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CHURCH SERVICE TIMES |
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Sat Evenings 6:00 PM |
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Sun Mornings 10:00 AM |
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LEGENDARY YOUTH |
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Wed Night Youth 7:00 PM |
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| LIFE CHRISTIAN CENTER |
| 5497 International Way |
| Portland, OR 97222 |
| (503) 656-LIFE (5433) |
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| God's Garden... What's Growing? |
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|
 As
spring winds down and summer begins here in the Northwest, we see tremendous growth happening all
around us. It's the time of year when gardens start to take off with flowers blooming, and grass
growing. I would like to talk about growth, in another context of our spiritual growth and progress.
A famous minister once said, "that if something is alive it is growing, and if it is growing it
is changing." In other words we could say that "life IS growth." As believers we are
called to grow and make progress in our walk with God our entire lives. When we first accept Jesus
Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are just babies. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "you must be born
again." This is the spiritual rebirth that we experience, so we start to grow in our new life.
Our minds, emotions, will, and intellect didn't just change instantly. We must spend time renewing
our minds (Romans 12:2) and conforming our life and our behavior to the Word and the will of God.
1 Peter 2:2 says, "as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow
thereby." It is the Word that is the primary ingredient for us to grow.
We must be
committed to our growth in the Lord no matter where we are at. When we are first saved there is such
a drive and hunger to learn about this new life and we must guard against complacency in our walk
with God.
We should always strive to grow more and more. 1 Corinthians 3:9b says, "... you
are God's field, you are God's building." God calls you His field, and in one translation you
are called God's Garden.
Let's give attention to our spiritual growth, whether we have been
saved 20 minutes or 20 years. Every garden, no matter how long it has been established, is going to
need some key ingredients to keeping it strong and producing it's fruit. Here are some that the Word
emphasizes… |
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(1) |
We must be planted-Psalm 92:13 says,
"Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God."
We must be planted somewhere where our lives and our family's lives can be impacted by the Word of
God and other believers. Hebrew 10:25 says, "...not to forsake the assembling of ourselves
together…", because we need to encourage on another. |
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(2) |
We must be watered regularly-We are
watered, according to 1 Corinthians 3:6, when we put ourselves around good teaching, but how would
your garden grow if you only watered it on Sundays during the summer! We need watering every day,
we should spend time in the Word and prayer everyday. |
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(3) |
We must keep the weeds out-Proverbs
24:30, 31 (in the New Living Translation) says, "that the field or the garden of the lazy man,
a man with no understanding is overgrown with weeds and thorns and the wall is broken down."
We must not be lazy when it comes to serving God and we must keep weeds pulled. Sin can be a weed
that hinders us. Another more common weed is found in Mark 4:19 which talks about the cares of this
world and desire of other things. It is good to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest but we need
to never forget that our relationship with God comes first! |
I hope that this summer your garden
at home is strong, and that the garden of your life is also strong and producing, The next time
you're at church, make a point to ask someone, "GOT GROWTH?."
Lori and I love you
and we sincerely love being your pastors,
Pastors JD and Lori |
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This Months Article |
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Read Previous Articles |
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