I'm stuck… P.2

Today we finish reviewing the scripture from Job 22:21-25, which when I read made an impression on me about how to move forward when we as believer get stuck in our spiritual growth. If you missed the first part just click hereto catch up.

The next part of this scripture reads:

Clean your house of everything evil- This one really called my attention, we need to be very mindful and careful of what we feed our mind and spirit. Sometimes those things that we feel are harmless are kids. It's not healthy, they don't need them anyway and you know your hand is going to end up in the cookie jar. But it's more than food, if you struggle with lust, why are you watching shows or videos with people with little to no clothes or listening to suggestive music? You know where your mind is going to go. If you struggle with gossip, you know who are the gossipers in your office and family, why are you entertaining those conversations? Are you the one who starts the conversation? If you struggle with anger, watching action movies where people are killed and buildings are blown up are not going to make you feel more at peace, and even if your struggle is having time for yourself and spending more time in the word, when are you going to get off Facebook, twitter and other websites or the television to do just that; either get some rest, more family time or more time with God.

Relax your grip on your money- I think one of the biggest lessons I'velearned is that it's not my money, it's God's money and I'm just an administrator who gets a chance to use some of it to cover my needs but the rest is supposed to go back to build his kingdom. Have I master that concept? No, I'm not going to lie, but at least I have it as a concept now. We can talk about tithing and giving and I did so in a stewardship series last year. We can talk about the consequences of not seeing the resources available as God's and think they are ours as in the Parable of the Talents, but you can read about those later, at least get the concept of being an administrator and not owner of your money and you can start giving baby steps in the right direction.

And abandon your gold-plated luxury- The last time I moved, I realized how much junk I have, that I probably never used or rarely used. No joke, I did fifteen (15) trips to Goodwill to donate tons of things. For one I was moving from a house to an apartment to I truly needed to downsize what I had, but I also needed to get rid of all of that. Guess what? I have not missed a single thing. The sad thing is that even with all that downsize I still have closets full with things. The bible says that we should be content with just food and clothing. We don't live by those standards. When I moved to my apartment, I had four TV's. Tell me why a single person needs four televisions. How many shoes do you need? How many purses? How many gadgets? The sad truth is that some people are in debt while still buying more and more. If you were to die tonight, what are you taking with you? Will God tell you good and faithful servant because you spent $600 in the latest gadget? Or will he ask you why didn't you feed him while he was hungry on the street with that same money?

God Almighty will be your treasure, more wealth than you can imagine- We need to get out of our heads that by giving we are losing, it's not ours to begin with. This scripture can basically be explained with another scripture: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33

In summary, first we need to acknowledge that God is in control, therefore we need to relinquish the control of our life in order to experience change and growth. Then as we mature spiritually we need to recognize those things that are getting in the way of us living the life that we were intended to live. Finally we will experience the fullness of our purpose as we grow our relationship with God.

God bless you!