11 hours ago, Ballboy23 said:

 

The most impressive run of any level/event. This guy might be the best of all-time. 

15 hours ago, cotton84 said:

Soph gives up his only hit with 2 outs in the 7th…….Surratt might try to talk him into baseball only. ?

He was one of the best receivers last season. I hope he plays football.

How to Grow Spiritually

 

The past few weeks we’ve looked at what the House of God is. We’ve looked at how we can become better workers for the Lord. We’ve looked at how to become more complete disciples for Christ. Last week we looked at how to remain faithful to Christ. Today we are going to continue lessons in that light by looking at how to grow spiritually. 

 

Spiritual growth is very important if we are to be true disciples of Christ. We can see how important it is from several passages of scripture.

Ephesians 4: 15 - 16

 

Spiritual growth is not something that just happens. It is not something that someone else can do for you. Spiritual growth comes from God. 

I Corinthians 3: 6 - 7

 

While God provides the growth, we have to put some effort into it as well.

I Peter 2: 1 - 3

 

 It’s the same as our physical growth. God provides that as well, but we have things to do too. We all know that in order to grow physically and be healthy that we must have the proper diet. We have to eat and we have to exercise. 

The same holds true for spiritual growth. God isn’t going to reach down and force us to grow. We have to make an effort. We must use the foundation provided to us by Him. 

Ephesians 2: 19 - 22

 

We do this by continually studying the Word of God. This helps us gain knowledge of our Savior and brings glory to Him. 

II Peter 3: 18

 

When we study the Word, we grow. We are approved and can be unashamed in what we do and teach. We grow in our ability to handle the Word correctly. This means that we can teach it more fully in a way that can be easily understood. 

II Timothy 2: 15

 

This is not something that can be done only once or twice a week. If we are to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God, we must study His Word on a daily basis. When we do this, we’ll find some other actions on our part that will help us grow spiritually. Let’s look at some of those. 

 

First, we must live and work to reach others. We should do this as if we knew that the world may come to an end at any second. We should do this with a feeling of urgency, placing a high priority upon it, because Judgment Day could come at any time. 

II Peter 3: 1 - 12

 

Next, we should learn to be enthusiastic about the congregation and the services. We shouldn’t be discouraged by small numbers. Instead, we should be as enthused with our numbers as we would be if there were an overflowing crowd here every Lord’s Day. Our worship should be zealous and we should always be enthusiastic about praising and honoring God. 

Romans 12: 11

 

No matter how small or how large the gathering, we should always be enthusiastic about coming together to worship God. 

Psalm 122: 1

 

Next, we should count our blessings. We should make a list of the things that we are thankful to God for, and thank Him for them one by one as we pray privately at home. This will help us see the gratitude that we should feel towards God. 

Philippians 4: 6

 

This will also help us to realize our total dependence upon God for all that we have. 

Acts 17: 24 - 25

Acts 17: 28

 

Without Him, we are nothing. 

John 15: 5

 

We should also make and maintain a list of our faults. Along with this, we should pray for forgiveness and for help to overcome them as we truly strive to overcome them. This will help us to see that we are really not as good as we think we are. It will also help us see how much we really do need Christ as our Savior. It will also help us to better sympathize with the faults of others. 

James 5: 16

 

Keeping our own faults in mind will allow us to be better able to help restore others who have stumbled. 

Galatians 6: 1

 

Something else that can help us grow is to keep a set quiet time. If we set aside 30 minutes every day to spend with God in prayer, Bible study, or singing, we will grow. This is because we are studying more than twice a week. We allow it to become an everyday aspect of our lives. If we really love someone, we want to spend a lot of time with them. The same works with God. If we really love God, we’ll want to spend a lot of time with Him. 

Psalm 112: 1 

I Thessalonians 5: 17 

Luke 18: 1

 

The first century Christians set aside an hour a day for this. 

Acts 3: 1

 

Another way that we can grow spiritually is to visit someone for Christ each week. We can visit sick brethren. We can visit the hospital or nursing home. We can visit with brethren who have become weak and need encouragement. We can even visit with someone who is in need of obeying the Gospel. 

 

Finally, we can grow spiritually by trying to reach other people. We could hold a Bible class in our home once a month and invite friends, relatives, and neighbors to attend.  Christians are the only good things on the Earth in the eyes of God. We need to be seen. 

Matthew 5: 13 - 15

 

Doing so could help bring lost souls to Christ. It could even help bring those who have fallen away back into the fold. 

James 5: 19 - 20

 

Conversely, doing this may not bring a single lost soul to Christ. It may not turn a single person who has fallen away back to Christ. We won’t know if we don’t try.  It will, however, do wonders for us, and aid greatly in our spiritual growth. 

Daniel 12: 3

 

Growing spiritually is extremely important for us in our service to God as disciples of Christ. It’s so important that those who did not grow were rebuked and admonished to get with the program. 

Hebrews 5: 12 - 14

 

Doing some or all of these things we have looked at today will bring about the spiritual growth that God expects from His children. 

 

Job 11

By: Jim Crews

 

Job 11: 1 - 6

Zophar now answers Job. He’s tired of hearing Job proclaim innocence. He says Job is guilty and God is not exacting nearly the penalty that Job has earned. Zophar wishes God would show Job just how depraved that he really was. Again, Zophar isn’t inspired, but speaks only from his limited human understanding, which isn’t understanding at all. However, like all uninspired men, he believes everything he’s saying. 

 

Job 11: 7 - 12

Zophar asks Job if he is able to know anything of God. Is he able to find God’s limits? He answers his own question by saying that no-one can really understand God’s greatness. He then makes a joke about men trying to understand God. 

 

Job 11: 13 - 20

Still assuming Job is guilty of some great sin, Zophar tells him to pray and to repent. By doing this, Zophar says, God will once again bless Job. All of Zophar’s advice comes from the same falsehood that prosperity preachers peddle. He believes that God is going to bless those who serve Him with earthly wealth, fame, and other blessings.