The theme for this 2nd semester’s Christ Emphasis Week celebration is “Thrive.” To thrive is to prosper, to blossom or to grow vigorously. The antonym of thrive is to decline, wither or to stagnate.
In John 10:10 Jesus tells us that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” What does it mean to THRIVE?
T – Trust in Jesus alone. This means that all others are thieves and will just destroy our lives. Jesus is the only one that can give us life.
H – Hear and do the Word of God. We cannot thrive without hearing and doing what is in the Bible. We must read the Bible and pray that God will empower us to follow the commands of Jesus. The commands of Jesus are all counter-nature and are impossible to do without the grace of God.
R – Release forgiveness. Our lives will surely wither if we continue to live a life full of past scars and bitterness. Jesus has forgiven us of our sins and He has commanded us to forgive those who sinned against us. A forgiven life is a forgiving life.
I – Invite the Holy Spirit. When we grow in our relationship with Christ, our lives would show the fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one working in us that we may produce “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” We have to take note that Paul used the singular “fruit” and not the plural “fruits.” This means that all that Paul wrote is just in one fruit.
V – Vital vitamins for growth must be taken. We will surely decline rapidly without the vital vitamins that our body needs. This is the same with our spiritual life. We have to pray, read the Bible, fellowship with other believers, go to church, spread the Gospel, and disciple others. These are all vital things that each Christian must faithfully do.
E – Exercise our faith in Jesus Christ. To thrive is to be healthy. And we cannot be healthy if we do not have a proper exercise. In other words, our spiritual lives can only thrive if we vigorously exercise our Christian faith daily. We cannot simply choose to exercise every Sunday. To be a Christian is an every second commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rev. Francis Neil G. The
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February 18, 2019