<\/p>\n
\u201cMeditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you\u201d (1 Timothy 4:15,16).<\/p>\n
IT IS A FACT THAT WE ALL MOVE IN SOME DIRECTION EVERY DAY OF OUR LIVES. As far as our inner character is concerned, there is no standing still. We are either growing or declining every day. And if we are seekers of God, our most powerful desire will be to make progress spiritually.<\/em> However important physical, mental, and emotional growth may be, it is even more important that we grow in the spiritual dimension of our nature. We need \u2014 every day \u2014 to be moving away from the mortality of the body and toward the immortality of the spirit.<\/p>\n But this kind of progress doesn\u2019t come to the lackadaisical or the haphazard. It is the result of a concentrated focus<\/em> on God, and this focus itself is the result of a decisive commitment<\/em> to spiritual growth. If we have anything less than a committed focus on God, the importance of our growth will get trampled by the urgency of today\u2019s \u201cTo Do\u201d list. This is something we must not allow to happen. Paul urged his younger friend Timothy to \u201cmeditate\u201d on the truths of God that he\u2019d been taught. \u201cGive yourself entirely to them,\u201d Paul wrote. To improve, Timothy needed to \u201ctake heed\u201d to himself and the body of doctrine that could move him toward God. But not only would Timothy need to focus his mind and concentrate on the teachings of God; he would also need to \u201ccontinue in them.\u201d Significant improvement in our lives is not the work of one day. It is by patiently continuing our concentration on spiritual things that we find ourselves making progress.<\/p>\n Genuine spiritual progress, however, is worth every sacrifice, every ounce of effort, and every moment of concentration that go into it. Even in the here and now, there is no contentment in the world any more peaceful than knowing we\u2019re getting better spiritually. To experience this progress is to get a foretaste of greater things to come. As William Blake has reminded us, the very joy of heaven is \u201cimprovement of the things of the spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n I am wrapped in mortality, my flesh is a prison, my bones the bars of death. Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n
What is mortality but the things related to the body, which dies.
What is immortality but the things related to the spirit, which lives eternally.
What is the joy of heaven but improvement of the things of the spirit.
(William Blake)<\/p>\n