LET YOUR ROOTS GROW DOWN INTO HIM, and let your LIVES BE BUILT ON HIM. THEN YOUR FAITH WILL GROW STRONG IN THE TRUTH YOU WERE TAUGHT, AND you will overflow with thankfulness."
Colossians 2:7 (NLT)
• Strive to grow deeper in God.
a. Give time to reading, studying of the Word of God, and the practice of it:
22 BUT BE DOERS OF THE WORD, AND NOT HEARERS ONLY, deceiving yourselves. 25 BUT he [she] who looks into THE PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY and continues in IT, AND IS NOT A FORGETFUL HEARER BUT A DOER OF THE WORK, this one will be BLESSED IN WHAT HE [she] DOES" (James 1:22,25 NKJV).
READ: Joshua 1:8
SPIRITUAL nourishment and strength are gotten through the knowledge of the Word of God and application of it.
b. Fast and pray regularly. Remember, the knowledge of the Word of God gives you direction on how to pray aright. A result oriented prayer is prayed with the understanding of the Word of God.
GOD promises to answer whatever is asked in line with His Word (John 15:7).
THE light which you have received through the knowledge of the Word of God enhances your prayer Life (Ephesians 1:17,18).
c. Give your substance, money, to honour God:
9 HONOUR THE LORD WITH YOUR POSSESSIONS, AND WITH THE FIRST-FRUITS OF ALL YOUR INCREASE; 10 SO your barns will be filled with plenty, AND your vats will overflow with NEW WINE" (Proverbs 3:9,10 NKJV).
REMEMBER God did give you whatever you had. Thus He may ask you to give what you have in your hands, in order to release whatever He has for you (Genesis 22:1,2,16-18; 1 Kings 17:10-16).
d. Be submissive and obedient to God. Let God have His Way in your life. Be patient with Him, and be ready to endure to do His Will—whatever He might want you to do.
• A tree that the roots do not grow down into the soil cannot flourish and can easily be destroyed by the prevailing wind.
- If your roots did not grow down into God, as a Believer, through the studying of the Word of God and practicing of it, plus prayers; you may be retarded in your growth and eventually be shriveled and withered. You will not wither in Jesus' name!
• Admonishments:
I. Plan your spiritual Growth and the development as you do Plan for the growth and development in other areas of your life.
II. Plan for growth in the study of the Word of God, the Bible. Move up in the number of chapters you read per day as you make progress in your Christian journey.
III. Plan your prayer life, the number of hours you spent with God daily. I personally do my praying in the night-time, it could be 3 hours or thereabouts. It depends on the time I wake up.
SOMEONE suggested that you pay the tithe of your day. That is, you have 24 hours in a day, the one tenth of it would be 2 hours 40 minutes. You invest 2 hours 40 minutes of your day in GOD.
IN other words, you stay with God daily to converse and fellowship with Him, for that amount of hours per day.
- How to go by it: You can use your night-time in meeting with God for prayer and fellowship. A Believer needed to discipline himself or herself in sleeping, you do not have to sleep all night, let your night-time be part of your day.
YOU can also rise early to have a time of prayer and fellowship with God before you go out for the day. In Jesus' earthly Ministry, He was an early riser:
"NOW IN THE MORNING, HAVING RISEN A LONG WHILE BEFORE DAYLIGHT, HE [Jesus] went out and departed to a [deserted] SOLITARY PLACE; AND THERE HE PRAYED" (Mark 1:35 NKJV).
YOU plan how to meet with God for prayer and fellowshipping daily, the time that would be proper for you, based on your work schedule.
IV. Plan for your Growth and the development of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22,23).
- Fruits of the spirit are grown through the challenges of Life:
16 THEREFORE we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 FOR OUR LIGHT AFFLICTION, which is but for A MOMENT, IS WORKING FOR US A FAR MORE EXCEEDING AND ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY" (2 Corinthians 4:16,17 NKJV)
READ: Romans 5:3,4; - The challenges and problems God has permitted to come your way are meant to grow the fruit in you.
JAMES says, the testing of faith produces patience [endurance or perseverance]. BUT you allow the patience or perseverance to have its perfect work, THAT YOU MAY BE PERFECT OR MATURE AND COMPLETE, LACKING NOTHING (James 1:3,4). - Trying of faith produces patience or perseverance or endurance, and other fruits of the spirit in your life.
- You, however, should allow those fruits to have their perfect work, that you may be mature or perfect. In other words, you allow the fruits to grow through the tribulations and challenges of life that come your way—that you may have the approved character.
APPROVED character would be a mirage without trials and tribulations:
3 AND not only that, BUT we also glory in TRIBULATIONS, KNOWING THAT TRIBULATION PRODUCES PERSEVERANCE [endurance];
4 AND PERSEVERANCE, [approved] CHARACTER; and CHARACTER, HOPE" (Romans 5:3,4). - If you are dodging trials and tribulations, you are indirectly dodging or evading your spiritual Growth and development.
V. Plan for your growth in financial Commitments in the Kingdom—Giving.
WITHOUT planning and determination, you may not make any serious progress in it.
- It takes determination to lay down or GIVE for Kingdom purposes. You need to ask for grace to lay down, grace to Give, (Acts 4:34,35).
MAKE the determination to be committed and faithful as God begins to chanel His resources through you. - Increase of money and other material things comes with greed. THE more the money and other material Blessings you get, the more the temptation to hoard it and not Give for the intended purpose of God—the reasons why God has given you the Blessing or Money:
16 THEN He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 AND he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 SO he said, ‘I will do this: I WILL PULL DOWN MY BARNS AND BUILD GREATER, AND THERE I WILL STORE ALL MY CROPS AND MY GOODS. 19 AND I WILL SAY TO MY SOUL, “SOUL, YOU HAVE MANY GOODS LAID UP FOR MANY YEARS; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 BUT GOD SAID TO HIM, ‘FOOL! THIS NIGHT YOUR SOUL WILL BE REQUIRED OF YOU; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “SO IS HE WHO LAYS UP TREASURE FOR HIMSELF, AND IS NOT RICH TOWARDS GOD" (Luke 12:16-21 NKJV).
• If you pay attention to the points we have shared in this piece, you will not be barren nor unfruitful in your Christian life (2 Peter 1:8).
• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
Peace.