Most of us long for personal growth and spiritual growth. Often, those two areas can overlap. If we want to grow, there are a few areas of life where we need to invest time and effort to make growth possible.
Luke’s Gospel gives us a brief glimpse into the childhood of Jesus when he tells of Jesus in the Temple at the age of 12. It’s an interesting snapshot of the childhood of Jesus, and helps us understand his purpose here on earth. But then Luke makes a brief statement that we can kind of overlook as just a summary of Jesus’ early life. If we look closer, this statement actually gives us four key areas in which Jesus was intentional about his growth, and we can follow that example in our own lives.
In Luke 2:52, we read, “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”
In one sense, that is exactly what we assume it to be: a summary of the life of Jesus between the age of twelve and the start of his public ministry. But a deeper look shows us four key areas of growth that we can pursue in our own lives, just as Jesus did. When we invest in these four areas, growth will follow.
The first area that Luke highlights is the area of wisdom. This is a critically important investment in our lives. And one that we need to be very intentional about pursuing.
After much consideration and planning, I have decided to shift my focus a little concerning the approach I take with Random Ramblings. I am renewing my attempts to create and share short videos to encourage and inspire others. Going forward, these will be focused on something I have gained and gleaned from my study of the Bible.
In Ephesians 3:6, Paul explains the mystery of God’s inclusion of the Gentiles in with his chosen nation of Israel. Paul uses three words to describe this, all with the same prefix. In English, it would be “co,” and in Greek, it’s “syn.”
In this Random Rambling, we’ll take a look at these three words. In fact, he seems to coin one of them for his own purposes in describing what “together” looks like.
This passage from Ephesians is a great example of what it looks like for the body of Christ to be together, and it’s one of my favorite passages in this little letter.
About Random Ramblings:
Random Ramblings are just that: they are random, and I’ll probably ramble. It’s an opportunity to share a little about what’s going on in my mind, primarily about what I’ve gained from my study of Scripture. I hope these ramblings can be an encouraging and helpful part of your day. These brief videos will be shared here and on my YouTube channel. You can jump over there to subscribe for only video updates, or subscribe here to be notified of posts of all kinds.
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Lead by Paul David Tripp (Wheaton: Crossway, 2020)
One of my top interests for most of my ministry career has been the topic of leadership. Very early in my ministry, I was introduced to John Maxwell’s leadership materials, and I was instantly hooked. I devoured everything I could find that he had written, and I still purchase his books as they come out. (I’m sure I’ll be posting a review soon about his most recent release, The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication.)
Since then, I have found several other authors whose leadership material has encouraged my life and ministry, and has helped me grow. One such resource is Lead, by Paul David Tripp. This is a book that was required for one of my classes in Ozark Christian College’s graduate studies program. But as I read it for class, I realized that it would be an incredible tool and resource for ministry in a variety of ways.
Tripp’s book covers twelve principles that he has pulled out of Scripture and found to be necessary for leadership in the church. This is a direct response to the growing crisis of leaders leaving ministry in increasing numbers over the past few years. While there may be a variety of reasons for this, one of the problems Tripp sees is that leaders in the church have lost sight of what it means to lead from a biblical perspective. So many of the resources out there — as excellent as they are — approach leadership from a corporate perspective. But a corporate leadership style doesn’t always fit into a church setting. In fact, a case could be made for the fact that such a leadership approach rarely fits a church scenario.
And as a result, church leaders are leaving the church. What Tripp does is take a look at some deeper insights and values, some biblical principles of leadership, and shows how they were meant to be implemented into leading the body of Christ in a way that impacts the Kingdom of God in lasting ways.
Last fall, I started a new graduate studies program at Ozark Christian College, working toward a Master’s Degree. During the orientation, I found a new Bible resource that has proven to be immensely helpful to me.
As the graduate studies program started last fall, I stayed with a friend during the orientation week at Ozark, in Joplin, Missouri. He showed me a new Bible that he had found that he found helpful, and after a quick glance, I knew that I needed this as well.
The Panorama New Testament is a large book, measuring over twelve inches tall, and ten inches wide. The reason for this is so that the pages are big enough to display large quantities of text across a panoramic two-page spread. This can be especially helpful as you seek to study the Bible, because it allows you to trace themes through the text at a glance.
I have found this to be especially helpful in studying Paul’s epistles. Most of them are completely arranged across one set of pages, allowing you to see the whole letter at once.
The first letter I studied using this tool was Ephesians. One of Paul’s main themes running through this letter is our status in Christ. He uses this phrase, or “in Him,” or “in the Beloved,” over and over through this short letter, repeating it eleven times in the first fourteen verses alone.
After discussing prayer in Matthew 6, Jesus turns to the topic of fasting. This is a discipline that many Christians often neglect, but it has significant benefits to our growth.
It seems as if Jesus makes an assumption here, just as he does with the topics of prayer and giving. He says, “When you fast…” Not if you fast. The initial context here is that the Pharisees fasted, and Jesus expected his followers to do so as well. But he has to differentiate between how that was supposed to look for his followers. The Pharisees performed this spiritual discipline in a hypocritical fashion, seeking to be noticed for their supposed piety. Jesus urges his disciples to avoid that trap, and to pursue this for different motives.
If that’s the case, then just what is fasting, and how do we do it?
Different Types of Fasts in the Bible
The Bible describes at least three different kinds of fasts, and I believe that it implies a fourth type as well. These are different ways that we can approach the discipline of fasting.
First of all, there is what we might call the Regular Fast. This is when someone drinks liquids but doesn’t eat food. This is the fast most often found in the Bible, and is the most common style of fasting.
Life can get busy. And in those busy moments, it can be hard to remember to take the time to slow down and rest in the presence of God. It can be hard to seek solitude and rest.
Slowing down is hard for me. I’m a doer, perhaps not by nature, but by a habit ingrained long enough for it to seem like it’s my nature. I like my routines. I’m pumped when I’m productive. I feel anxious often when I’m not busy doing something. It can be very hard for me to slow down.
Several years ago, I read Leading on Empty, by Wayne Cordeiro. In this book, he stressed the importance of getting away on what he referred to as Personal Retreat Days. After reading that, I jumped into that discipline with gusto, but over time, it kind of slipped to the side and was more and more neglected. I knew that I needed it, but it always just seemed to be something that got pushed aside by other, more “important” things.
Within the past two months, a couple of different things have taken place to remind me of the necessity of getting away for a time of silence and solitude, and to simply seek God’s presence.
My search for approval is over. In Christ I already have all the approval I need. Because Christ’s righteousness has been transferred to me, all the time and energy I once squandered trying to be liked or praised or to achieve something to validate my existence can now be re-directed toward doing things for God’s glory. I no longer live for approval; I live from approval.
