Suggestions For Spiritual Maturity

Those who have served well . . . obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
–1 Timothy 3:13

How do you keep from becoming spiritually sluggish? Let’s look at a few more practical suggestions for how you can move from spiritual immaturity to maturity.

First, find a place of spiritual service. If all you do is just sit and soak in the truth of God’s Word, then you eventually sour on the Word of God. You need to be giving out what you are taking in to increase your spiritual appetite. Find a place to minister in the church. There are many different ways you can volunteer in the church according to your interests. You can serve in Sunday school or with children or in the media or in the choir or as a parking lot greeter. When you are on the front line of ministry interacting with people, it will make you want to know more about God’s Word so you will know what to share. In 1 Timothy 3:13, Paul said, “Those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith.” When you are involved in serving in the church and see God working in miraculous ways in people’s lives, it gives you confidence that all this stuff is really true. And that is not just true for deacons. Anyone who serves in ministry is exposed to the power of God’s work.

Next, obey what you know to be true. If you really want to grow into spiritual maturity, it is time to start doing what you know you should be doing. Let me ask you a question: If God were to sit down with you over a cup of coffee and say to you, “I love you so much. But there is one thing in your life you need to start doing,” would you know what that one thing is? If God were to say, “There is one thing you need to stop doing,” would you know what that thing is? It is amazing how quickly most of us know what needs to change in our lives. Maybe it is the need to forgive somebody. Maybe it is the need to stop a relationship you know is wrong. Maybe it is the need to start giving to God’s work. Most of us know what that one thing is. Don’t wait. You can do that one thing now. There is an old saying: “Light obeyed brings more light, but light rejected brings the night.” God gives further guidance to those who will obey what they know to be true.

Finally, make spiritual growth a priority in your life. Our schedules fill up quickly with a number of things. If you do not do the important things first, then you will not be able to do them later. You have to determine what the priorities of your life are and put those on your calendar first. Do not let anything else fill up those times, because if you do, those blocks of time will be filled with things that should not be a priority in your life. For every Christian, the biggest priority of all is growing in our faith in Jesus Christ by spending time with God. It is our most important relationship–the one that transcends our death. Find that time to spend with God. What happens when we do not make spiritual growth a priority? Nobody remains still, plateaued. When it comes to your spiritual life, either you are moving forward, or you will start moving backward.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “From Here To Maturity” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2018.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.