Main Nugget
Who we are and what we are isn’t the most important thing about us. Our worship should be about Who redeemed us, not us.
Making the Connections to Forming Our Habits to Grow Our Maturity
- From the get-go, a response is required. Our first response is to accept the gift of salvation. After we have gained salvation, our response is to serve God and others.
- We have no access to God when our sinful natures reign in our lives. We will not act differently toward Him until we submit our lives to Him. God doesn’t want us to be ruled by two masters.
- We only gain access to God after we have sincerely repented. God can’t let us into His throne room until we are set to leave our sins behind.
- We are to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him (Lk. 9: 23). That makes it seem like an obligation. Not really. It begins with a choice. Are we going to ask Jesus to be our Savior and Redeemer or not? The choice is totally up to us.
- Following God means we will have to be rebuilt. Our temples/bodies have been corrupted by sin. The weight of the flesh makes us weary. We were created to be something different than we are now. That creates a conflict within us that weighs on us.
- We think we work for God to get kudos and to gain skills and knowledge. We see ourselves being elevated. No, God uses us to show it is not us. God wants our hearts changed to get to the point we can entirely commit to Him. We must submit everything to God so that our character will be changed to imitate His.
- Obedience — and therefore, commitment — has to begin with humility. That is a hallmark of our Christian faith.
- God wants us to carefully consider what He is teaching us as we navigate the Sanctification Road. We have to consider that about which we are making a decision. We need to commit to God to trust in Him even when we can’t figure everything out. We have to choose to commit to God regardless of the situation in which we find ourselves. We have to choose to depend on God in the easy times and the hard times.
- Commitment must contain obedience. If it doesn’t, it isn’t true commitment. We can’t begrudgingly commit. This has to be an all-in/ecstatic-about-our-decision commitment. Committing to God becomes our way of life, regardless of our emotional state. We want to be committed to the end, so we don’t grow weary and give up on God or godliness. We have to be faithfully, diligently navigating the Sanctification Road at the end. “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt. 24: 13 ESV).
- Losing our commitment to our purpose — growing weary in doing good — allows Satan to tempt us into disobedience.
- Things aren’t always just going to fall into place because it is God’s Will. Oh, we’ll see and feel the clicks when they do. But there could be some testing there, too. God could be checking on our commitment. If we are only committed during the good times when we get the great rewards, we really aren’t committed to Him.
- If we are doing God’s Will as He asks us to do, we are not failing. We may not be succeeding by a worldview definition, but we are succeeding at doing His Will. The good is doing God’s Will.
- We don’t have to be some wonderful, strong disciple. We just have to be obedient to God’s Will.
- Meditation is more the contemplation of all God is telling us — through the Holy Spirit, His Word, others — however He is talking to us. We have to think about how we believe and apply what He is telling us.
- How we handle our afflictions and adversities is one of our best witnesses. This is us showing what it means to cast our cares on God and reveals the benefits of so doing. We show others what it looks like to daily life rely on God.
- God’s care has no element of agitation or distress. He has it all under control.
- The best thing is that God knows exactly what we are going through and feeling and how it is going to affect us.
- Well doing has nothing to do with our feelings. Our hearts are delusional. That delusion is fostered by the sin in them. We have to choose to rely on God’s Word and His promises.
- When we are God’s children, Satan is going to hound us if we are obedient. He is going to do everything in his power to get us to turn from God.
- Our fears can only go away when we consistently focus on God. We do that through faith.
- Our sincerity of faith is proportional with our belief in God. That belief is necessary to realize obedience to God’s laws. Perfection/maturity is the end result for which we are shooting.
- Faith starts our change to become more like Christ. It launches us on the Sanctification Road.
- As we strive to be consistent in our spiritual growth, it is necessary for us to be committed to spiritual disciplines that help us to grow. As we strive to be consistent in our spiritual disciplines, we need to be careful that we do not develop a mindset that causes us to regard our performance of these disciplines as something we check off on our list of things to do.
- The goodness that results from our relationship with God is built on and by our conviction that the doctrines revealed in God’s Word are true. We can only have the goodness after we have established the belief in God. We can only determine this belief by our thoughts, intellect, will, and affections that produces our character.
- The two are linked together — doctrine and practice. If we do the practice without the foundation, there is no stability. And, boy, does that lead to weariness!
- Our actions are not necessarily representative of our character. Our words may not mirror our hearts and thoughts. We can’t just go on our own thoughts and feelings. We can’t even rely solely on our belief system. Those are transitory at best and delusional at worst. Instead, God wants our character to change to be like His.
- Body, soul, and spirit are all connected. The soul bone and the spirit bone are connected to the body bone. Total submission to God can’t happen without all three.
- True spiritual worship is rewarding true submission.
- Worship isn’t just singing. It isn’t just reading God’s Word and praying. It is putting what we have learned through the Holy Spirit into practice to show the changes He has made in our lives.
- Our worship, motivation, and obedience must get to the heart level. It is based on faith. We are to want to follow God through the good times and the bad (Spiritual Desires after God).
- We must be holy as God is to worship Him. The only way we can be good — be holy — is through believing in Jesus. We are totally unworthy to even go near God unless we have asked Jesus to be our Savior and Redeemer.
- Our worship of God has to bubble out of our love for Him.
- We can and do fake sincerity in private worship. But when we get to that point, don’t we usually stop worshiping?
- One of the biggest rewards we get is that we get to be ministers of the gospel. We get to tell others the good news.
- Each of us has a way in which we are to serve Him. Our service is to be for others. We are to grow our relationships with God (and that takes work, too!), but we must share His good news with others.
- When we ABCD, that means we become disciples. That means the them in Mark 16: 15 includes us. Yes, that means the Elaine-types are to preach the gospel as well as the Pastor Steve-types. That means every Tom, Sally, and Elaine. Yes, that means you!
- True, when we choose Jesus, we do have to become like Him. But it is still a choice, one we must choose daily.
- We have to make sure we imitate Jesus when we turn the boldness to the on position. We aren’t doing this on our own. We can only be bold because we are depending on Jesus, Who is depending on God.
- We don’t become God. We become like God, just as a shadow is like the person but really isn’t the person. Take that a step further. The shadow does everything the person does, just as we are to do what God does. It breaks down on the flip side, though. The shadow doesn’t do anything the person doesn’t do. We, however, do things that God doesn’t — we sin.
- We can only be truly happy when we are a child of God’s. This happiness is based on God’s love for us. God pours out His love on us.
- So many times, we say God doesn’t love us because we only see it tied to events, circumstances, and time. Our perception is faulty, not His love. God showers His love upon us to give us life — including eternal life.
- God lets us reason things out — to get around to accepting doing things His way. Only His way is the approved way.
- We usually think about God’s concern for our condition. But we also have to totally embrace God and how He is calling us to live and worship.
Glossary
How Do We Apply What We Learned This Year?
- Have made a sincere profession of faith, shown by a genuine desire and intentional submission to God’s plan for our lives.
- Don’t idolize our bodies, instead glorify God.
- See ourselves as the pure disciple that God sees – even when we know we aren’t.
- Put our thoughts and desires into action by obeying God’s commandments.
- Read God’s Word, take His commandments to heart, and obey.
- Follow the progression: believe, love, obey.
- Truly desire to imitating Jesus by doing whatever God asks, regardless of the consequences.
- Be committed to the end to persevere, endure, and be diligent.
- Commit to both meditate and pray.
- Commit to meditating so that we know what we believe before we come before God to glorify Him.
- Focus on God do our utmost to perform all He requires of us.
- Trust God enough to give up control – to accept we aren’t going to understand everything and be okay with Him orchestrating our growth.
- Don’t grow tired of doing God’s Will.
- Remain hopeful in doing God’s work, because it probably isn’t going to be a success story right out of the gate.
- Don’t let worry take the focus off God and make us doubt Him.
- Don’t let anxiety take our focus off God and put it on whatever the affliction is.
- Don’t just go on feelings; instead, when the doubt, confusion, anxiety, indecision, inadequacy, etc. come, stand firm on our conviction of faith.
- Stand firm to gain the reward.
- Consistently put our trust in God.
- Prepare ourselves before Satan sends the temptations by searching for and seeking God in order to grow ourselves on the Sanctification Road.
- Prepare for trials that will come and fight them by putting on the armor of God.
- Become holy by navigating the Sanctification Road through consistency and commitment.
- Habitually conform and submit to what God calls us to be — the image of Him – so that we can get the bigger the picture of God’s truth.
- Possess holiness as well as all the virtues.
- Worship God in the heart, soul, and mind – with all our being – so that we are totally submitted to Him.
- Totally embrace God and how He is calling us to live and worship.
- Express our thankfulness in our worship through our praise for Him.
- Worship God because He deserves it as our Creator and Redeemer.
- Don’t keep hold of the old way of life as we start a new life of faith and spiritual privilege.
- Focus on our devotion to God instead of marking off a checklist of do’s and don’ts.
- Don’t boast of the privileges we think come along with being children of God.
- Live by the moral law because its principles still apply.
- Worship God in spirit and in truth by getting our hearts right and not just showing up or being a good person, doing good deeds to others.
- Be ready to serve God when He calls by remaining sober minded and spiritually clean.
- Live consecrated lives by devoting our lives to serving God the way He calls us.
- Submit all our heart to God instead of holding some back for ourselves or giving God lip service.
- Pledge to seek His Will rather than our own.
- Don’t be double minded (Jas. 1: 7-8).
- Show our sincerity by our acceptance of the laws and commandments.
- Don’t rely on our intellect or rely on ourselves to make sense of things.
- Die to self so that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will have room in us in which to reside.
- Don’t procrastinate in finishing maturing or getting right with God.
- Take each day’s step leading to the end goal of perfection at the end of the sanctification process.
- Ensure that our salvation stays healthy by growing our faith.
- Keep our minds open to God doing the impossible (Lk. 1: 37).
- Walk with integrity by not change our principles.
- Stand up for our moral beliefs.
- Make dependence on God’s integrity a lifetime undertaking.
- Grow in faith but we lose faith at times.
- Have the mind of Christ: think the same way, act the same way, and live the same way – in other words, imitate Jesus.
- Love God as Jesus loved Him: obeying Him, spending time with Him, and serving Him.
- Delight in pleasing Him (our attitudes), not just pleasing God (our actions) by serving God cheerfully.
- Watch by seeking God diligently.
- Follow all God’s laws with all our hearts.
- Fill our hearts with thanksgiving and praise.
- Engage our soul to show love to God.
- Read the Scriptures as well as study it and meditate on it then practice in our lives.
- Love God with our minds and our hearts — our being.
- Not only hate sin but also to detest and loath it.
- Don’t be hasty, tardy, or have a divided heart.
- Don’t grumble and complain about our circumstances.
- Understand God’s love for us depends on Him, not us.
- Be committed to telling the Gospel message.
- Don’t let our commitment slide because we have doubts about ourselves.
- Express our thankfulness in our worship by allowing our thankfulness to ring through our praise for Him.
- Worship God because He deserves it as our Creator and Redeemer.
- Unite our hearts with God when we walk with Him, are sincere, and separate ourselves to be with God.
- Look to God so that He can reveal to us those plans to fix our spiritual condition so that we can worship Him.
- Desire the closeness with God that we can only get by meeting Him at His place with like-minded believers, necessitating us to attend church regularly.
- Perform the duties of being a disciple in order to draw closer to God because we want to be with Him.
- Pay attention to how and why we worship.
- Worship in order to see God in all His power and glory.
- Praise God regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
- Respect God’s truth and do things God’s way by knowing God’s laws and commandments – and doing them – all of them.
- Be an active participant in worshiping God.
- Humbly worship the King because we are sinners saved by grace.
- Be totally committed to God, regardless of what is asked of us.
- Be obedient to God’s directions.
- Do exactly what God says to restore our worship of Him.
- Use the talents and abilities God has given each of us through His grace to His glory.
- Prepare for worship by being in the best possible place to welcome Him, repent of our sins, and focused on Him.
- Be excited to spend time with Him.
- Don’t try to limit God based on what we know and believe is true, rather worship him in spirit and truth.
- Go through a refining process in order to worship God.
Glossary
To read devotions in the Habitual Holiness of Heart and Life theme, click the button below.
Here is a running list of nuggets for the theme.
