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Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24.
Years ago I spent a couple of summers working in a French fry factory. Trucks would dump their loads into a giant bin and then the conveyor belts would take over. The potato skins were removed using an acid bath, and then the potatoes were washed. Human sorters removed rotten potatoes and cut off all the portions of the potatoes that appeared to be unusable. Some of the potatoes were shunted off to be used as “petite potatoes,” but the bulk of the potatoes were sent off to be cut into French fries of different sizes and shapes. Then they were frozen and packaged for distribution under 30 or more different brand names.
The Christian process of growth is not so easily described as is the manufacturing process for French fries. To begin with, we have our individual differences. We may be more open to the work of the Spirit at different times and stages in our lives. We may become blocked in our development due to our ways of thinking about our relationship with God. Yet the human longing is there to advance in the Christian growth process.
An individual’s spiritual growth relies on two things–our attitudes and the work of the Spirit. Much of Paul’s advice targeted our attitudes. If we are dour and moping around, we make it harder for the Spirit to work in our lives. If we give God second, third, or fourteenth place in our lives, we find it difficult to hold on to the good and avoid the evil. If we fail to give thanks in our various circumstances, we quench the fire of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But if we open our lives to the Sprit, we grow in our spiritual walk with God. A wellspring of peace and joy fills our spirit, soul, and body.
 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. . . .”
Prayer: O God, You call us to Yourself, and we seek Your presence in our lives. We see You at work in and around us, and give You the glory. With thankful hearts, we pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Doug Carr
Senior Pastor
Calvary Baptist Church
Cheyenne, WY |
-Read past thoughts-
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