Don’t Be a Couch Potato
If you have kids, or if you ever were a kid, you know that all kinds of things get stuck and lost in the couch cushions. And I have found here a Mr. Potato Head. Did you know that when George Lerner came up with the idea for Mr. Potato Head, he didn’t have a head? It was just all the little pieces that you could stick into an actual potato. And many years later, they started selling the plastic potato head to go along with the pieces. But along the way, Mr. Potato Head developed a bad reputation as a lazy couch potato.
A couch potato is someone who spends most of their time lying around on the couch, they don’t really have any hobbies or interests, they don’t exercise, they just eat junk food and watch tv or even now, just watch their phones. But in 1992, Mr. Potato Head renounced his role as a “couch potato” in a Public Service Announcement for the Presidents’ Council for Physical Fitness. So Mr. Potato Head said, I’m going to get active and do more than just be a consumer. I’m going to be a contributor.
Are you ready to say, “I’m not going to be a couch potato, but I’m going to use this time that we are going through to actually grow to be spiritually mature in my faith.”
We need to discover 4 ways to improve our spiritual health and grow as a mature fully devoted and developed follower of Jesus. At the Connection Church, we have a goal to be the most spiritually mature church in the state of Texas.
Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Ephesians 4:14-15
God wants you to grow in every way to be more and more like Jesus. That’s God’s goal for your life. I’m not the head of the Connection Church. Jesus is. And he fits us in to his body according to his plan for us. Alive things grow. When you stop growing, you start dying.
Age isn’t the issue. Some people have been a Christian for 10 years, but are only like toddlers as Christians. They’re immature, like little kids.
A Place for Growing.
This is your Time Alone With God. That’s your daily devotions or your quiet time. This is a time that happens every day.
There are no rules for the When. You get to decide when you’re going to meet with God. Will it be before work? After work? During work at lunch break? Is it late at night? Is it after the kids go to school. When you wake up at four in the morning? You settle on a when and then stick to that when for a few weeks until it becomes a habit.
Put it in your appointment calendar. How long are you going to meet with God? Did you know that 15 minutes is just over 1% of your whole day?
Do 2 things during your time alone with God:
Read the Bible and Pray.
There is a direct connection between the quality and quantity of time you spend with God and how mature you are. This is where your roots grow deep.
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:7
God’s Word is the right environment for spiritual growth in your life.
What do you need for a quiet time? First, you need a Bible. You also need to make sure it’s in a translation you can understand. I recommend the New Living Translation (NLT) or the New International Version (NIV).
Then second, you need a plan to follow. There are lots of plans you can follow on the Bible app. You can even go through some of the devotionals with your friends.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105
The Bible is a lamp to guide my feet, so I don’t trip up. It’s a light that shines out the way to go and gives me direction for my life.
How does this work?
First, God speaks to you through His Word. And we talk to God through prayer.
This is a time of high stress, anxiety, and worry. If you want to get rid of your worry, start to pray.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
If you want to know what you should pray about, just ask yourself, “What am I worried about?” If you want to worry less, pray more. Because you can’t worry and pray at the same time.
A Quiet Time, Alone with God isn’t about knowing more, it’s about being closely connected with God.
A Place for Sharing
Take a look at your feet. Do you have nice feet or nasty feet?
And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” Romans 10:15
Are you using them to go to people, to spread the good news? If you are, then you have beautiful feet.
A Place for Giving.
As a church, we give away lots of things: free bibles, we are still feeding the children in Guatemala who are being affected by COVID-19 every day, and we are helping people are losing jobs because of the downturn in the economy. We do all this to share the Good News and to see lives changed. When we give, we grow.
We are never more like God than when we give.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
God is a giving generous God. Jesus gave His life away for you and me. And He wants us to be generous with what He gives us. That will speed up your spiritual growth faster than anything else I know.
It’s hard to grow spiritually with a stingy, selfish heart.
A Place for Connection.
If you want to grow in your walk with God, one of the most important steps you can take is to surround yourself with people who can help you grow.
There are people in your life who will slow down your growth, and there are some who will speed up your spiritual growth.
Being a part of a church family is so important because it helps us grow.
And now this word to all of you: You should be like one big happy family, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. 1 Peter 3:8 (TLB)
Everybody needs a church family they can depend on and that can depend on them, especially now during these uncertain times.
You have to take personal responsibility for your spiritual growth. You can’t put your spiritual growth off on someone else.
We can all be at different levels of spiritual maturity, but we all need to be headed in the same direction. We’re going to grow to become all God wants us to be. Together.
Talk It Out Questions
- Read Ephesians 4:14-15. Are you someone who speaks more truth than love, or more love than truth? Why is it important to do both at the same time?
- Share a time when you spoke more truth than love or vice versa. What was the result?
- When it comes to spending time with God:
a. I do it daily and have a set time
b. I do it daily at random times
c. I do it a few times a week
d. I want to do better in this area and am open to suggestions - Read Romans 10:15. Who else are you sharing the Good News with? Have you invited someone to attend church online?
- Have you seen God’s generosity in this pandemic season? What is your response when witnessing generosity?