The Priority Challenge!

A big part of spiritual maturity is consistency and consistency requires discipline. Recently I have run into some brothers in Christ that have been struggling. By struggling, I mean they just can't get their thoughts straight and are lacking discipline in their daily walk. The issues can stem from current situations, past struggles, or the daily events of their world getting in the way. At first, I didn't know how to approach this issue. What do they mean they don't have time to focus on God? How can they be so consistent in worldly things, but have no time or interest in the things from the Father? I prayed about it for awhile and thought back to the time I was struggling with my thoughts and so much more. Then I remembered my TOP TEN list. This was a list I developed over the course of a few months on my path to spiritual maturity. I made it because my priorities in life were not in order. To be honest, I probably could not have even named off ten items at the time. I was buried in a deep hole of depression and past struggle and I knew I needed a change.

This is not a post to make you comment or reflect on something. This is a post to challenge you! It comes down to a simple question that demands answers "What are your top ten priorities in life?" Simple right? I know you can probably think of a couple to get you started, but don't take the easy route with this one. Don't fake your answers. Don't fluff up your answers and write what should be your priorities; get real with yourself and be honest. These things are most likely what you think about most in the day. These are things that must be very important to you. Part of the challenge is that you have to write the answers down! Once you have your Top Ten list established, than come up with your "why" for each point. Why are these things important to you? Why do they take up so much time in your life? The beauty of this process is honesty. The list will show you who you are in the background and what the result is when people see or encounter you.

Once you have the list and you have your reasons. Share them with somebody. Tell the person about the list and just have them listen to you. No commentary. No strange looks. No opinions. This is a crucial part of the process. This part will make you formulate the ideas into words. You will most likely say more than what you wrote down. This could be the part of the process where you can finally understand why it's so important or you can realize how futile it really is. You'll find things of importance bundling up. Relationships? Goals? Struggles? After the process is through; you'll have learned quite a bit about yourself. You'll know where you need to make changes or you'll know what's right where it is suppose to be. Clarity. You'll see if your life is reflecting the life God intended for you or if you're living for yourself. 

-THE CHALLENGE-

List your Top Ten priorities in life.

Write down the details of why they are a priority.

Share them with someone.

Make necessary changes or Stay put. You'll know.

If you do the challenge. Come back and share your thoughts 

or just share your thoughts on the idea.

don't have time? Priorities...

Manly Spiritual Maturity

So what does manhood or being manly have to do with Spiritual Maturity? If you asked me a few years ago, I probably would have fought this idea saying that "I am a man already" or "I can be mature, even if I'm not being a good Christian". Of course, now, I would say I was very immature in general and spiritually. The hard fact is that I am much more mature now that I am truly following Christ and I make it a daily effort to do even better. So men, where does it start? When do you know you either are being a spiritually mature man or you need to start? Some guys might wait until they finally move out of the house. Some guys might think it's after they landed that first big job. Some think it's when you get married (I know for a fact that that is not true). Some men might wait until their wife drops an emotional bomb on them or even leaves them. Some men might wake up after this or just move on doing what they do. Where does it begin?

DISCIPLESHIP

Definition? A follower of the doctrines of a teacher or a school of thought.

Let's be honest, we are all a disciple of something. We all come from different backgrounds, different teachers, different parents and different beliefs. We may have been taught how to be a man from our Father, a close mentor or just by what we have observed over the years. Some of us learned the discipline basics early in life. For me, it was taking out the trash weekly. It was mowing the lawn weekly. And it was listening to my fathers instruction as it was handed out. Your teachers at your school and college. Your boss and coworkers now. All of this has influenced you and shaped who you are now. But are you really being a man? Are you really spiritually mature? When you look up the word Disciple, you get a couple standard definitions and then you get the definition of a follower of Christ. Stop and think about the disciples of Christ. Whether you are a Christian or not, you have most likely heard the stories of Christ and his 12 disciples. These were the men that dropped everything for Jesus. Without going too deep with their stories, you can see how a disciple must make a change. He must acknowledge that their is a right and wrong way and make a choice. In the disciples cases, they chose to be Spiritually Mature and follow Jesus wherever he desired to go. Are you willing to even drop one thing?

Personally I grew up knowing about Christ, but that was as far as it went. I could talk the talk, shake the hands and play the part. My father is a great man, but he showed me no example of being a real follower of Christ. He taught me key values in life that took me far, but still life required more. Life hit me after I got married. This was the time when I was required to be more mature. I had a wife, a new job and thought life was mine for the taking. Read 'Why the Train Tracks' to hear how I finally began my path to Spiritual Maturity. Think about it, you're living for something already. But what is it? Following Christ, thirsting for spiritual maturity and being His disciple turned out to be the manliest thing I could have ever done. Confidence issues? Christ can change it. Marriage issues? Christ can change that too. Work issues? Yep, you guessed right, Christ can change that too. Depression? Fear? Failure? I could go on for awhile, but I think you get the idea.

Be a man. Be a disciple. Lead by following.

Have a question? Opinion? Story? Share below.

What is "Spiritual Maturity"?

Spiritual Maturity. Its part of the main theme for Manturity, but what does it really mean? My goal will be to take the next few posts and review spiritual maturity and what it takes to get there and stay there. 

Lately I have been using some avenues on Social Media to ask different ideas and opinions. The responses, although they were few, were great and to the point. The first response was from the author Jody Burkeen from MAN UP! Gods Way; he referenced the verses from 2 Peter 1:5-15. I never used these verses in reference to maturity before, but he sure gave me some things to think about. By the way, I am reading his book and it's pretty awesome. I hope to have a review coming out soon this month. Anyway, the verses go something like this:

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

If you need to, read it again. (Maybe a couple times more for good understanding measures :). Whoa! I'll attempt to go over this in a short, but effective manner. Make EVERY effort to add to your Faith. I don't think I read "when it's convenient, add to your faith". Make EVERY effort to add to your knowledge! This is asking us to go beyond the Sunday sermon and really seek out who the Lord was and still is. Make EVERY effort to add to your self control! This isn't talking about controlling some of your self; it's talking about all of yourself. This includes but is not limited to your physical behavior and your emotions. This includes when you are with people and when you are alone. Your actions should be pleasing to Christ. Make EVERY effort to add to your Godliness, mutual affection and love. You should be seeking to know more about God daily. Seeking to experience his Love and Affection for us and how we can translate that into our actions with other people. In the end, these things will keep you "up to par" and productive in the sight of the Lord and others. They will not be easy to maintain daily, but they are worth every minute trying. Don't be blind in your actions or emotions, don't forget what Christ has done for you and continue to follow his path and mature.

I know you have thoughts Spiritual Maturity. 

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