Category: First Steps

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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green – September 16

September 16

Spiritual maturity and emotional health are related.  Part of the work of God’s Spirit (sanctification) is to lead us to maturity—emotionally and spiritually.  Part of God’s work is to rework some of our past that needs to be healed.  What is not processed (from the past) will be passed on (into the future).   God forgives past actions, but He also wants to transform the effects of the past so that those same patterns are broken.  This needed work can be painful because we must face areas of our lives that are filled with scabs.  Self-Honesty is crucial but difficult. 

For some, there will need to be a realization that we have used Godly activity to run from God.  We spend hours and hours doing things “for God” instead of “being with God.”  We fill our days with things of God that preoccupy our time and energy only to be too weary to be with God.  

Take prayer for instance—we spend time in prayer—praying for any and everything but won’t carve out 20 minutes to sit and reflect to allow God’s Spirit to bring to the surface the areas of our lives that need to change.  The same can be said with serving in different ministries.  We go and do, go and do, but don’t have time for crucial relationships.  How about the one who studies the Bible daily, but then uses those same scriptures to justify one’s defensive behaviors, critical attitudes, or the avoidance of anything that would lead to a life change.  

Do you use God to run from God?  Do you create a great deal of “God-activity” to avoid difficult areas in your life God wants to change?  If so, consider an alternative path.  Focus on your own self-awareness.  St. Augustine wrote, “O Lord, grant that I may know myself that I may know thee.”  Practice confession.  Engage a friend in accountability.  Listen to what they say without justification or blame shifting.  Sit with God in prayer—reflective prayer—asking God to reveal those areas that need to change.    

This Week’s Readings:
Monday – Leviticus 1
Tuesday – Leviticus 2
Wednesday – Leviticus 3
Thursday – Leviticus 4
Friday – Leviticus 5

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We have completed Exodus and are now reading Leviticus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:
Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
Pray for spiritual maturity.
Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders. 
Family restoration through forgiveness.
Continued growth of the faith of the people.
Pray for understanding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6
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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green – September 9

Rev. Dr. Shane Green wanted to share a First Steps newsletter from the past in conjunction with last week’s letter.

September 9

E. Stanley Jones, an American missionary to India, once said, “There are two groups of people in this world. There is a very big group of people in this world who are miserable. They live for themselves. There’s another group who have given their lives away to others. Their lives are filled with a wild joy.”

This week, find a way to live for another. Notice the people around you. Invite them into your life. Speak words of love and grace to them. In doing so, we can find joy in serving the One who makes us whole.


September 2 (to read again)

What is the connection between emotional health and spiritual maturity?  Can someone be spiritual mature and emotionally immature?  It has been my experience that the two are related, maybe more than realized.  Unfortunately, Christians tend to bifurcate their life.  This is spiritual while that is emotional (or relational, physical, or mental for that matter) and think they aren’t related.  But they are—very related.

We jump into more Bible study, small groups, worship, prayer, and service thinking it will fix everything.  They are helpful but disciplines are tools, not the solution. Emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable.  As one grows so will the other.  Peter Scazzero, a pastor and author, referenced his own life’s struggles to illustrate this point: “I was a Christian for twenty-two years.  But instead of being a twenty-two-year old Christian, I was a one-year-old Christian twenty-two times!  I just kept doing the same things over and over again.” (Emotional Healthy Spirituality, P.21).

This process was not lost on the Apostle Paul.  He wrote this to the Corinthians: 

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” (Cor 3:1-3).

The sanctification process has as much to do with how your past experiences influence your present as it does your future.  When God makes all things new—some of that work is instantaneous—like our status before God; however, some of that work takes times.  A long time!  The work of the Holy Spirit involves years of continued transformation.  Perhaps past healings lead to future wholeness.

In the coming weeks, I want to use this First Step devotional to identify some of the ways one might bifurcate their life which can lead to spiritual immaturity.  I hope you will join me in prayer as we all are going on to perfection.  Remember, God’s desire is for all to be whole—spiritually, mentality, emotionally, and physically.  

This Week’s Readings:

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We have completed Genesis and are now reading Exodus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:

  • Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
  • Pray for spiritual maturity.
  • Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
  • Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
  • Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders. 
  • Family restoration through forgiveness.
  • Continued growth of the faith of the people.
  • Pray for understanding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6

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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green – September 2

September 2

What is the connection between emotional health and spiritual maturity?  Can someone be spiritual mature and emotionally immature?  It has been my experience that the two are related, maybe more than realized.  Unfortunately, Christians tend to bifurcate their life.  This is spiritual while that is emotional (or relational, physical, or mental for that matter) and think they aren’t related.  But they are—very related.

We jump into more Bible study, small groups, worship, prayer, and service thinking it will fix everything.  They are helpful but disciplines are tools, not the solution. Emotional health and spiritual maturity are inseparable.  As one grows so will the other.  Peter Scazzero, a pastor and author, referenced his own life’s struggles to illustrate this point: “I was a Christian for twenty-two years.  But instead of being a twenty-two-year old Christian, I was a one-year-old Christian twenty-two times!  I just kept doing the same things over and over again.” (Emotional Healthy Spirituality, P.21).

This process was not lost on the Apostle Paul.  He wrote this to the Corinthians: 

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” (Cor 3:1-3).

The sanctification process has as much to do with how your past experiences influence your present as it does your future.  When God makes all things new—some of that work is instantaneous—like our status before God; however, some of that work takes times.  A long time!  The work of the Holy Spirit involves years of continued transformation.  Perhaps past healings lead to future wholeness.

In the coming weeks, I want to use this First Step devotional to identify some of the ways one might bifurcate their life which can lead to spiritual immaturity.  I hope you will join me in prayer as we all are going on to perfection.  Remember, God’s desire is for all to be whole—spiritually, mentality, emotionally, and physically.  

This Week’s Readings:
Monday – Exodus 31
Tuesday – Exodus 32
Wednesday – Exodus 33
Thursday – Exodus 34
Friday – Exodus 35

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We have completed Genesis and are now reading Exodus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:
Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
Pray for guidance in times of wilderness.
Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders.
Continued growth of the faith of the people.
Pray for understanding.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6
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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green – August 25, 2024

This summer, Dr. Green wanted to share some of his favorite First Steps from previous years.  

August 26

Often I feel like my prayers are foul balls, or I really don’t know what to pray.   During these times, I borrow from other people. I pray their prayer, using their words until I can find my own. Their words prime the pump of my mind so that I can eventually unlock my own voice.

If you are like me and find yourself in a season of busyness, a hectic schedule, or pulled from one place to the next; then consider this prayer:

Ever-present God, thank you for being here with me right now. In the chaos of my life, I often forget that you are always with me, always seeking to bring me peace.  I feel overwhelmed, as if the world around me is a heaving, crashing sea; and I am adrift in a small boat, unable to keep the waves from closing over me. Only you can bring order out of this chaos. Say the word, all-powerful God, and I know that the seas will be calmed, and I will be safe. Even as I say these words, I can hear how foolish they are. You, the God of my life, are also the God of order. Bring order to my life, and in doing so, take care of all those concerns that rise up around me like stormwaves. Calm the seas of my busyness; still the waters of my “doingness.” Let me drift on the gentle swells of your love and care. (Pat Wilson—Contemporary Christian Writer).

This Week’s Readings:
Monday – Exodus 26
Tuesday – Exodus 27
Wednesday – Exodus 28
Thursday – Exodus 29
Friday – Exodus 30

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We have completed Genesis and are now reading Exodus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:
Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
Pray for guidance.
Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders. 
Family restoration through forgiveness.
Continued growth of the faith of the people.Pray for inner peace. 

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6
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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green – August 5, 2024

This summer, Dr. Green wanted to share some of his favorite First Steps from previous years.  
August 5On this Monday, I ask you to consider this quote from Julian of Norwich, a 14th Century Christian mystic: “There is no creature made that can understand how much and how sweetly and how tenderly our maker loves us.  And so we may with God’s grace and help stand in spiritual beholding with everlasting marveling at this high, surpassing, immeasurable love that our good Lord has for us.  And therefore we may ask of our Lord, with reverence all that we will, for our natural will is to have God, and God’s good will is to have us, and we can never cease willing or loving until we have God in the fullness of joy.” Make time this week to consider the depths, heights, and lengths, of God’s love for you.  Allow God’s Spirit to spill into you and all that you touch.  Imagine the image of Christ dwelling in and with you.

This Week’s Readings:
Monday – Exodus 11
Tuesday – Exodus 12
Wednesday – Exodus 13
Thursday – Exodus 14
Friday – Exodus 15

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We have completed Genesis and are now reading Exodus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:
Pray for our country and the 2024 Presidential Election.
Pray for guidance.
Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
Pray for comfort for those who are grieving.
Wisdom for our church leaders, local leaders, and world leaders. 
Family restoration through forgiveness.
Continued growth of the faith of the people.
Pray for inner peace.

 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6
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“First Steps” by Rev. Dr. Shane Green – July 29, 2024

This summer, Dr. Green wanted to share some of his favorite First Steps from previous years.

I’m sure you have heard the saying, “Practice makes perfect.” This adage holds much truth and wisdom. The idea is if I do something over and over again, then I will achieve whatever goal I set out to reach. This modern proverb wasn’t lost on the early church fathers and mothers. One father linked time in mediation with immediate action so that nothing was lost. He wrote:

“After a time of meditation, immediately begin to put into practice the resolutions you have made. Don’t wait another day to get started. Without this application, meditation may be useless or even detrimental. Meditate on a virtue without practicing it, and you will mislead yourself into believing that you have actually become someone you are not. If I have resolved to win the heart of my enemy by being gentle toward that person, I will try to find a way this very day to be friendly to him. If I am not able to see that person face to face, I will at least pray for him.”

Living as a Christian is practicing our faith. The more we do it, the more mature we become which yields greater affinity with Christ. The practicing requires both meditation (reflection) AND follow-through (action). Begin this week! Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you during your prayers and to help you follow through as you walk with Him.

This Week’s Readings:
Monday – Exodus 6
Tuesday – Exodus 7
Wednesday – Exodus 8
Thursday – Exodus 9
Friday – Exodus 10

We are reading the Bible in just a little over a year!  We have completed Genesis and are now reading Exodus. You may join anytime.  Just mark your Bible on the chapter you started and keep up with the weekly readings.

Things to Pray About:
Pray for those affected by natural disasters.
Pray for words of kindness, to you and from you.
Pray for guidance, protection, healing, strength, courage, and faith. 
Our unwillingly absent members and shut-ins.
Comfort those who are grieving.
Wisdom for our church leaders (especially through the special called Church Conference), local leaders, and world leaders. 
Family restoration through forgiveness.
Continued growth of the faith of the people.
Pray for inner peace. 

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.” – Philippians 4:6
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