“Don’t Stifle Your Spiritual Growth!”

Helping People Find Hope

https://abl-alb.wixsite.com/discoverabetterlife

(Editor, Ron Bainbridge)

“Don’t Stifle Your Spiritual Growth!”

Friend, unfortunately there are some weird ideas floating out there about spirituality that discourage and damage people. And I’m not just talking about the ones that involve drinking Cordial from a large bowl or walking barefoot on hot coals.

The fundamental mistake most of us make is to think that “being spiritual” is a rapturous state of mind or unique lifestyle reserved for the elite. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Bible appears to envision a spiritual life for everyone who wears the name of Christ. Godliness is supposed to be the norm. And Christians are supposed to be saints all the time – not two generations after their funerals. --- Let me tell you about a few genuinely spiritual people I know of.

Evelyn suffers incredible pain from bone cancer, but you’d never know it. She is one of the most cheerful, loving, and gentle souls on Planet Earth. Though she suffers constantly, there is no self-pity in her life.

Gene is probably the most generous man I know. He is a dynamo of energy. He works hard. But he makes tonnes of money – then gives about 40% of his net income to help various good works. He and his wife have a special bank account that their 11-year-old daughter gets to “manage” for helping missionaries.

Nancy is a wonderful mother. She invests her heart, body, and daily schedule in the development of her three children. She takes them to “Little Athletics,” bandages their scraped knees. Makes sure they complete homework. Her daughter and two sons are among the most loved and secure children in the world.

David loves his wife. He is unquestionably faithful to her. He calls her once in a while when he is between appointments just to say, “I love you!” Once or twice a week, he leaves a card or scribbled note for her to find during her daily routine. It’ll say something like “Can’t wait to see you tonight. I love you!”

Friend, spirituality is not the ability to live in the desert for 60 years. It isn’t living above the mundane and ordinary stuff of life. It isn’t a mystical feeling or pious face. It isn’t reading the Bible all the time or getting up to pray for two hours every morning before the sun comes up.

Spirituality is about where you are today. It is a way of life that honours commitments, behaves with integrity, accepts people the way they are, and is generous. It is exhibited by going to work, changing nappies, preparing meals, mowing the lawn, being self-controlled in traffic, and showing patience to unpleasant people.

Friend, God is honoured best in the everyday and ordinary things of your life. And if you really want to achieve a higher level of spiritual maturity, you can!

To help you experience spiritual growth, we’d be pleased to send you a FREE book titled “7 Ways God Can Help You Be Happier.” This book is about relationships…relationships with others, yourself and God. It reveals how you can shed the tensions, irritability, guilt and other negative feelings that are stifling your spiritual growth and stealing happiness from you by improving relations in the three areas I have mentioned above.

Friend, this book will help you do just that! To receive your complimentary copy by return mail, just write to Discovering A BETTER LIFE, P.O. Box 1540, Albany Western Australia 6331. Phone us on: (08) 98 418 418. E-mail us at: abl-alb@omninet.net.au