and disappointment?

It’s a yoyo night. Up and down. Anxiety swallows my sleep. Hot milk, television, pacing. Where is Jesus? Back in bed I clench my eyelids shut, willing my mind to silence. Picturing my problem in my hand I ‘throw’ it out of bed. No good, my problem comes back glued to my hand, screaming, “Worry!”

Accusing voices begin. The enemy says, “You’ve failed, that child will never be whole.” I command Satan and demon powers to be silent in Jesus name only to hear the voice of self, blaming, “It’s your fault. You’re a lousy mother. There’s no remedy.”

Insomnia. What keeps your stomach churning, your eyes staring into midnight blackness? Is your teenager living on the streets? Is the stack of bills higher than the stack of money? Are you terrified over a cancer diagnosis? Is divorce the only solution to the fighting and heartache you live with daily?

Whatever the problem, we’ve got to find a way to leave anxiety with Jesus and go to sleep. The choice? Toss and turn or get up and pray. Giving Jesus the problem is the only way to peace and rest. When sleep eludes and distress overwhelms, these prayer methods work. Climb out of bed and apply these truths, they’ll help you too.

Midnight Methods to Defeat Worry

1.    Worship Jesus whether you feel like praising or not. Sing along with a praise tape. Watch worship videos on television. Meditate – think about – Jesus’ names. What do those names mean to you? For instance, Psalm 18:2: how is Jesus your ‘rock,’ your ‘fortress,’ or your ‘deliverer’? Praise him for the ways he’s rescued you in the past. Praise looks past circumstances and sees God. “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2, NIV)

2.    Can’t speak prayers? Write them. Writing helps us focus. Write the problem and your feelings then ‘give’ it to Jesus by placing it near his picture or burning it as an offering. Thank him. He hears you and will answer. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14 -15, NIV)

3.    Write down positive traits of the problem person. Thank God for their strengths and past answers to prayer. Praising positives refocuses your trust in God. “He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us….” (2 Corinthians 1:10-11, NIV).

4.    Quote encouraging scripture. If you’ve journaled scripture promises speak them to God claiming them as yours. “You said, Lord, ‘He sent forth His word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave’ ” (Psalm 107:20, NIV). You don’t have a promise journal? Begin one tonight.

Worship, journal or pray and then go to bed. Faith trusts God’s character and his Word. As Pastor Ron Mehl says, “God works the night shift.”

Questions: What are some of the things that keep you awake at night? What has helped you when you are kept awake at night with troubled thoughts?

About the Author Petey Prater (La Von)

Lent is the period of the year leading up to Easter, starting on Ash Wednesday and concluding on Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter). Usual Lent activities include fasting (sometimes from a particular food or type of food, like meat or sweets) and an increased focus on prayer. (If you would like help praying or would like someone to keep you accountable to pray during Lent, contact us to be matched with a mentor!)

This year I took a bit of a different approach to Lent: I gave up playing video games. To some that may sound frivolous, but this gives me an extra half an hour to an hour per day that I can spend reading my Bible and other books, as well as being in prayer. If you’re looking for some different ways you can spend Lent this year, check out our article Reclaim Lent: Find Some Breathing Room!

Are you participating in Lent this year, either by giving something up or in some other way? Let us know how in the comments!