Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. (Chinese Proverb)
back it up with bible
2 Timothy 2:22 Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Hebrews 12:1,2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which [does] so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us; looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
core christianity
Our Choices Make Us
Why is it that some Christians succeed, while others who make a profession of faith miserably fail? Why is it that some seem to run the race of life and cross the finish line with flying colors, while others just collapse in a heap? It is because of choices—choices that we make each and every day. We make our choices, and our choices make us. And life is filled with choices.
From the moment you get up in the morning until the moment you lay your head on your pillow, you will have made hundreds— maybe even thousands—of choices. Some are simple choices that don’t mean a lot, and others are choices that mean a great deal. It comes down to this: If you want to grow spiritually, you will. And if you don’t want to grow spiritually, you won’t. It is not the luck of the draw or something that only happens randomly; it is making the right choice to do the right thing.
We either will go forward as Christians, or we will go backward. We either will progress, or we will regress. We either will gain ground, or we will lose ground. And if we stand still, we will lose ground. So this is the kind of commitment where we should be seeking, on a daily basis, to grow spiritually, to progress, and to learn—and not just hold our own.
We all need to commit ourselves to growing spiritually, because there are things that impair our spiritual growth, and there are things that help it. We want to live lives that will honor God and stay away from the things that will drag us down spiritually. Because spiritual growth is based on doing what is good—and not doing what is bad. (Greg Laurie)
previously published
Life for the Lord is not something about which you just say, “Well, hallelujah! I made that victory! I got over that, now I’m free... You have to fight the devil and your old self every day! You never stop battling, you never stop winning victories, you never stop progressing or you’ll backslide! You can never stand still. You don’t just get the victory once and for all over some besetting sin, you have to keep fighting it. But the more you win, the easier it gets, with His help.--On that one! Either you are growing or you are dying! It’s all or nothing at all! Once you’ve started on this road, there is no turning back? or you’ll turn into a pillar of salt, solidify and die! (Gen.19:26) “Remember Lots wife!” (Luke 17:32)
You gotta keep going, you gotta keep sacrificing, you gotta keep forsaking, gotta keep fighting everyday! He’s trying to make you stronger every day and make you able to give a little more, sacrifice a little more, suffer little more, fight a little more, grow a little more! He wants you to grow into the full stature of a full-grown mature Christian that is a real fighter for the Lord and a real soldier and able to really stand a lot of responsibility, a lot of suffering, a lot of giving, and can do a big job, not just little ones.
God bless you and help you gain greater victories every day! It’s really thrilling to look back and see your own progress!--To look back down that rugged mountain road you’ve just come over and to see you’re really getting somewhere! But it’s even more to look forward and up to heights you’re soon to attain and views you’re soon to thrill to if you keep fighting, climbing, winning and don’t quit! (Greater Victories!)
To stay alive, everyone must have movement! There must be change, movement, motion, and the signs of life are principally manifested by motion, action! There are only two directions in which you can move. There is no standing still. You are either moving forward or backward, which is backsliding.
When you quit moving, you die! Try it! Go to bed and never get up again, and how long do you think you’ll live if you just lie there stiff as a board and never eat or drink or move or get rid of waste matter anymore?--You might last a few days, some people have lasted a couple of weeks, but without any liquid or elimination whatsoever the usual limit is about four days!
For if you quit drinking, eating, cleansing, and moving, you’re soon dead!—And that’s exactly what’s wrong with some of our disciples! They’ve quit drinking the Water of Life--the new water that’s always fresh, poured out constantly--and they quit eating the spiritual food, and quit eliminating their daily besetting sins, and therefore they’ve quit moving and they’ve died on the vine!
There’s no neutral pole! You cannot stop! It’s like breathing: You don’t dare stop! We can’t stop or we’re dead! If we don’t keep on doing more and more every day and progressing or if we can’t sit down at the end of the day and sum things up and keep books with our soul and weigh up the accounts and say, “Now what did I do today that I won’t have to do tomorrow?”--In other words, what progress, what move or accomplishment or new thing or different thing, or what more have I done than the usual things I always have to do each day? (Old Bottles)
make it personal
Please keep me always growing and moving forward for You, Jesus! Help me never to stand still or quit in my spiritual life or in life of service for You. I want to be and do more for You today than I did yesterday!
