Jeff Adams

Lost in Reflection

The remnant of Jews in Nehemiah’s day assembled together to worship God and pray to reestablish the foundations of Hebrew society. As they prayed, they listed all the many ways God provided for them and their ancestors and also their continued disobedience.  In the Nehemiah study this morning I took this example to say that two obstacles that can keep us from fulfilling the mission God has for us are pride and failure to grow.

Grow is the one word theme we have adopted for this year. Both as an individual and as the church we are asking God to grow. Not only do I want to avoid pride by surrendering the control of my life to God, I want to learn from my sin and mistakes, avoiding them in the future. So, along with you, I am examining my life and assessing those areas where I need to grow.

This assessment of areas where growth is needed is all part of the discipleship process. When Paul left Titus in Crete, he gave him the following instructions. He was to find out what was lacking in the lives of the believers and fill the void. Then, he was to reproduce himself by developing other leaders (Titus 1:5).

We have been through a wonderful week of The Summit. There is a growing sense and awareness that God is doing something special. Let’s not blow it! Let’s set aside our pride and learn from past mistakes. Let’s examine our lives, find out what’s lacking and fill the voids. Then, let’s grow and reproduce ourselves in others!