March 3rd Meeting Recap

Last week's meeting was so good and for those who missed Pastor Kurt's message to us, he spoke about living together with God, growing spiritually and continuing your walk in victory with Christ. He explained that every adult fits into one of the following categories in their spiritual walk:

1. Exploring in Christ ~ you question what is Christianity all about?


2. Growing in Christ ~ you decide that Christianity works for you and you accept Jesus in your life.


3. Close to Christ ~ you seek a deeper relationship with Jesus, give glory to Him for your blessings and you want to contribute and give back in His name.


4. Christ Centered ~ your relationship with Christ refefines you to the point where everything in your life is wrapped around Jesus. You are "all in" for God.

No matter where you are in your walk with Christ, there are scripturally based, practical things you can do in your life to strengthen your relationship with Him:

1. Keep your house filled with the work of God and praise and worship. Ephesians 5:26


2. Fellowship with other Christians. Your primary friends should share your values. Acts 2:42


3. Hold every thought captive. Your "thought life" is the battle field ~ God's spirit gives you divine power. 2Corinthians 10:4-6


4. Dwell on Godly thoughts and promises. Be careful what you read and watch. Phillipians 4:8


5. Quit thinking about the past. We have been forgiven. Phillipeans 3:13


6. Guard your heart. Get rest and retreat/refresh when you need it. Proverbs 4:23


7. Have faith in God. When your faith doesn't feel like its enough, surround yourself with good people who can help fill you up. 2Corinthians 5:7


8. Watch your mouth. The mouth is a reflection of the heart. James 3:6,8


9. Guard your eyes and ears. Isaiah 33:15-16


10. Separate people from their sin. Judging people can lead to alienation. Matthew 7:1


11. Indecision leads to ungodliness. James 1:8


12. Be willing to go into the fire; face your fears and stresses in order to overcome them. Galatians 5:1


13. Remember that all good things come from God. James 1:17

Remember that we all have blind spots when it comes to seeing ourselves. Our spouses, family and friends can sometimes effectively share with us what these weaknesses are (which can be hard and painful.) Ultimately, the Lord is preparing us for His kingdom and wants to see us grow in Him. How do you grow? Focus on stage 3 better: get to know Christ. How do we get to heaven? It's not what you do ~ it's who you know. You can't earn your way into heaven...only a relationship with the Lord will get you there.

For our craft, we painted decorative glass plates to place in our homes and write scriptures on. There were some really beautiful plates that were made. Even the "non-artsy" among us pulled off some impressive designs!