Growth

What does growth look like in the life of a believer of Jesus Christ? To go there I think we have to look at the beginning when the relationship first started. The time when you prayed to receive Christ. Was it the real deal? Did you submit to His Lordship, totally yielding to Him.  You gave your life, you handed over the reins, you prayed for forgiveness and asked for eternal life. Like me you prayed the "sinners' prayer" while still in your teens. Young in every aspect. For me I was a United States Marine, stationed far away from home. I was looking for something else, something to fill the void that was in my heart. There was something more to living in this world than just working and making money and spending it on the weekend to my heart's every whim. I prayed after hearing the Gospel and received the Lord Jesus as my personal savior. Was I saved? I believe I was but the growth process was very slow in the beginning. So slow in fact that it was a few years before I acutally started to attend church on my own and started reading and studying the Bible.  It it wasn't for a few good friends who came along side me, I don't think I would have grown at all. Now I believe God is in control of all things, even my early growth was a testament to His grace and patience.  But, what did that early growth look like. What were some of the things that were happening in my life that gave an indication that I was a Christian at all.  The most apparent indication of my conversion was the battle between flesh and the spirit that now resided in me.  God promised that when He ascended into Heaven as recorded in the book of Acts,  He would provide a helper for me.  This helper, the Holy Spirit now resided in this young believer. This helper, the Holy Spirit constantly reminded me when I was doing something I shouldn't be doing. Conviction is a powerful tool that God uses to correct believers in their thought life, and personal conduct. I believe if you have no conviction of sin or a "oh well" attitude toward it, you might want to rethink your conversion experience. But, who am I to judge, only the Creator Himself knows the thoughts and intentions of all men! Just saying.  Another key indicator that you can use is fellowship. Do you hang around with the old crowd or do you now enjoy your new found friends in Christ? When I first became a Christian I wanted to hang with the old crowd, but soon it got real old. I was trying to live a good life for Christ, but man did the old crowd make it difficult. They still wanted me to go out and have a good time but didn't want to attend church with me on Sunday. Soon I found myself not hanging with the old crowd anymore but enjoying new relationships that I made while attending church. To tell you the truth, the new friends I had made were accepting me for who I was, not something I was pretending to be with my old friends. We could look at other examples, but I think you get my drift. I haven't even discussed the "tithe"....ouch! Where is your money going? How are you spending your free time. Serving yourself or helping others? There are many things we could look at to help one determine whether or not they are a follower of Jesus Christ but I think you get my point.  Always remember that God is waiting for you, He wants all of you, not just the part that attends church on Sundays.