Still Growing

Hello there!

Let me introduce myself. My name is Hannah. Sky is a very dear, close friend of mine and she has so generously invited me to be a co-blogger along with her here on Love Never Fails. To begin,  allow me to tell you a little about myself. I’m a Kansas girl, born and raised in Wichita. I’m from a family of seven, my parents, my four brothers, and myself. I am 28 years old. I was born into a Christian household, I have known about Jesus my whole life, but I didn’t really come to know Him for myself until I was a teenager. I love Him with all my heart and I pray that my love for Him will continue to grow over the course of my life. And I pray that your love for Him will also continue to grow. If you don’t know Him or love Him, I again pray that you will come to know Him and love Him shortly.

Actually, today I would like to speak about growth, and I want to do that by mentioning a familiar name, Moses.


“Moses grew and became a man. One day he visited his people, the Hebrews. He saw…”
(Exodus 2:11), besides being a part of the great account of God delivering Israel out of bondage from Egypt, it gives us some glimpses into the character of Moses, the meaning of maturing and the little miracles that play into the big ones. Hence, “Moses grew…” It’s almost ironic, but Moses did not come out of the womb, nor was he drawn out of the river, equipped to fulfill God’s plan for him. Moses grew. That is probably the best thing that can be said about any of us – not that we have become – but that we are continually becoming. Growth is a sign of life, and if Jesus said that He came that we might have it, then it must be a good thing.

Moses’ growth did not happen as we might think: after becoming a man, he would still experience  anger, worry, fear, and all those things we’d rather outgrow and not feel anymore. These flaws, these sins, along the way make it difficult to measure growth, and that difficulty makes it tempting to give up. But to give up – to refuse to grow – is to perish in a way. “…and became a man. One day he visited his people…” The mature person is one who is ready to see themselves in a context bigger than themselves. Many of us believe that we need to find ourselves – a notion that may be true in a limited sort of way. Many of us think that we must define or invent ourselves – possibly equally true but in an even more limited way. When Moses visited his people he was beginning to accept himself, not as the Egyptian prince he once was, but as the heir to something far greater than a crown made by human hands. He was beginning to accept himself as being a part of a people, a “chosen people” (1 Peter 2:9). The identity given to him by the palace could never give him what someone truly needs – a sense of who we are. Only God can do that. Only our Heavenly Father could ever give us a true identity and purpose.

“He saw…” When Moses saw, he had come to a place where he was able to set aside his own constructed world and enter into the one that existed independently of his plans for himself. What he saw in Egypt would be stretched by what he would come to see in Midian, but here was the beginning of what would end with his view of the promised land. He reached that place where God wanted him.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” – 1 Peter 2:9

I want to tell you something that Sky, my now fellow blogger and best friend, once told me. It is related to this example of Moses. She said, “Imagine your heart within you having roots. It is within that secret place of the heart where God is. We need to make sure our roots are growing deeply into Him and His Word. We need to be deeply rooted in Him and make sure there is nothing that is weakening our root system.” Moses became deeply rooted in the Lord over time. Everything God did in his life went hand in hand. Also, just as everything in scripture goes hand in hand, so they do in our lives as well today.

God is doing good things, amazing things! Do you see this? We are temples of a Being far greater than ourselves, temples being brought to life. Though we may not understand the process, our Builder does. We are His workmanship and the place where He lives. I have no doubt that “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). Therefore, I encourage you, to keep on growing. Though you – like Moses, myself , and everyone for that matter – have flaws. It’s okay to have flaws. If we didn’t have any flaws, then we wouldn’t need to grow. But we do. I hope that you will learn that you are a part of a chosen people, and I also hope you recognize that the Lord is indeed good, and that He loves you. Thank you for reading. God bless you!

Much love in Christ,

Hannah

Foundation

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“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:25, ESV)

The foundation is the base starting point to anything you are desiring to build.

This beginning piece will be an essential factor before you go on to the next levels of your project.


How do we make sure the foundation is built the way we need it to be, to withstand every storm? 


It must be founded on the Rock. This Rock is Jesus.


Whatever your plan is, without including Jesus 1͎s͎t͎ , all else will ultimately fail. 

“Do not just live a godly life…build it.” – The Few

To not have Him in mind first is foolish (Matthew 7:26), because without Him, you cannot do anything!

As Christians, we should learn from our past. I don’t know about you all, but before I had Jesus by my side, my mistakes dug me into a deep hole. One that I wasn’t able to get out of my own, in my own strength. If it wasn’t for my Savior, I would have continued into the depths of chaos and fears. Who knows where I would have ended up!

Thankfully, God met me in my mess. He grabbed my hand and insisted this was no longer a battle I had to fight on my own. Where no one else was to be found in my times of need, He revealed to me that He was. I just had to be willing to finally surrender and lean into His hope.

“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Colossians 1:17, ESV

He is the Vine, we are the branches (John 15:5).

To be successful in anything that we do, we must make sure God is first in our lives and we remain in Him.

We have been appointed by God, not to do the things of the kingdom on our own (John 15:16).

If we are not grounded and united with the Father we are more than likely going to fall at some point.

Save yourself the trouble and enter His rest.

Our talents, gifts, and light do not come from our own doing, but from the Maker Himself!

“Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God.” (Psalm 92:13, NKJV)