Experience God's Grace and Mercy When You Give Your Personal Best to Him.
Perhaps the first and foremost problem that stunts the spiritual growth for many a new Christian is the false analysis of the personal best. Up to the waters of baptism, the would-be disciple is coached, guided, and spoon fed a host of truths and new information about God. It does not take long for the young Christian to experience the first stirring of understanding about God's grace and mercy, and when the sinner commits to turn away from a life led for personal gratification and instead turns to a life of Christ-likeness, it is with earnest intent and desire.
Sadly, soon the notion of giving their personal best to God trips up those who fail to transition from accepting others' instructions about a loving God to fixing their eyes on Jesus instead. As Satan seeks to snuff out the tender shoots of a growing love for the redeeming grace of Jesus' sacrifice, feelings of inadequacy begin to multiply. You see, the new disciples are comparing themselves now to those who might have been in the faith for years or even decades, failing to see that the personal best is not quantitative but instead qualitative in nature.
Whereas for a well to do Christian it is easier to give a sizeable weekly tithe, the $5 the new Christian is able to scrape together suddenly appears paltry. In the same vein, when listening to the flowery prayers of some during get-togethers, the somewhat forced ovations to God that the new Christian has to offer seem meaningless. The results are dangerous: instead of experiencing God's grace and mercy to the full, the new disciple in instead filled with feelings of shame, inadequacy, and subsequent emotional pain of simply not living up to anyone's standards. Compounded with the guilt of just not being able to "get happy," many Christians suffer in silence and puts on a good front.
Perhaps the first and foremost problem that stunts the spiritual growth for many a new Christian is the false analysis of the personal best. Up to the waters of baptism, the would-be disciple is coached, guided, and spoon fed a host of truths and new information about God. It does not take long for the young Christian to experience the first stirring of understanding about God's grace and mercy, and when the sinner commits to turn away from a life led for personal gratification and instead turns to a life of Christ-likeness, it is with earnest intent and desire.
Sadly, soon the notion of giving their personal best to God trips up those who fail to transition from accepting others' instructions about a loving God to fixing their eyes on Jesus instead. As Satan seeks to snuff out the tender shoots of a growing love for the redeeming grace of Jesus' sacrifice, feelings of inadequacy begin to multiply. You see, the new disciples are comparing themselves now to those who might have been in the faith for years or even decades, failing to see that the personal best is not quantitative but instead qualitative in nature.
Whereas for a well to do Christian it is easier to give a sizeable weekly tithe, the $5 the new Christian is able to scrape together suddenly appears paltry. In the same vein, when listening to the flowery prayers of some during get-togethers, the somewhat forced ovations to God that the new Christian has to offer seem meaningless. The results are dangerous: instead of experiencing God's grace and mercy to the full, the new disciple in instead filled with feelings of shame, inadequacy, and subsequent emotional pain of simply not living up to anyone's standards. Compounded with the guilt of just not being able to "get happy," many Christians suffer in silence and puts on a good front.
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