We The Beautiful Mess Become Our Best When
- We believe that He has moved us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light
“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14 NASB
“I always thank my God for you because of the grace that he has given you through Christ Jesus. In him you have been blessed in every way. You have been blessed in all your speaking and all your knowledge. This proves that what we told you about Christ is true. Now you have every gift from God while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again. He will keep you strong until the end so that on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes, you will be free from all blame. God is faithful. He is the one who has chosen you to share life with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 ERV
“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.” 2 Peter 1:3-4 NIV
- We embrace that He is moving us from messy to maturing
“And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as spiritual people, but only as fleshly, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like ordinary people? For when one person says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am with Apollos,” are you not ordinary people?” 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 NASB
We can evaluate our maturity by our spiritual diet
Milk (1 Peter 2:2)
Bread (Matthew 4:4)
Meat (Hebrews 5:11-14)
We can evaluate our maturity by our practice of love and unity
- We cooperate with Him in moving us from an unfruitful life to a fruitful life
“What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers, God’s field…” 1 Corinthians 3:5-9a NASB
- We build our lives on the right foundation
“You are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.” So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.” 1 Corinthians 3:9b-23 NASB 95