Loving God - Going Deeper
Pathway Points
Stepping Up for Jesus
We’re continuing our journey today along Grace Church’s
Discipleship Pathway. We spent the last two weeks looking at the Starting Point
and Next Steps in the Love God part of the Pathway. Remember, the descriptions
are not meant to be exhaustive (or judgmental); they are intended for self-evaluation, and, with the Holy
Spirit’s guidance, to help you better understand what each step on the Pathway
looks like in the life of a believer.
This week, let’s round out the Love God part with the Going
Deeper section. A Christian who is being called into a deeper relationship with
God will attend worship weekly as a priority of his spiritual growth and
consistently invest financially in the ongoing ministry of Grace Church. This
week is less of a focus on something new than it is a focus on frequency.
Notice that attendance increases and so does giving, both of which make sense
from a relationship point of view. The deeper you fall in love with someone,
the more time you want to spend with them and the more money you’re willing to
spend on them. In the case of God, the deeper our relationship becomes, the
more we want to give back to Him both in worship and gifts!
So…self-evaluation time. How much do you love God? How
important is He to you? Are you spending an adequate amount of time with Him
and a community of believers in worship…aka, do your actions match your answers
to the first two questions? What about your finances? Is God getting your
leftovers as a “tip” for blessing you? Or, do you really trust Him enough to
give back to Him first and regularly? Remember, that faith is a journey and not
everyone is at the same place on that journey. However, a journey implies
movement and growth and a bit of stretching and challenge. So, be honest with
yourself and with God and step out in faith!
Stepping up with you in His strength!
Monica Lebsack
Creative Ministries Director