Proclamations
of Faith  |
| by David
A. DePra |
| On
Spiritual Growth: |
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|
| Spiritual
growth is a process wherein I become weak, reduced, and |
| depleted,
so that Jesus Christ might become my consuming passion. |
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| In
Christ, the spiritually mature are those who have become as little |
| children.
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| God
freely gives us all things in Jesus Christ. But what we become |
| because
of what God gives is determined through the process of |
| spiritual
growth. |
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| God
never tells us to "win all things," or to "earn all things," or to
"try to |
| qualify
for all things." He tells us to "hold fast" to all things. There is |
| nothing
we have in Christ which is not freely given to us. But by faith, we |
| must
continually choose to "hold fast" to God's free gift against all that |
| would
try to convince us to give it away. |
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| The
more I try to "build character," the more I build pride. The only |
| character
God wants to build in me is that of His Son. That means MY |
| character
must go the way of the Cross. |
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| Anyone
can alter their conduct to conform to a set of Christian rules or |
| Biblical
principles. But no one can write the righteousness of God upon |
| his
heart. This is the difference between the old and new covenants. |
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| Anything
bad which God shows me about myself is merely a revelation of |
| what
He has always known, and what I am now ready to confess and |
| discard.
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| When
God convicts us of our real condition, it is natural to think that what |
| we
see is proof that we have back-slidden. But rather, it is proof that we |
| are
moving on. We are beginning to see things the way He sees them. |
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| Spiritual
bankruptcy is a condition where I don't possess what I need, and |
| have
no way of getting it. But I rejoice in it, for I know that Jesus Christ |
| possesses
me. |
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| True
humility is never the result of seeing my depravity. It is the result |
| of
seeing the greatness of Jesus Christ. |
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| Never
ask God to show you how to work your way up to Him. Believe |
| that
He has already come down to you. |
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| If
we don't understand what God is doing, it is an opportunity to walk by |
| faith.
Faith is not based on understanding the facts. It is based upon |
| trust
in the One who does understand them. |
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| It
is normal for God to refuse to tell us what He is doing. Rather, He is in |
| the
business of revealing to us who He IS. |
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| God
is more concerned about what He is doing in me through my |
| circumstances
than He is about the circumstances themselves. |