Maturity is not always a given and age is not always a good indication of maturity; the same is true for the Christian. You could have been a Christian for ages or for just a few years, your maturity depends on how you go about living out, investigating and investing in your faith in Christ. So how do we mature as Christians?
We grow in our life for the Lord, love for His Word, love for His people and in our love for the lost. We wrestle with the Bible and how we can and should be submitting to it. We can think about the deep theological things that Scripture presents to us. We should pour over Scripture and devour it like it’s the most important book in the word, because it is. We spend time with other more mature believers and learn from them!
The list could go on and on, maybe I’ll write a blog post about it at some point, but the focus of this post is to bring two books to your attention that are designed to help you mature spiritually and to grow in your faith.
Kingdom Citizenship by Kris Brossett
Growing in spiritual maturity requires work; we need to actively pursue it, we cannot sit back and be amazed if nothing changes. Also, we grow best when we are surrounded by other who also want to grow and, at the same time, want to see us grow.
That’s why I really like this book by Kris Brossett! It’s not a book with a formula, or a cheat sheet to spiritual maturity, but it is a six week journey that you’ll embark on with a group of peers.
This book is designed for the new Christian, the seasoned saint and for the person investigating Christianity. Each day you’ll find a short explanation, Bible passage for reading, reflection questions and a short prayer. At the end of each week you gather with the same group of people and discuss what you’ve been learning, you get to ask questions and be open and honest with a group of people who are wanting to see you grow in your faith. The key is to act on what you’re learning, as Brossett says…
“It’s important to learn what the Bible teaches about God and to obey what you learn. If you don’t obey God, you’ll never know His power; if you don’t know who God is, you’ll obey a god of your own making”
This is a great book to do in a one-to-one or in a small discipleship group, I think that it could be a great help to many people’s spiritual growth because it gets you into Scripture, gets you thinking and asking questions and it gets you to search your own heart. The book covers topics like; sin and brokenness, faith and hope, God’s grace and mercy, holiness and the Church and spiritual disciplines. I highly recommend that you grab a copy here and start meeting with someone else, that you would grow in your faith and maturity to the glory of God.
Rating 5/5
Kris Brossett is a follower of Jesus and urbanite from Los Angeles. He has been a pastor, church planter, and ministry leader in various capacities and contexts. He has a love for the city, for the marginalized, and for the Church.
I AM by Brian Russel
The majority of Christians might not pick up a thick Systematic Theology book to study the attributes of God, but they don’t have to! The place we turn to learn about God should always be Scripture, that is this book is so helpful, I AM is full of Bible verses that teach you about the attributes of God.
Why should Christians spend their time studying about God?
“The highest study that can ever engage the human mind is surely the being and character of God, the Creator and Ruler of the universe… to disregard the study of God is to impoverish ourselves. It is to go through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of why we are here and where we are headed”
This book is dedicated to that wonderful study of God. Russell walks through the attributes of God and gives you Bible passages, quotes from Christians and theologians and lifts your eyes to the Majesty of our Great God! But what is an attribute?
“An attribute is a quality belonging naturally (intrinsically) to someone or something. It is not the essence of what is being referred to, but a quality characteristic of it”
The book is split into two half; the first describing the incommunicable attributes of God, and the second describing the communicable attributes of God. I could fill this post with endless quotes from the book, but that wouldn’t be helpful. If you want to grow in your faith, if you want to mature spiritually then the study of God is a must! This book is a great place to start. There is no greater topic to devote your time to than studying our wonderful Creator. This book will stretch your mind, it will take you to your Bible and it will make you praise our Great God. This book is the result of a man who has spent many years with the Saviour and it will be a great tool to help you grow in your love for and knowledge of Him. Buy a copy here and be blown away by the great I AM.
Rating 5/5
Brian A. Russell entered the pastoral ministry in 1962. He has served churches in South Africa, where he was born, Zimbabwe, and Virginia, USA, where he now lives. He is the author of a number of books, including Saved by Grace from First to Last and Behold My Servant. He and his wife Muriel have three grown children.
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