MARKS OF MATURITY: FINAL THOUGHTS

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Such a good question... what fills your heart?

Expressing gratitude every day for the goodness of God, and life, goes a long way in shaping my attitude! You have heard it said, "have an attitude of gratitude" but I say, consciously choose to cultivate gratitude in your life for everything!  We live in a generation that feels the world owes them.  I know that thought is a direct plant from the schemer of the ages!  We are NOT owed anything.  Actually we owe God our love, our allegiance, our very lives!  So we need to be so grateful, remember that, even while we were still lost in our sin, Jesus came and died for us.  That is the greatest gift we will ever receive!  Everything else that comes into my life is a blessing.  Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything YOU NEED."
Mature people recognize that everything comes from Father's hand, and consistently thank Him! 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us, "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."  Even in the hard things?  The bad things?  Yes, because I recognize that even in these instances, God is working all things out for my good, because I love Him.  Learn to say thank you every day, all day, for everything that touches you and shapes you.  I learned very early in my walk with God to see every circumstance, person or situation that touches my life is the Holy Spirit coming to me in that circumstance, person or situation to make me more like the Lord Jesus Christ!

Another mark of maturity is to put others needs before our own!  That is not easy in our world! We have been taught to look out for #1 because nobody else will.  Untrue!  Father is always looking out for my good, so that I can think about how to help others! Jesus was the perfect example.  Philippians 2: 3-4 says, "Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too." Jesus heart was only to do what the Father told Him to do.  That very often was to bless others, heal others, provide for their needs, etc.  He himself had no where to lay his head!  Am I suggesting we do the same? 
I am suggesting that we learn to be obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit and see others as He sees them.  Be moved with compassion and do what we can to share the love of Jesus!

The final mark of maturity I will discuss is for us to be teachable!  I have decided that there is always more to learn!  I will never arrive and I will never know it all. My Senior Pastor taught me many years ago that we must feed the FAT.  The faithful, the available and the teachable!  I want to fit that criteria myself.  I have tried to walk in such a way.  I believe that I will be learning for eternity!  Father has so much more available for me to know about Him and who He is.  He is a multi-faceted jewel that will take a lifetime to know.  An eternal lifetime!  My cry is often that I will find more nuggets of truth hidden in the word.  Give me more "rhema" words Lord (God breathed inspiration from God's heart to mine).  I love seeing new things in the Word of God, that were there all the time, but I just had a God moment to see.  Lord may I always be teachable, hungering for more of your insight, revelation, understanding and wisdom! Thank you for men and women of God who you use to speak into my life also!

Do you desire to grow up in the things of God?

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