Over this year we studied areas in which we can all ‘Flourish Even More.’ Is it beneficial to us to develop a desire to keep learning and growing in our knowledge of God and His will throughout our lifetime (Psalm 92:1-15):
January - Flourish Even More in Righteousness:
Righteousness is ‘equity of
character or act.’ ‘Equity of character’ is to possess all good qualities (of God, His attributes) in perfect
balance.
God is just while still possessing compassion and mercy. God is
kind but His disposition toward sin will never be altered. God is love, but His
love never undermines His Truth. For example: 2 Peter 3:9 “[God] is longsuffering toward
us, not willing that any should perish (His love for us), but that all
should come to repentance” – His truth states that we will perish if we
do not repent and submit to Him (see
Romans 2:2-11). His love offers us hope, but we have a responsibility
toward Him in order to have salvation.
All that God is, is in perfect balance! We should always be
striving to be like Him in all things (1
Peter 1:13-16, 1 John 3:1-3, Ephesians 5:1), striving to conduct ourselves
with that same balance (Matthew 6:33).
Passages to Read and Remember: 2 Timothy 2:22, Matthew 5:6, Philippians 3:12-15, Proverbs 21:21
February –
Flourish Even More in Good Habits:
Over this
month we dug into the statement found in Titus 2:11-14 (please take time to read it); we learned that God, through the
apostle Paul, packed so much good information into that one sentence!
We learned:
- To Be Watchful of our Tendencies/Habits So We
Can Change the Sinful Ones (Titus 2:12)
- Put Good Habits to Put Into Their Place (Titus
2:12, 14)
- Where to Keep Our Focus So We Can Maintain Our
Attention (Titus 2:11, 14)
Passages to Read and Remember: Titus 1-3, Colossians 3:1-17, Ephesians 4:17-24, Romans 13:11-14
March – Flourish Even More in Purity:
What is
pure? God (1 John 3:3), God’s words (Psalm 12:6),
every
word (Proverbs 30:5-6); they
are very
pure (Psalm 119:140), God’s commandment (Psalm 19:8), the waters of
baptism (Hebrews 10:22), and wisdom from above (James 3:17).
Pure means clean,
untainted by impurities/evil, without fault so that means that God, His
words, His commands, and His wisdom are all pure, clean, untainted by evil, and
without fault. Think on that again for a moment: no sin can be in God’s
presence (Psalm 5:4), His words and
commands are for our good always (Deuteronomy
6:24-25), and His wisdom is a tree of life from which we will obtain
unsullied guidance that will lead us home to eternal life with Him (Proverbs 3:13-26). It also means that
the waters of baptism (Hebrews 10:22)
are without fault and it is there that we are washed and made pure from all our
sins; it is there that we become children of God and begin maintaining the
purity God granted us.
What parts of us need to be pure?
We learned
that every part of us needs to be pure, because every part is linked – and we
with each other – so we must give constant attention to:
- Ourselves (1 John 3:1-3, Psalm 24:3-5, 51:10, 1
Thessalonians 4:1-8, 1 Timothy 4:12) and our example so
we can properly teach younger women (Titus 2:3-5)
- Our souls (1 Peter 1:22-23, also read and consider John
3:1-8, 1 John 1:8-10)
- Our religion (how we put God’s instruction in action,
James 1:27, 2 Corinthians 9:8)
- Our conscience (1 Timothy 5:2, 2 Timothy 1:3, Hebrews
10:19-23, 1 John)
- Our hearts (Acts 15:9, and consider Hebrews 11:6,
Matthew 5:8, 2 Timothy 2:22)
- Our words (Luke 6:43-45, Proverbs 15:26, Ephesians
4:29-32, Proverbs 25:11-12)
- Our minds (2 Peter 3:1, Proverbs 16:2, 30:11-14,
John 8:43-45, Matthew 7:15, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Galatians 1:6-10, and
Philippians 4:8)
- Our eyes (Luke 11:34, read and consider Psalm
101:3-4)
- Our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Romans 12:1-2,
consider Matthew 5:27-30, Ephesians 5:1-7, Hebrews 13:4, 1 Corinthians
6:13-18, also read and consider Colossians 3:1-17 and 1 Thessalonians
4:3-5)
Passages to Read and Remember: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, John 3:1-8, James 1:27, Hebrews 10:19-23
April –
Flourish Even More in Holiness:
Last month we spent our time
together looking at the need to purify ourselves as God is pure, and this month
we studied purity’s sister-attribute: holiness.
Like purity, we will not see the Lord without it (Hebrews 13:14, 1 John 3:1-3).
- Pure means clean, untainted by impurities/evil, without fault
- Holy means sacred, set apart (to be exclusively the
Lord’s), different (than the world) because you’re like the Lord
Purity has a lot to do with our inner selves – our hearts, souls, thoughts, and intentions – the things we let in and influence us, whereas holiness is what others can see; it is our example, our actions, and behaviours. We will purify ourselves and do all that is needed to keep ourselves pure because we understand that we are now holy and set apart (from the world) for God’s service (Romans 6:19, 12:1-2). We need pure thoughts and motives to be holy in all our conduct (1 Peter 1:15).
Passages to Read and Remember: 2 Corinthians 6:16b -7:1, Colossians 1:22, Ephesians 4:20-24, 1 Thessalonians 4:7
May and June – Flourish Even More in Fruit:
God wants us to produce good fruit. We, as Christians and members of the kingdom of God, are to be bearing the good fruit of God’s kingdom (consider Matthew 21:43). Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruits (Matthew 12:33), and we have within us (as humans with free will) the potential to bear either the fruit of sin (which leads to death) or the fruit to holiness (which leads to everlasting life, Romans 6:21-23); we can choose to be either a tree lost in the darkness of the devil’s decaying orchard or we can be planted and flourishing in the courts of our God (Psalm 92:13-14).
Our conduct is our fruit, so we must:
- Bear fruits worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:8) – making the
changes that prove that we have turned our backs to ungodliness and worldly
lusts (Titus 2:11-12, 2 Timothy 2:22)
while clinging to what is good (Romans 12, John 14:6)
- Be filled with the fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:9-11, 2 Corinthians 9:9-11) – doing what is right in God’s sight, according to His commands and
instructions (James 1:21-25, 1 John 3:7)
- Be fruitful in every good work (Colossians 1:9-11) – doing
good for others, generously sharing
our blessings with them (Psalm 68:19, 2
Corinthians 9:7-8)
- Bear good fruit/good words (Matthew
12:34-35) - our words need to be
good and beneficial (Ephesians 4:29,
Colossians 4:6, Psalm 39:1a).
- Walk in the Spirit so
that the Spirit can bear His fruit in our lives (Galatians
5:16-26)
We all are blossoming with
potential for good! We need to be determined that we go on to flourish this
year in abundance of good fruit. We must remain on guard and be watchful (1 Peter 5:8, Ephesians 6:10-18), and keep ourselves firmly rooted
and nourished through study and application of God’s word (Matthew 5:6, 2 Timothy 3:16-17). We must prune out the bad (thoughts, words, habits) and graft in
the good (thoughts, words, habits,
Proverbs 23:7a, Ephesians 4:29-31, 2 Timothy 2:22, Galatians 6:10) so that
the fruit we produce is always good and beneficial!
Passages to Read and Remember: Galatians 5:16-26, John 15:8
July and August – Flourish Even More in Peace:
Peace, perfect peace.
It is more than just a quiet moment after a chaotic day. It is a quiet mind and
a calm heart even amidst the chaos. Is it
attainable? YES! What God
commands, we can do; what God
promises, He will do!
We need to have a heart that learns to truly love –
undefeatable goodwill and benevolence that seeks only good for the other – in
order to pursue peace which is a sincere wish that the other will blessed with ‘everything that make’s for man’s highest
good.’
All too often we are content with a peace that is only
visible on the surface. We think, ‘there
are no negative interactions, no outward upset, so we’re at peace right?’
Yet our hearts are disappointed, discouraged, angry, frustrated, irritated, or
fuming. Our hearts are so darkened that the very idea of hoping that our fellow
man has everything that makes for their highest good is something we sneer and
scoff at. God wants us to pursue true peace, and it begins in the heart (Colossians 3:15).
Passages to Read and Remember: Philippians 4:6-8, Hebrews 12:14, Isaiah 32:17, Romans 12:15-17
September
and October – Flourish Even More in Giving:
We studied
over these months that we must first give
ourselves to God, then give thanks
to God for all that He has done, continues to do, and for all He has
promised yet to do! We learned that we need to flourish in giving glory to God, because He is worthy of our every thought of
love and word of praise – He has blessed us with all we have – and we need to use
these blessings to give to others! So we try to give time, give physical needs, and give generously! We are vigilant
to not give opportunity to the devil, nor give heed to man-made ideas and
notions, instead, we determine to give
time and attention to study of the God’s word so that we won’t give offense
in anything for the gospel’s sake! And we will give it our all (Colossians
3:23)! We will let God – our glorious Creator and loving Father - motivate us
toward daily determined diligence to flourish even more in giving!
Passages to Read and Remember: Psalm 29:1-2, Luke 14:26-27, 33, Ephesians 4:27, 2 Corinthians 6:3, 1 Timothy 1:3b-4, 4:12-13, 15-16; 6:17-19
November
and December – Flourish Even More in Knowledge:
Why should we
flourish in knowledge?
Without knowledge of God’s righteousness, we risk making up
our own (or following someone else’s,
i.e. doctrines/creeds of men) – Romans 10:2-3. Knowing of God, but not
pursuing His righteousness, will prevent others from knowing the truth and
obeying it (Romans 1:18)!
Refusing to grow further in knowledge reveals a complacency
about God and His will (Proverbs 1:32-33,
Revelation 3:15-16, Matthew 24:42, 1 Peter 5:8). Without proper knowledge
we may teach and/or guide others incorrectly (Acts 8:14-24, 13:45, 14:1-2), we could be a roadblock to their
understanding (Galatians 2:11-13, Luke
11:52, Hebrews 5:12-13), and we, ourselves will inevitably become weak (Hebrews 5:12-14).
“…attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2b-3 NKJV)
Passages to Read and Remember: Proverbs 1:7, Ecclesiastes 7:12b, Ephesians 1:15-23, Colossians 1:9-11
You can look at any of the posts made this year (and in
previous years) by going to: faithfullyflourishing.blogspot.ca There is a month
by month listing along the right-hand side of the page, as well as a keyword
listing that you can click and find all posts pertaining to that keyword.
It is my hope that throughout this year-long study you have
taken time to consider areas in which you can continue to grow and flourish.
Maybe some of the areas we have studied this year fanned the flame of your
service and ignited your determination to develop further. May our gracious and
glorious God bless you as you continue to faithfully flourish!
Because you can do
it! And so can I!!
Note: I will be taking a break over the next two weeks. If the Lord wills, I will resume
posting on January 6, 2025. If there are any topics or books of the Bible you
would like to study in the new year, please email me, any time, at catharine.fairchild@gmail.com.
If you have any questions you would like answered in form of a post, send
them along as well.
