Psalm 1 & Philippians 1 (Spiritual Maturity)

Do you ever wonder when you will finally arrive, spiritually speaking?  We are surrounded by books that tell us "10 Days to Better Abs" or "How to Love Your Mother-in-Law in 5 Easy Steps" and we start to think that there must be an easy step-by-step plan to everything in life.  But, if you've had any major disappointments in your life as I have, you have quickly found that there aren't easy steps and easy answers to everything.  Such is our spiritual life.  Paul even compares this life to a race, and the end isn't until we die and are in heaven!  Yet, we continue to press onward, Paul says.  Okay Paul, why would I want to keep pressing onward if I can never actually win the race here?

But that's just it, we can win the race down here.  There is a way to run this race and live our lives that is The Way we should be doing it.  There is a path to choose which leads to the prize at the end!  There is also a path that leads to our destruction.  Which path will we choose?  Well, if you're reading this blog, I would hope that you are desiring, or curious about desiring, to run the direction that leads to the prize, which is Jesus and eternal life in heaven.

Okay, so I want that path.  But now what?  This is what I discovered in Psalm 1.  I read two verses in Psalm 1 that lead to spiritual maturity and success in this life.  Verses 2 and 3:

"But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants; day and night they think about his law.  They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper."

I would like to add a conjunction.  "But they delight in doing everything the LORD wants, BECAUSE day and night they think about his law."  You want some how-to steps?  Okay, here you go...

Step 1: First, you must be thinking about his law, his Word.  And you must think about it day and night.  All the time!  You may say, "but I don't know many verses by heart, how can I think about them?"  The largest step is just cracking open that Bible and reading them for yourself.  Then...

Step 2:  Memorize them.  We memorize hundreds of songs and lines from movies.  We can also memorize scripture.  It is a must.  Put it on a note card and read it 7 times a day for a week.  It will stick!  Then, the Spirit can bring those words to mind when you need them.  He can't bring them to mind if they're not in there though!

What's the result if we do this?  Bearing fruit each season without fail this verse says.  Each season!  Do you know how incredible that is?  That even in the midst of losing a loved one, we can bear great fruit.  Even in the midst of a long season of unemployment, we can bear great fruit.  Even in the midst of relational trouble like you have never experienced before, you can bear fruit.  Fruit is the sweet part.  Fruit is the good part that you wouldn't trade for anything.  And God says, we will bear fruit every season without fail if we can get in His word.  The fruit....well, that's spiritual maturity.

I challenge you.  Take this 90 day challenge with me.  Only GOOD can come from deciding to trust what God says about what happens when we make the choice to be disciplined in our full out pursuit of Him.  Let's bear fruit together.