What does it take to grow day 11

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Day 11
Good morning and welcome to today’s Daily insights. This is day 7 of our
episodes, What does it take to Grow. On behalf of Pastor Lucy Paynter daily 
insights, this is Jane Lenny. 
Yesterday we looked at Habit number 5, in order to grow we need regular exercise 
- Service. We saw that Christian service is equivalent to worshipping God, we are 
co-laboring with God, it is exemplifying Christ and No service in the Lord is in 
Vain.
Today we continue to explore the 10 Habits of Christian maturity. We discuss 
Habit number 6. In order to grow we need protection – Temptation.
In episode 1 we defined spiritual maturity in one phrase and said Spiritual maturity 
is being like Christ. We got that from Eph 4:13 until we come to such unity in our 
faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the 
Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
To grow spiritually and become more loving like Jesus Christ we need to understand 
how to resist the temptations to sin that thwart our progress. We need to heed the 
Bible’s warnings that the devil and his kingdom of demons are scheming against us, 
tempting us to destructive unloving attitudes and behaviors. Satan and his minions 
use their dark spiritual powers to weaken, or if possible destroy, our faith in God and 
our love for God, neighbor, and self. They shoot evil arrows to knock us down. They 
deceive us to entice us away from the path of following Jesus. 
We need to be alert, pray, and stand strong in the Lord’s mighty power! You find 
that in the book of Ephesians 6:10-18. 
I will read verse 10-13 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put 
on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the 
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of 
evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when 
the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have 
done everything, to stand.”
Temptation is something all Christians face. Even Jesus faced Satan's temptations 
in the wilderness. No matter how long you've been following Christ, temptations 
will present themselves.Verse 18 of Ephesians 6 says “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all 
kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on 
praying for all the Lord’s people.”
The scripture here exhorts us on what to do in our spiritual journey to overcome
temptation. 
There are times you may feel far away from God. The walk of faith is often 
difficult and we wander off track. Don't beat yourself up over your failures. 
Instead, pick yourself up and get back in the journey.
This morning as we close I want to ask you, please will you be alert to evil this 
week? Will you seek his help in the process? We you pray our Lords prayer by 
asking, ‘lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil’. 
Let’s pray - Our loving God, thank you for revealing to us this morning from your 
Word that we ought to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers 
and requests. Give us the wisdom to pray when faced by temptation. Let us be 
strong in you Lord and the power of your mighty. Today we put on the full armor 
of God, so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes.
Dear Lord, in all things please enable us, our Father, to be grateful, clear headed, 
faithful and where we ought to give honor to you. We pray for your gracious help.
Amen!
God bless you, let’s join again tomorrow morning as we look at Habit number 7. In
order to grow we need to give - Stewardship. Shalom!