The Ultimate Teacher
Everybody needs a teacher. A baby needs to learn how to sleep, walk, and eat solid foods. A child needs to learn how to speak and write.
In every season of life, we need teachers to help us grow in knowledge and wisdom. While there’s a lot we can learn from people, we need to learn to grow spiritually as well—and God has given us the tools necessary to grow in every season.
God’s Word was given to teach us about God. As we read Scripture, we can see God’s character in how He interacts with His people over the span of history. We can learn about God’s laws and the ways in which He desires His people to live. We can also learn about ways in which we can love those around us.
We are also given the Holy Spirit who lives within us. Part of the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives is to instruct us and guide us into righteous living. Righteousness is living according to God’s way. The Spirit teaches us about God’s heart and desires for our life.
All of these things help us grow spiritually. Just as a parent uses every method possible to help their child grow, so also God uses many ways to help us grow spiritually, because He loves us.
God doesn’t grow angry with us when we mess up. He doesn’t grow tired of us when we make a mistake. He continues to teach us and counsel us because of His great love for us.
However, we can’t learn from God if we’re not spending time with Him. In order to grow spiritually, we must be in His Word daily. And we need to be talking to Him in prayer.
Take some time today to spend time with God and study His Word. Talk with God about where you are in life, and what you want to learn from your relationship with Him.
Power, Love, and Discipline
One of the miracles of salvation is that when we have faith in Christ, God not only saves us—He also gives us the power to live according to His will. Your life in Christ is one that is empowered by the Holy Spirit living within you.
This is a great gift, but a big shift. It often takes time to change how we think and act. We may have bad habits that take hard work to correct, or patterns of thought that are challenging to break.
Thankfully, God promises to be with us and to empower us to make these changes in our life. When Paul is writing to his mentee Timothy, he encourages him to continue to develop the gift that God has given to him. While we are saved in an instant, it takes a lifetime to develop and work out what God is doing inside of us.
Paul reminds Timothy that God’s Spirit does not give us fear or cowardice. Those things are tools of the devil who is trying to keep us from God. But the Spirit of God empowers us with confidence in Him. He gives us the ...