Growth in the New Year

January 1, 2025

My hope and prayer for all of you, and for myself, is that we will grow spiritually in the new year.  I pray that you will pursue spiritual growth with renewed focus and vigor, resulting in a rich, intimate communion with the Lord.  Spiritual growth is something that must be pursued—it doesn’t just happen on its own.  I want to encourage you to pursue an intentional program of growth in the year ahead. 

What might this look like?  First of all, we need to dedicate ourselves to being in the word of God.  Reading the Bible is not just reading any other book; it is actively taking in words of life that flow from the very mouth of God.  The word of God will change us!  It will transform us from the inside out, if we will allow it.  The word of God will bring light to our path and life to our souls.  I encourage you to begin (or begin again) a plan of reading and reflecting upon the word of God in your daily life in 2025.

Second, I encourage you to heed the words of the apostle Peter, who showed us how to grow.  “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence…” (2 Peter 1:5a NASB95) With this statement Peter begins what is sometimes called the ladder of spiritual growth.  It is a list of qualities all Christians should pursue.  Each quality builds on the previous one and leads us to growth.  But notice where the process begins.  It all starts with making every effort to supply moral excellence.  What is moral excellence?  It is an uncommon, excellent, virtuous character.  Moral excellence is doing what is right and good in every situation.  It is choosing to do what is right even in the “little things.” It is choosing to do what is right even when no one is watching.  If we commit ourselves to moral excellence, we will grow, but if we don’t, growth will be stopped in its tracks.  I encourage you to decide that in 2025 you will pursue what is excellent with all your heart.

Think of where the Lord will take us in the new year if we will seek Him and stay near to Him!  The future is very bright, no matter what challenges lie ahead.  May God grant that each of us will grow in our faith in 2025.   

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Jesus’s Recipe for Virtue

October 25, 2019

My first encounter with recipes was in high school. I had a required course called “Family Living.” It was a course designed to teach us necessary life skills. One assignment was to cook a meal at home for our family.

The first dinner I cooked following recipes was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Okay, I just heated the green beans, but the mashed potatoes were from real potatoes. I learned that following a recipe leads to a particular dish. When you follow the recipe for fried chicken you do not end up with meatloaf. Following a recipe also leads to a particular dish with consistency. All things being equal, if you or anyone else follows the recipe, the same results will occur every time.

I believe that Jesus has a recipe for virtue. What do I mean by virtue? Virtue has to do with moral living and goodness. If we follow Jesus’s recipe, we will develop into people of good character. For the goal is to be like him, conformed to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29). And this recipe will work for everyone who tries it. There is consistency in results following Jesus’s instructions.

Jesus instructs us, “Follow me” (Mark 8:34). Jesus says this twenty times in the gospels. Following Jesus excludes other recipes for virtue or the good life, and competing recipes exist. Historically, the people of God have not always been good at following the Lord’s instructions. They have frequently borrowed from other recipes spoiling the dish. Following Jesus acknowledges him as the living, risen Lord. And this path to virtue requires a relationship with him.

Jesus also instructs us, “Deny yourself and take up your cross” (Mark 8:34). Luke helpfully notes that taking up your cross is a daily task (Luke 9:23). The cross was an instrument of execution, so Jesus’s words were shocking. But speaking of death appears to be a death to self, which compliments the command to deny yourself. Self-denial is certainly counter-cultural. Self-denial is putting Jesus and God first in our lives. Self-denial and dying to self is also putting sin out of our lives and filling ourselves with the things of God.

This is the basic recipe. Yes, there are other commands. But these instructions prepare us to follow Jesus anywhere he leads and do anything he commands. Following Jesus will lead to the virtuous and good life. If we are going to find the life that pleases God, we need Jesus’s recipe for virtue.

— Russ Holdern

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Posted by Russell Holden