Growing in Spiritual Maturity - Summer Series Finale
There are 5 main points that will help us travel at a pace that we can embrace and incorporate into our everyday lives. They are very basic, but powerful. And they are building blocks for the foundation of a strong, healthy life. These 5 baby steps forward will lead you to a path filled with peace, joy, contentment, satisfaction, rest and calm.
Diana’s Notes
Welcome to the final episode of our summer series on Heartfelt Conversations with Diana!
During the past several weeks, we have been chatting about shifting our focus off of grumbling, complaining, controlling, Our Lack of Trust in God - and learn to Trust God and gain power over our emotions and feelings and exchange them for peace, joy, and being fully satisfied. Having a life that satisfies. Being comfortable in our own skin, while learning to be more like Jesus on our own personal journey.
God already knows the parts of the wilderness we will each walk through on our own journey of life, and He has cleared the right path that He made for each one of us to walk and lead us through as we travel towards the other side to our pasture of blessings, and joy and peace. Calm still waters rather than always fighting storms and hurricanes and floods, running for cover. Instead, as we walk by faith Trusting God for our daily needs, we come to realize we don’t have to run for cover, we are already sheltered by Him. In the shadow of the Almighty One.
But our hearts and minds can become clouded, jaded, altered by circumstances, disappointments, hardships, trauma, loss. And our attitude, behavior, feelings, emotions because of hurt and fear can keep us enslaved and trapped on a much harder path and a much longer path than God had planned because we would not Trust Him.
Sometimes the work it takes, the effort required to break off the chains holding us back is more than we thought, the amount of effort required to “pick up our own mat” and walk towards wholeness is too hard, and like the Israelites, we would rather go back to Egypt as slaves than to pursue freedom if it requires too much time, energy, or worse - personal accountability.
Its in the daily action of believing God to deliver our daily needs that increases our capacity to gain more trust and grow more confident in Him which generates more peace and stability within ourselves, reduces stress and worry and produces more rest, peace and enjoyment of life for life. Do you enjoy life? Really enjoy your life? That is what God wants for each and everyone of us.
Jesus is the Bread of Life - The Israelites, led by Moses saw bread from heaven given to them, provided by God Himself. But Jesus came to give so much more than bread for food to feed our bodies, but He came to be our BREAD OF LIFE, He gave His life as a provision for all needs - heart mind body soul spirit - He came to meet our physical and spiritual needs. Our Savior here on earth and our King for all eternity!
God sent Jesus to give us a Zoe - the fullness of God kind of life!!!
The New Living Translation of John 10:10 the Bible tells us that the thief (satan) that his purpose is to come and to steal, kill and destroy life, but that Jesus tells us His purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life.
John 10:10 in the AMP Bible reads:
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance ( to the full, till it overflows)..
Are you hungry, are you feeling dis-satisfied, do you need more than what this life seems to offer? Does your life - feel malnourished, lacking energy, adventure, joy. Do you ENJOY your life or are you just living??
Than you need the Bread of Life - Jesus
And He won’t barely satisfy you leaving you craving more. He will satisfy our every need until it overflows!!! If, we allow Him to lead. Then we have extra overflowing in abundance - to share with others because we are not running on empty ourselves.
Last week we spoke about 2 of the 5 main points that I believe will help us travel at a pace that we can embrace and incorporate into our every- day- lives. I mentioned last week that they are very basic, but powerful. And they are the building blocks for the foundation that I have been learning to pour into my own life.
The 2 main points we spoke on last week were:
Fix Your Eyes On Jesus
Develop Self-Discipline
And today we are picking up on the remaining 3
#3 Trust God.
Period. Jesus trusted Himself and everything to His Father - Sought Him in prayer often.
#4 Rest And Relax
#5 Have Fun. Enjoy Life
So… Today, we are picking up with…
#3 TRUST GOD
God sent His One and Only Son, Jesus to be the punishment for all of mankind’s sin, shortcomings, failures and evil. And when Jesus surrendered His life on the cross and His blood was shed for us, He paid for all sins, every sin, of every single person. Nothing more is due. Payment in full. But God also knew that His kingdom is so different than our lives here on earth that we would need a Shepherd.
A shepherd Who knew the way out of the wilderness and Jesus has a customized path just for you. Your unique individual wiring, personality, heart. Jesus knew already from the very beginning of time the heart of God, that God IS love. Jesus has the “secret sauce” to success in life. Success in that your hearts and minds and body and soul are full, refreshed, satisfied in abundance to the full overflowing into our homes, our work, our communities because His spirit is within us.
Verse:
In abundance overflowing and to the full…
On this journey of learning to Fix my eyes on Jesus and learn of Him, I have found that this is not an overnight stay. The deeper in the wilderness we have wandered, the longer it will take to find our way out. It can take extra long if we don’t learn to live by God’s Word and not our feelings and emotions. I lived by feelings for so long that even when I was all in - completely surrendered, there were days that seemed to take me 2 steps back.
In one of my journal entries from June of 2021 I wrote:
……..
Then as He often does when I am truly seeking for something to hold onto, a bit of Kingdom Truth to help strengthen my hope, the LORD gave me this verse:
1 Peter 2:23 Good News Translation
The NIV says it this way:
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
And with a deep breath of relief and satisfaction, I came to realize that the reason Jesus the SON of Man was able to endure the cross, the beatings, all the hardships, rejections, ridicule and heartbreak from His time here on earth, was that Jesus simply TRUSTED GOD and He knew God loved Him. He did not need to seek people’s approval and this world’s version of love, Jesus knew the Kingdom Truth He wants to teach us, Jesus trusted God, . Period. Jesus knew His Father’s Love and knew that even though the battles appeared to be overwhelming in the natural state of mankind- that our frailties are all kept safe in the Fathers hand. In the shadow of the Almighty One. Jesus knew God is righteous. And in the end everything will work out for our good, IF….
If, we do not respond back out of a loss of control over our emotions but rather like Jesus, we LEARN to trust our entire selves and lives to God.
I am sure you have heard the saying - what goes around comes around or - It was karma
God gives us His version of karma in 1 Peter
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
Do you want to see God’s blessing in your life? Then stop being unkind and be kind. Be Generous with encouragement and blessings to others and you will begin to see it sprout up in your own life. Life brings more life. Death brings more death. We each must choose what we invite into our lives.
In one of my favorite bibles, there is a portion perfect for this part of our series.
So in my Joyce Meyer AMP Bible in the book of Exodus, Chapter 16 there is a devotional titled
grace for today and every day
And I am going to read from there now:
Read page 113
In 2020, I wrote in that bible I just read from “God asked me if I truly trusted him for “one day at a time” for my “DAILY BREAD” And challenged me to step out in faith” end of quote . To not just speak the words mindlessly, but to take them and offer them up as my first fruits of trust in Him for my needs every single day and to not recite words from memory, but speak from my heart to His. I picture myself sometimes lowering my head at His feet in servanthood and other times when I pray, I feel like a child crawling up in my dad’s lap getting ready to ask him for my favorite treat. :) But…
At that time when God asked me to step out and trust Him Alone for my needs, I was terrified if I would ever be able to take care of myself again and here God is telling me to let go of all my crutches and , let it go, give it up Trust it to Him. Stepping out in faith and giving Him my broken mess trusting He would bake it into my Daily Bread - Didn’t seem like much of an offering for Him, but as I stepped it out, I gave Him more and more awe inspired praise every single day and that Praise - that Heart-felt worship to Him, my pure genuine praise was a very sweet offering to Him. After the trauma of my daughter’s death, God knew, He understood how hard it was after all these years to let go and learn to trust in Him one day at a time. It was for me, not for Him. He was strengthening our relationship by meeting physical needs which helped me lean in more and trust Him more with the harder, deeper things - wounds, hurts and as I began to trust Him with little - my faith and confident hope in Him grew. My anxieties and worries about tomorrow didn’t weigh me down with sadness and worry and worthlessness.
I carried so much guilt and shame and fear and rejection that by the time I really wanted to surrender my life, I didn’t even know how to tell God. To pray with a genuine heart, I didn’t even really know who I was anymore, how could I pray earnest, heartfelt prayers. But Jesus taught the disciples to pray and that is where I started.
I’m going to read Matthew 6: beginning in verse 5 and this is Jesus speaking and teaching the disciples and why His prayers are more personal and less religious sounding than the religious rulers of the day. Jesus is teaching us its about heart and attitude and worship to God - not about us beating our chests or beating others down. Humble Hearts bowing before God and Open Hands ready to receive His mercy and grace are those who will be anointed with the oil of gladness and the sweet fragrance of a life following Jesus.
This is Jesus speaking:
5“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9“This, then, is how you should pray:
This is The Lord’s Prayer
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation, a
but deliver us from the evil one. b ’
14For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6: started out as being a prayer I said as a “conversation starter with God, because I didn’t know what to say to Him any more. I was so separated from Him in my mind but as I fixed my eyes on Jesus and I used this model of prayer from Him, it began a true, genuine and sincere conversation between me and my Father that has led to Faith, Hope, Trust and Joy in my life. It has been an interesting and intimidating 4 years. But it was exactly what I needed to repair my faith that God loved me and wouldn’t fail me. I put every single thing I needed into His hands and I resisted any interference on my part. I didn’t “try” to make any thing happen. I did what I felt Him tell me was my part, and I learned to trust Him for the parts I couldn’t see or was told to leave alone LOL.
I was learning to live the Trust God principle of Matthew 6:11
Thank You for THIS DAY and for my DAILY Bread.
Can you smell the sweet smell of fresh baked bread coming out of the oven? AHHHH!
But what happens when we store rotten ingredients and try to bake with it. YUCK - Yuck!
Going back to what I read out of my Joyce Meyer devotion it mentioned God telling the Israelites He would only give them a day’s portion so that they could learn trust and obedience - but what happened when they tried to be cute and think they could outsmart God by keeping a little more than they should:
We are told in Exodus 16:20 that if they tried to gather more than what they needed for a day, then it would become rotten and start to stink.
Exodus 16:20
20But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.
Our lives can be rotting away because we are so busy worrying about tomorrow’s supply that we take our eyes off of Trusting God and following Jesus and we allow maggots and bad smells to stink up our life.
Do you want people to look at you in wonder and awe and be amazed at how well you seem to walk through this life - especially if you used to be a hot mess!!! LOL
This week when things get real and you want to trust God, but a whole lot of emotions are trying to steer you in another direction -
Remember: Psalm 2:12
I am blessed (happy, fortunate and to be envied) because I seek refuge and put my TRUST in the Lord.
Be blessed because you trust the Lord - Simple - right! HA!
# 4 Rest and Relax
You don’t have to prove your worth. You are already loved and adored by God and He will never love you more than He does right now. He loves you, He desires the very best - for you, and He will never reject you. We have the free will to reject Him, but He will never reject us. Every price needed to be paid to set you free for all eternity and for the here and now has been paid when Jesus gave up His life on the cross for us all. There is NOTHING - Absolutely nothing more that needs to be done or can be done once you receive Jesus as your Savior, you are Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb and now you enjoy the benefits of being an heir to all that God has.
We are learning to shift our thinking off of stinkin’ thinkin’ and resetting our thoughts to generosity, gratitude, thankfulness, thoughtfulness, good things - things that are from above.
We are told in Philippians 4: 6
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
How do we get the peaceful rest and relaxation we need - give everything we can’t fix or change to Jesus and Trust Him and thank God for all the wonderful things He has already done for you - then His peace will come as you speak gratitude over your life
And to begin to shift your mind off of things that weigh you down and steal your peace - replace those thoughts with…
Philippians 4:8
8And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
And as we take care of the things we know we should and do our part, we can Be Still and Know that God is God. He will not fail to do His part which should bring relaxation to your spirit, your soul, your heart, your mind, your body. Feel the tension leave as you just sing and worship God for being so good and know that Jesus has redeemed your life. And now that Jesus is the Lord of your life you have the Holy spirit helping you stay the course as you lean on Him to teach. Lead, guide, coach, instruct, develop, and comfort you the whole way. You could not be in better care!!!!
Psalm 46:10
Be Still and know that I AM God
So, now that we have our eyes fixed on Jesus, following Him and learning of Him, and we know we are empowered to rule over our emotions and behavior, not be ruled by them, giving us days that are less about grumbling and more about gratitude- we are working out our salvation - growing in spiritual maturity as we have been told throughout this series in Philippians
Now, as we are seeking God with our whole hearts an learning to be generous not selfish, forgiving not resentful, meek not demanding - as we continue to grow closer in our fellowship with our Lord, we can relax and rest in knowing we can indeed trust God and that brings comfort, rest, ease. A grace over our lives that makes even the tough times so much more bearable because we do not face them alone.
Every single one of us is a work in progress. Nobody is perfect or can be perfect. Don’t be hard on yourself, or others when we make a mistake or mess up big time. Quickly, go to God and let Him know you are aware you screwed up. He already knows it anyway, this is for you not for Him. I find it just gives me the courage to go ahead and prepare my heart and pray for help if there is someone I need to ask forgiveness from. If I was rude, mean, making accusations, short-tempered.
We make apologies way too hard! Just be real, and honest. If you need to apologize to someone just speak from the heart and tell them what you would like to hear if it were reversed.
But for you, for your peace of mind and to strengthen your trust and confidence in God and His way of relationships, you will find that you will enjoy the benefits of a clear conscience.
In the beginning of overcoming depression or anxiety or fears or whatever struggles there may be, to enjoy the benefits of Rest and Relaxation you may have to fight for it. LOL
I know that sounds kinda ridiculous that you have to fight for rest, for peace in order that you may relax - but when we have been taking in and holding onto bad thoughts all our lives, then we have to change what we are putting in our minds - and - what is coming out of our mouths.
Your part for this 4th point will require you to be very intentional about the things we allow ourselves to think on, dwell on and then what we allow to be the words that come out of our mouths.
It is easy to scream, yell, call people names - throw temper tantrums when we don’t get what we want
But peace - rest - requires that we do our part to live in peace the best we can - we are not doormats but we can’t be bulldozers either
Verse
Live in peace best you can
Romans 12: 17 & 18
17Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone
Every time you feel your emotions getting away from you, you want to say something you shouldn’t say, you want to stomp your feet and hiss at the world -
If you struggle to shut your mouth like I do sometimes, this verse might be one you should put to memory by reciting every morning before you leave your house - LOL
Psalm 141:3
Help me Lord, to keep my mouth shut and my lips sealed!
See how practical God’s word is! Why are we so afraid of it?? LOL
Drum Roll- Please ,,,,,,,,
# 5 Have Fun - Enjoy Life
Psalm 17:15
I will be fully satisfied when I awake (to find myself) beholding God’s form (and having sweet communion with Him).
How beautiful and true it is, when you awaken to find that the long, dreary dusty path you have been following Jesus on, trusting your life to believing God knows best, and then one day it happens, you find yourself in this very sweet communion (fellowship) with your God. Your God and now your Father because of a life surrendered to Jesus. Walking. Talking. And looking a whole lot more like Him ( as Pastor Eric would say) and you find it was in very natural, easy strides along the way.
We do not need to fear the journey, He’s got you. You can trust Him.
This is where life begins to become very present. When you begin to walk by faith day by day trusting God that as you do what you should do, He will be there to help meet the void of what you can not do on your own. Lean in and let Him lead. You will find that life will become sweeter, richer, deeper. You’ll feel connections to the things He has personally placed on your heart, but He has needed you to pay attention to His voice first. Learn to Listen. Ask Him to speak.
If you want to add more fun into your days, and to enjoy life more - then learn to be grateful no matter what!
I have a plaque above my front door that I walk out of each morning that says
“Start each day with a grateful heart”
When you wake up in the morning ( or whenever your day starts) wake up with a determined purpose to have a grateful heart. Thank God for the very fact that the day itself is actually a gift from Him to you, that says “I Love you so here is a day I am giving to you. Go - Go out into the world and bring good. Do Good. Be good.
Get up every day with a determined purpose to just simply be grateful for the day. Do 1 Thessalonians from over the last couple of weeks?
1 Thessalonians 5:15 says this:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for that is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
SO!
Fix Your Eyes On Jesus
Develop Self-Discipline
Trust God.Period. Jesus trusted Himself and everything to His Father - Sought Him in prayer often -
Rest And Relax
Have Fun. Enjoy Life
You make known to me the path of life; in Your Presence there is fullness of joy; at Your Right Hand are pleasures forevermore!
Psalm 16:11 ESV
Next week I will be sharing my Redemptive Story that I recently shared at one of my small groups. I hope you plan to tune in and that God’s Word has blessed your life and fed your soul! Listen! Don’t be so hard on yourself, Okay??? You’ve got this and God ‘s got you!
Chin Up - Eyes on Jesus!
A spirit-led life that lines our perspective up with what God’s word says, not the world. That is walking by faith. Trusting God
God Bless! And let this minister to your heart
The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing -
Zephaniah 3:17 ESV
Songs to inspire you
Raise A Hallelujah (Lyrics) ~ Bethel Music
Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord (Official Music Video)
Goodness Of God (LIVE) - Jenn Johnson | VICTORY
Scriptures from this week's Podcast
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and Learn Of Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For MY yoke is easy and My burden is light. “
Nehemiah 9:9-17
9“You saw the misery of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cries from beside the Red Sea.c 10You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, his officials, and all his people, for you knew how arrogantly they were treating our ancestors. You have a glorious reputation that has never been forgotten. 11You divided the sea for your people so they could walk through on dry land! And then you hurled their enemies into the depths of the sea. They sank like stones beneath the mighty waters. 12You led our ancestors by a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night so that they could find their way.
13“You came down at Mount Sinai and spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and instructions that were just, and decrees and commands that were good. 14You instructed them concerning your holy Sabbath. And you commanded them, through Moses your servant, to obey all your commands, decrees, and instructions.
15“You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from the rock when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go and take possession of the land you had sworn to give them.
16“But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands. 17They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt.d But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them,
Psalms 14:1:
Only a fool says in their hearts, “There is no God.”
1 Thessalonians 5:15:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for that is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 2:12:
Continue to work out your salvation - [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]
Foundation Verse
Romans 8:11
The Spirit of God, Who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Chrisr Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living in you. “
Additional Resources
Prayer of Salvation
Jesus has given salvation, healing, and countless benefits to all who call upon His name. These benefits can be yours if you receive Him into your heart by saying this prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. Right now, I choose to turn away from sin, and I ask You to cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I believe that Jesus rose again from the dead so that I may be justified and made righteous through faith in Him. I call upon the name of Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of my life. Jesus, I choose to follow You, and I ask that You fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit. I declare right now that I am a born again, child of God. I am free from sin and full of the righteousness of God. I am saved in Jesus’ name. Amen.
This prayer and the comment above, were taken out of the book:
Secrets to Powerful Prayer - Discovering the Languages of the Heart
By Lynne Hammond and Patsy Cameneti
If you have just received Jesus as your Savior, please write Lynne Hammond Ministries at:
PO Box 29469
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55429-2946
Or, email one of the ministries listed on the Additional Resources Tab and let them know that you are a brand new christian and need some direction on the next steps for your new life in Christ.
Or email us here at Heartfelt Conversations with Diana and we will pass along your information for you.
Congratulations if you are a brand new Christian or if you have Returned Home! Welcome!!! Get in God’s Word and get it into you!
Diana’s Home Church:
Valley Family Church - Pastor’s Eric and Alexa Jones
www.valleyfamilychurch.org
Other recommended Jesus-centered churches who teach the True Word of God:
Elevation Church - Steven Furtick
https://elevationchurch.org/
Joseph Prince Ministries - Joseph Prince
https://www.josephprince.org/
Joyce Meyer Ministries
https://joycemeyer.org/