Week 3 -- Let's Get Personal!

One way to draw closer to God is to get to know His creation.  A very good place to start, then, is to know the creation that is you.  God is not a cookie-cutter Creator. He made each of us to be unique individuals, to reflect His glory. Our Upward Training plan is based on God’s general vision for us, but is also customized, or personalized for each of us.

This week, we will consider our individual  Spiritual Pathways and Signature Sins. Why is it important to examine these things? Because they are a part of what makes you—you! Some are strengths and some are weaknesses; some are simply the individual ways we see life and worship God.

Spiritual Pathways are the primary ways we, as individuals, experience God. In his book, An Ordinary Day with God; Experiencing the Reality of God in Your Everyday Life, John Ortberg explains that walking with Christ requires a conscious effort. This may require us to try new things, but likely, it may require us more to do the things we are already doing in new, creative ways.

Although it is important to be open to different Learning Styles, knowing our individual learning style may help us to understand why different styles and means of worship speak to us more than others. Once we have a good understanding of why we think and learn about God the way we do, we will be able to grow beyond that, to incorporate new learning styles, to be able to see God in a new and exciting light.

In his book, Inside Out, Larry Crabb stresses that in order for us to understand and experience a thirst for God, we need to break bad habits, recognize subtle sin, and develop a passion in our pursuit of God.  Crabb writes, “Christ wants us to face reality as it is, including all the fears, hurts, resentments, and self-protective motives we work hard to keep out of sight, and to emerge as changed people.” In Upward Training, we are to set our eyes upward, and doing so requires us to identify and confront sin. Biblically, the concept of sin involves both Original Sin (“Ademic Nature”)—which is our inherent proclivity to sin (Romans 8)—and Personal Sin (2 Timothy 3: 2-5), or our wrongful attitudes and behaviors (Romans 1:29-32). Since Original Sin gives way to Personal Sin, we are inclined, in our own ways, to take on Signature Sins, or specific patterns of sin in our lives that affect our thoughts and actions and wound our relationships, especially our relationship with our Lord. Therefore, we must honestly confront our sin and sin nature, and confess.

The Greek word “homologeo”, which is the word typically translated as “confess” in English, most literally means “to speak the same thing.” In other words, the act of confession is agreeing with God about our sin. Imagine the intimacy we have with the Lord when we humbly approach Him and agree with Him about our weaknesses and sin! Imagine how He draws us near in this agreement, and wraps us in His righteousness! Without this step of confession, it is impossible to move upward in our pursuit of godliness.

Take the time this week to discover more about yourself: your Spiritual Pathways, and your Signature Sins. Take time to meditate on these areas, and to learn more about God’s intimate creation, you.

Prayer: Reflecting specifically on this devotional, write out a prayer to God.