Week 6 – Spiritual Growth Development Part IV

Celebration of Discipline Bible Study
Prepared by: Rev. Willetta Ar-Rahmaan
Week 6 – Spiritual Growth Development Part IV

In our last lesson we talked about the Toddler stage. Toddler’s will look to see whose watching them as they do things they are not suppose to do. When you get a chance just observe a toddler and then reflect on what we discussed previously.

In this lesson we wanted to discuss the child/teenager stage of spiritual growth. As we have done in the past few weeks we took a look at the human side of a child development. This week we want to look at this stage from the perspective of preschool through adolescent. This entire stage is truly a child/teenager formative years of life. They learn about themselves, their abilities, their likes and dislikes. This is also the area where they recognize right from wrong, explore their sexuality, and make their own decisions about the type of friends they want in their life. Most of all the adolescent starts to enjoy the trust, freedom and independence away from their parents and spend more time with their peers. Since we are being real, this is when most adolescent start ‘smelling themselves’. Some were around the ages of 13-16 the adolescent will challenge their parents, disobey rules and become rebellious because of the discipline and boundaries their parents have set.

We all remember we had chores to do in the house and around the yard growing up, even down to the littlest one. We were given a curfew, responsibilities and a semi-social life. Basically we had boundaries and if we did not do or act responsibly there were consequences. During these formative years our parents were teaching us boundaries through discipline. There were reasons why we had to be in the house before the street light came one. There were reasons why “Miss or Mr. so and so” kept an eye on us knowing our parents were not home and yes they had permission to spank us, then we’ll get another one once we got home from our parents. Our parent’s goal was to prepare us for the real world, they allowed us to fall when we refuse to listen or ignore what they were trying to teach us.

As we move from the human side of this development let us turn our attention to the spiritual side of this development. The spiritual side needs discipline for spiritual growth. In the first two lessons we discussed in detail the discipline needed. Too often we see God’s discipline as punishment for not doing what is right. In the OT we noticed God ruled with a heavy hand as our elders would say, but it the spiritual disciplines are those habits that are necessary for spiritual growth (i.e. prayer, devotion, meditation, studying and etc). This is why Foster’s book is so important to us because they spell out how to carry out these disciplines, but some of us may feel we do not need these disciplines to grow spiritually and often enough we find ourselves being in that rebellious stage like a teenager. We know what we are supposed to do but we rather follow the crowd instead of using our own mind.

This stage on our journey could be between our 5th and 10th year depending on how you were being molded and shaped on the journey. Sometimes this could be as early as the beginning of our journey because we placed certain discipline in our lives when we had to do homework or show responsibility to our parents. This is the same discipline of obedience God is seeking from us. God want us to enjoy our freedom but be responsible. We know that rebellion is lurking around the corner just waiting to tell us that all that reading, praying, studying and fasting isn’t needed. We hear people tell us that since are saved by Grace it doesn’t matter if we sin God will forgive us. Most of the time these are the same people who are still on spiritual milk and refuse to grow up.
On this journey we want to grow and mature, we don’t want to be saying the same prayer, fasting the same way, reading and studying only when we want something from God. We want to mature in the spirit so we can be a witness to others about God’s goodness and capable of handling the dangers we encounter. We also need to remind ourselves that just because we are believers in Christ we are still tempted by world and what the world has to offer. This is why it is very important to us to live a discipline life so that we know how to handle things.

We must learn how to pray for ourselves and others, we must learn how to read and interpret what we are reading so we can help explain things to others. When we are rebellious we find ourselves unable to handle the attacks against us and slowly we may slip back into being led astray and sitting in doubt. However if we have some discipline we would be able to discern and see what is happening before we slip back in to the baby stage.

I gave you enough to think about but take the time to read these scriptures and reflect on this stage of the Christian Journey. 1 John 2:12-14 and Job 1:1-12. Both of these passages give us some insight as we live this discipline life. Dig deeper in your faith walk put up boundaries for yourself and for others around you. When we get to a certain age it’s time for us to grow up so why not do the same with our spiritual lives.


Going Deeper:

1. How faithful will we be the disciplines placed in our lives?

2. Are we willing to continue in the disciplines while others who are not discipline seems to be doing much better in life?

3. Are you able to tell if a person lives a disciplined life? If so, how?

4. Does your character and actions speak of your disciplined life?

Mind, Body and Spirit Rest

When we need rest our bodies tell us, but if we keep ignoring the signs we have no energy to do the small things. In the midst of all the traveling I needed a break from the normal routine so I could get some rest. I have taken a couple of weeks away from Bible Study, but I'm back now ready to finish up our Spiritual Growth Development.

As a weekly traveler rest, exercise and feeding our soul is important so we can maintain the constant change and stay on top of the demands. This type of traveling can be stressful on the body and the spirit. Listen to the spirit and your body constantly.

There are days when life seems to be rolling over us, but then there are days when we are rolling with life. We only have one body and if we are to do the work of God we must take care of it.

The God who speaks Life and Order into Existence

Reconciliation United Methodist Church July 12, 2010 a Monday Meditation by Pastor Baker The God who speaks Life and Order into Existence Read Genesis 1:26-31   God is the author of all life. Like a master painter who brings a blank canvas to life, God masterfully creates the world and every living thing in the first chapter of Genesis. Yet in this case, there is no canvas. God speaks into the "formless void" and creates light (v.2). God speaks, and the waters separate from the sky. God speaks and the "earth brings forth living creatures of every kind" (v.24). For six days God creates all life by speaking it into existence. The speech and voice of God creates and brings forth life. The speech and voice of God brings order to chaos. And at the close of each day's work, "God saw that it was good." Each divine speech-act builds on the previous one until God's creating work reaches a climax near the end of the chapter. On the sixth day, after creating creatures of every kind, God said "let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness" (v.26). So God created humankind, both male and female, yet this creative act is distinct from all the others. God created humankind in the very image of God. Human beings are special and unique. Human beings have a special relationship with God and with the rest of creation. Christian writers and theologians have debated the plural address for God in verse 26: "let us make." Some commentators point out that such an address was common for a king; a type of royal "we" referring to the king and his courtiers - in this case, God and all God's royal angels, including seraphim and cherubim. A more interesting interpretation arose in Christian theology, namely that the "us" refers to the Trinity. There is food for thought here. What does it mean to be made in the image of the triune God who is a perfect community of love? The Father loves the Son as the Son loves the Father and this love is celebrated and witnessed to by the Spirit - a perfect communion of perfect love (John 15:9). In the words of St. Augustine: "Thou seest the Trinity when Thou seest love ... for the lover, the beloved, and the love are three." Humankind was created in love, by love, and for love. That much becomes clear as salvation history continues to unfold in the pages after Genesis. Humankind was also given dominion over the earth, the plants, the animals, and every living thing (28-29). The key word here is dominion, not domination. Just as God would judge the later kings of Israel by their just or unjust rule, so God will judge how humanity cares for the "created subjects" placed under our care and oversight. Human beings, both male and female, continue to have a special relationship with God and with the rest of creation. Creating God, thank you for your life giving word that brings order and life to all things. Amen. Monday Meditation  is a weekly email ministry of Reconciliation United Methodist Church written by Pastor Kevin Baker. To subscribe to other RUMC email lists, click here and go the the "Subscribe to our Lists" picture link.   RUMC P.O. Box 52326 Durham, North Carolina 27717 Reconciliation United Methodist Church

Learning to Listen

Reconciliation United Methodist Church July 5, 2010 a Monday Meditation by Pastor Baker Learning to Listen Read I Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14   People today don't put much stock in dreams. Such thinking is fairly recent. Historically and biblically speaking, generations of people who have gone before us thought otherwise. Sure, there were dreams that were likely to mean nothing, perhaps the result of eating something odd the night before - but there were also dreams that communicated important truths and spiritual insights.   Take Joseph, who dreamed about how God would one day make him a great leader in Egypt (Genesis 37); Daniel, the great interpreter of dreams (Daniel 2); Joseph, who was told in a dream that his betrothed would conceive a child from the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1), or the Magi who were told in a dream to return home a different way to protect the new born Messiah of Israel (Matthew 2). Some might say that God often chooses to speak to us in dreams because that is a time we are more susceptible to God's direction and guidance. Perhaps it is when we dream that our human will is less prone to resistance and obstinance.   Solomon's prayer for wisdom is so powerful and worthy of our prayerful imitation that we often forget that his entire conversation with God happened while he was sleeping: "Then Solomon awoke; it had been a dream" (I Kings 3:15). I often wonder if God came to Solomon then because that was the best time to try and get a busy king's attention. As far as dreams go, I rarely can remember my own, but I do think that to hear God, to speak to God, and to seek God's will for my life often requires slowing down, taking time out from my busy schedule, and turning off all the distracting sounds and voices that can so easily deter me from hearing God's voice. Something like that happens when I take time to be still, pray, and read Scripture on a daily basis - whether I am dreaming or not. Lord of both my waking and my sleeping hours, help me to be still long enough to hear your voice and discern your will for my life. Amen. Monday Meditation  is a weekly email ministry of Reconciliation United Methodist Church written by Pastor Kevin Baker. To subscribe to other RUMC email lists, click here and go the the "Subscribe to our Lists" picture link.   RUMC P.O. Box 52326 Durham, North Carolina 27717 Reconciliation United Methodist Church

Week 5 – Spiritual Growth Development Part III

Celebration of Discipline Bible Study
Prepared by: Rev. Willetta Ar-Rahmaan
Week 5 – Spiritual Growth Development Part III


Last week we concluded the discussion of the baby/infant stage of spiritual growth. This week we will discuss the 2nd stage of spiritual growth, a toddler. The toddler stage of human development is the stage of eating solid food, trying to be independent, testing the boundaries, and having temper tantrums. This is the stage of discernment when a toddler learns to distinguish good and bad by touching, they mimic the actions of others, form words, constantly hearing the word ‘NO’ and often talk in full sentences. When we view the toddler stage in spiritual growth the discernment comes from the wisdom and knowledge of the Holy Spirit. According to the Old Testament (OT), “the Hebrews used several words to describe stages of a child’s growth. A very young child was called a “suckling,” which meant that he was still nursing. Then he was referred to as a “weaned one”; this change was an important milestone in a child’s life. When the child matured a bit more, the Hebrews said he was a “toddler.”

As we view our spiritual growth in the toddler stage we find ourselves being less dependent on others. We are becoming proactive in our devotion and being corrected and guided by the Holy Spirit. We are starting to understand and comprehend the meaning of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and using church lingo. Although we are still young in our spiritual journey we must be careful of any type of doctrine. When we are not fully grounded or rooted we can be easily led astray in our thinking, therefore we can use Matthew 13:4-6 to interpret this stage and the baby/infant stage. When we want to quickly grow up in our faith we are like these seeds.

When we are starting out on this Christian Journey, we are shallow in our thinking and talking. We do not possess all the tools necessary for spiritual growth. Our knowledge is an inch deep. This is why in verse 19-21 Jesus explains the aforementioned text. As a toddler in the faith we will hear many things, we will hear about tradition, we will hear about order and we will hear about positions but we must learn to discern what we hear and be doers of righteous. As we know this is the stage of let me do it by myself. When we find ourselves as unplanted seeds on this journey we may need to take a step backwards to focus on why we really confessed and committed our lives to Christ. Toddlers of the faith can be led away by smooth talk, the promise of wealth and riches or given “speckled green meat” as Dr. Katie Cannon said in a lecture some years ago. When our discernment hasn’t reached the maturity level we are not able to stand firm and combat the forces of evil. We find ourselves in a battle without armor. We are so eager to show people what we’ve learned so we talk to be heard and do things so others can see us because we are growing in our faith. When we grow and mature it is seen in our actions, our conversations and our lifestyle.

This is our foundational stage where we start the process of listening to God and allowing God to transform our minds and hearts. At this stage we must be careful not to get caught up with messy people or messy situations. When we start mimicking those who have a partial relationship with God we tend to follow them instead of the guidance of the Holy Spirit (Luke 6:49). When our spiritual development foundation is laid properly we are able to stand. As I mentioned the first year is very critical but it’s the first 5 to 7 years that where the word will be rooted in you. Our relationship with God is what we make of it. Take the time to know God for yourself, read and study your Bible to become familiar with the Word so it can have an impact on your life and those around you.

Going Deeper:
1. How deeply rooted in the word of God are you? Can others persuade you to do things I use to do?
2. Do you believe there are some cracks in your spiritual foundational development? If so, where do you think they came from?
3. What causes us to seek independence from God?




Next week we will look at the Stage of a Child/Teenager