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.
Monday, July 19, 2010
The God who speaks Life and Order into Existence
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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."
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Learning to Listen
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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Week 4-Spiritual Growth Development II
Celebration of Discipline Bible Study
Prepared by: Rev. Willetta Ar-Rahmaan
Week 4-Spiritual Growth Development II
Last week lesson we compared the physical development of a baby/infant to the spiritual development of a baby/infant in Christ. This week I struggle to write because I wanted to move forward with the next level but God is holding me to the baby/infant stage just a little while longer. The more I reflect on this stage of spiritual development I look back on my own spiritual walk and glean from that first year of nurturing, support and assurance. There were many days I doubted this was for me because I converted from Islam to Christianity. I witness first hard how wicked people could be to leaders, friends and others. I thought to myself I could have stayed a non practicing Muslim if this is what Christians act like this outside of Sunday morning. We can talk about this until Jesus comes back so let us move on with the rest of a babe in Christ.
If we shame the devil and tell the truth, the first year is always a struggle and the period of adjustment. If you don’t believe me think about when the newborn baby comes home, the first year of marriage, the first year of divorce, the first year in college, the first year in a new job or in a new city. It’s not easy but we learn along the way. Just as a baby learns how to crawl and walk we do the same as new Christians.
As a new Christian there was parts of worship, the language and traditions I just didn’t understand. The spiritual milk for a babe in Christ is more than just reading the Bible, it’s being taught with genuine love, being nurtured and reassured of the decision we made. The first year of our spiritual growth is to prepare us for the journey. The spiritual milk consists of getting to know your bible, learning simple prayers, starting a personal devotional period, understanding worship and the church lingo: terminology used (i.e. Salvation, Restoration, Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost, Ordinances, Tithing, Sacraments, Baptism, Communion, slain in the spirit, speaking in tongues and etc). As we learn the first year we need to be surrounded by people who will not only pray for us but pray with us. So many times in the first year we feel abandon because we are new to the faith, new to the community and new to the church. Many churches have ministries for the first year Christian, the babe in Christ or reborn Christian. These types of ministries are very vital for the first year. Many churches and Christian often suffer from “spiritual amnesia” according to Dr. Joel Gregory. We forget what it is like to be new in Christ and we just assume everyone grew up in the church. When we encounter new Christians they will be zealous, on fire and overly excited about this journey. To all the newcomers to Christ take your time to grow but remember God can speed the growing process like he did Paul (Acts 9:1-22), because Paul already had a foundation and a relationship with God.
Going Deeper:
1. Do you remember your first year as a Christian? Did you receive sufficient assurance? Did this make an impact as you began your journey?
2. Do you encounter non-church people on a regular basis? What type of language do you use when talking to them?
3. What are some things you needed more help as a babe in Christ? How can you improve the experience of new Christians in your church?
Prepared by: Rev. Willetta Ar-Rahmaan
Week 4-Spiritual Growth Development II
Last week lesson we compared the physical development of a baby/infant to the spiritual development of a baby/infant in Christ. This week I struggle to write because I wanted to move forward with the next level but God is holding me to the baby/infant stage just a little while longer. The more I reflect on this stage of spiritual development I look back on my own spiritual walk and glean from that first year of nurturing, support and assurance. There were many days I doubted this was for me because I converted from Islam to Christianity. I witness first hard how wicked people could be to leaders, friends and others. I thought to myself I could have stayed a non practicing Muslim if this is what Christians act like this outside of Sunday morning. We can talk about this until Jesus comes back so let us move on with the rest of a babe in Christ.
If we shame the devil and tell the truth, the first year is always a struggle and the period of adjustment. If you don’t believe me think about when the newborn baby comes home, the first year of marriage, the first year of divorce, the first year in college, the first year in a new job or in a new city. It’s not easy but we learn along the way. Just as a baby learns how to crawl and walk we do the same as new Christians.
As a new Christian there was parts of worship, the language and traditions I just didn’t understand. The spiritual milk for a babe in Christ is more than just reading the Bible, it’s being taught with genuine love, being nurtured and reassured of the decision we made. The first year of our spiritual growth is to prepare us for the journey. The spiritual milk consists of getting to know your bible, learning simple prayers, starting a personal devotional period, understanding worship and the church lingo: terminology used (i.e. Salvation, Restoration, Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost, Ordinances, Tithing, Sacraments, Baptism, Communion, slain in the spirit, speaking in tongues and etc). As we learn the first year we need to be surrounded by people who will not only pray for us but pray with us. So many times in the first year we feel abandon because we are new to the faith, new to the community and new to the church. Many churches have ministries for the first year Christian, the babe in Christ or reborn Christian. These types of ministries are very vital for the first year. Many churches and Christian often suffer from “spiritual amnesia” according to Dr. Joel Gregory. We forget what it is like to be new in Christ and we just assume everyone grew up in the church. When we encounter new Christians they will be zealous, on fire and overly excited about this journey. To all the newcomers to Christ take your time to grow but remember God can speed the growing process like he did Paul (Acts 9:1-22), because Paul already had a foundation and a relationship with God.
Going Deeper:
1. Do you remember your first year as a Christian? Did you receive sufficient assurance? Did this make an impact as you began your journey?
2. Do you encounter non-church people on a regular basis? What type of language do you use when talking to them?
3. What are some things you needed more help as a babe in Christ? How can you improve the experience of new Christians in your church?
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