Choosing to grow to be more Christ like

S Acts 8
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

O - We are called to grow and be shaped into the image of Christ.  We see in this scripture the story of Simon a new believer but one whose heart may not have been in the right place,  for he desired to buy the powers of the Apostles to heal and give the Holy Spirit.   But this is an imature thought of how we are to grow like Christ.  In the process of salvation we are forgiven our sins, and begin a relationship with the Father through Christ, however the effects of a life affected by sin, we have habits, thoughts and beliefs that still need to be transformed.  The process of becoming like Christ is sanctification and is the process of allowing the holy spirit to guide and for you to make effort to transform your old self into the creation God intended you to be.  In the case of Simon it was an imature thought that he might skip to being like the Apostles instantly.  Instead His decision needed to be to simply follow Christ, and allow the process of sanctification to occur through his learning, and doing what the spirit is leading him to do.

A -  The application for me is the same as Simon.   As a new born Christian, I have had different rates of growth,  from new born observer of what it means to be a Christian, to active learner, to active participant.   Each phase was different and shaped me.    In this current season I find myself back in the active observer mode, and am waiting patiently on the Lord for the tug on where to jump back in and be an active participant.   I sense the spirit is leading me back to being an active participant in my family, with my wife and girls.   The foundation of our lives in Christ could use some strengthening and reinforcing.

P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for today's lesson.  Lord give me the the strength to overcome the inertia of being an inactive observer in my family, to being an active participant, and follower of your spirit especially in the area of leadership of my family.  I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.