Sharing my Growth

Blog #110 January 01, 2026

Proverbs16:3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

The ways of covenant are impossible when attempted by mortal man alone. Only our connection to God and strength given through His Holy Spirit will allow us to labor effectively for God's purpose. As we grow in our willingness to reach out to God we will discover an absence of fear and doubt. When we allow ourselves to be free of the bondage that plagues the life of natural man, a trust in God and the ways of God is born. In possession of this trust we are humbled by a pure sense of hope that fills our hearts. Further, the strength of this humility allows us to recognize God's Spirit as a source of the understandings we seek. Like the anointing of Aaron as he was confirmed and sanctified as the High Priest of Israel, we must allow ourselves to be drenched from head to toe with the righteousness of all that is given. We need to allow the wisdom of God through the Spirit to fill our hearts to overflowing.

Leviticus 8: 12 And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.

Psalms 133:2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments;

In this flood of righteousness, our very lives become filled with strength unto diligence, and knowledge unto understanding. We must leave behind the goals we as mortal men chose. Instead we must commit ourselves to the righteousness offered by God's Holy Spirit as we labor to bring His purpose to the world. No longer do we allow the clever ways of man to control our thoughts or our actions. Our understandings become those of the Father, and our ways are guided by His wisdom. In truth we are being offered the most reliable source in all of creation.

Consider if you will the entity that we serve. Consider the sheer omnipotence of God our Father. The Prophet Jeremiah tells us of an invincible, all-knowing, and all-powerful God. Read this passage and let your heart be humbled.

Jeremiah 10:12-13
10:12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
10:13 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightning's with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.

Consider now our Father. His abilities are without limit for those who would accept Him as their Father. His love for them knows no limits and His grace is without equal.

John 3:16-17
3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish; but have everlasting life.
3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Now, open your heart to the fullness God offers each of His children. He sent His only child to be tormented and murdered for people that openly and willingly rebelled against the pure righteousness that is the Gospel of the Kingdom. Again, that which is of God may be beyond our capacity to understand or accomplish. But it is not beyond our ability to appreciate and imitate.

Mosiah 1:39 For I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.

We have discovered that God's authority is unequaled. We believe His wisdom to be a truth that leaves no room for doubt. Allowing these two attributes to describe the true nature of God, all that He promises His children becomes both real and alive. He gives us an understanding of how everything He created has both a place and a purpose. Our growth in the ways of God makes us aware that the love of God is as pure as it is unending. He seeks to give us all that money cannot buy, and tells us that nothing in this life or the next can take from us what we accept from Him. God's love will be ours until we choose to refuse it.

Romans 8:38-39
8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let this be the foundation on which our humility to God and the ways of God is built. Let it be the driving force that leads us forward in our labor. Let it separate us from the lust of the world and let it drive us to seek others that would be separate with us.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Ours is a labor of truth and God is truth. A steadfast faith in God and His truth allow us to grow toward perfection. Only a genuine faith in God's truth will give us the ability to achieve all that we seek to accomplish. In this, He prepares us, and by this, we are trained to labor full of faith and free from doubt and fear.

Isaiah 29:25 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men, save it be according to their faith.

Seeking to grow through God's Spirit enables our hearts to recognize the true worth of those "things" that bring us closer to God. That which we valued as people of the world will become useless as we grow in our labor for God. As we strive against our mortal nature all that was acceptable and necessary to us takes on an entirely different aspect. When compared to the needs of the Kingdom, the desires of our hearts become those "things", which the world considers worthless.

Matthew 6:19-21
6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.
6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Consider what God is preparing us for. The adversary will tempt us with all that the world has to offer, but we must counter this effort with God's strength, His wisdom, and our faith. We need the ability to discern the true nature of the temptations we will face. For this we are given God's Spirit as the source for all we need in our times of trial. The Spirit will teach us to discern what in this world is worthy of the Kingdom and what is corruptible and useless to our labors. We must recognize the dilemma this act of comparison causes and reach out to the Spirit seeking the discernment we need. We must then invest ourselves fully in direction given by the Spirit. Even Christ faced this same dilemma and was tempted, as we will be. His response was based on the true worth of what was offered as compared to the Kingdom of God.

Matthew 4:8-9
4:8 And again, Jesus was in the Spirit, and it taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them.
4:9 And the devil came unto him again, and said, All these things will I give unto thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

This temptation of Christ is a type and shadow of what we will face at the hand of the adversary. Don’t think for a minute that Satan was unable to fulfill the promise he made to Christ. Had Christ fell down and worshipped him, the devil would surely have made Him ruler of the whole world. The prize was great in the eyes of mortal man, but Christ viewed true worth through the eyes of the Kingdom. The kingdoms the adversary offered were temporal and corrupt. Within a very short time, they would die and be blown away by the winds of time. Christ would become a burden of bondage to all the peoples of those Kingdoms. Love would not be and option; He would have to rule by fear.

God’s Kingdom will be a place of righteousness committed to the ways of God by the willingly obedient choice of a people preparing to receive His righteousness as their own. Satan’s offering to Christ was in no way worthy of the Kingdom. It was worthless to the righteousness God seeks to create among His people. We need in our hearts that exact type of discernment.

Isaiah 66:1-2
66:1 Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; where is the house that ye build unto me; and where is the place of my rest?
66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord; but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Nephi's brother Jacob in his testimony to the people of Nephi is a second witness to what is of true worth to the Kingdom of God we seek.

2 Nephi 6:98-102
6:98 Behold, my soul abhorreth sin, and my heart delighteth in righteousness; and I will praise the holy name of my God.
6:99 Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
6:100 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which can not satisfy.
6:101 Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel,
6:102 And feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.
The way of covenant is to join together in both effort and wisdom to attain those "things" that are the desires of our hearts. In covenant with God it is our labor to do just that and then share with all who will receive the love of God and the everlasting ways of His Kingdom. God offers us this wisdom:

We seek, that we might receive.
We receive, that we might share.
We share that the glory of God might live in the hearts of all His children.

FRED