Cultivating Body Soul and Spirit

Luke 2:52 KJV

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Several years ago now I accepted this passage as a challenge from God's Word concerning the areas I ought to grow. Using the tri part nature of man: body, soul and spirit, as identified in Luke 2:52, I began consciously cultivating my personal life in these three areas:

I. BODY

The body is that part of our being that responds to our world and its surroundings. It is the only one of the three parts of the saved man that has not been redeemed as of yet. It awaits its redemption at the resurrection. My spirit is in constant strife with my flesh. The following are those areas I have targeted for personal growth.

A. Humility

     Meekness of Moses

     Exercising contemplation when we are humbled or humiliated by someone or something. Allowing that event to be a learning opportunity in our life.

 

B. Confession

     Awareness of sin

     Acknowledge that before God

C. Discipline

     In what is eaten

     In exercise

     In work

II. SOUL

I identified this as that part of man which responds to others. Based on that assumption I put together these areas to target for personal growth.

A. Education 

  Rhetoric

     The art of communication in a convincing manner. 

  Logic

     The ability to see an event, hear a verbal communication or read a paper and come to accurate conclusions is a skill that must be developed

  Language

     Learning the rules of our language well is essential in communication. 

B. Accountability

  Manners

     This speaks to how others perceive you.

   Attitude

     This speaks to how you perceive the events of life

  Personal Growth and development

     This speaks to commitment to your relationships with others

C. Generosity

     Ministry to others

          Whether it is spiritual or by meeting a real need of another soul

     Concern for others

          Thoughtfulness. Being aware of another's place in life; their feelings, their preferences, their background, their special days such as birthdays and anniversaries, their strengths and their weaknesses

     Communication with others

          More than awareness, communication reaches out. If it is a birthday, an expression given toward them. If it is the anniversary of the passing of a loved one, a condolence. etc

III. SPIRIT

This is the part of man that communes with God. It is dead prior to salvation but is quickened at the moment of salvation. While my targets here might seem smaller than the other two, this in fact is the most critical of my personal growth plan.

A. Prayer

     Journal

     List and log of requests and answers

B. Bible comprehension and practice 

     Daily reading

     Daily study

     Daily meditation

C. Church

     Faithfulness in attendance

     Participation and interaction with the people and the flow of the services

     Service purposeful ministry within the church

     Outreach planned efforts to take the gospel message to others outside of the church through visitation, tract distribution, personal invitations, door to door ministry

While I cannot say that I have attained even a modest degree of perfection in any of these areas, I can testify to faithfully working toward these growth targets and to being blessed by the doing of it.

Marvin McKenzie

In the field

The Fishing Is Still Fine

At the moment of this writing it is my pleasure to host Evangelist Larry Clayton. This is perhaps the fifth or sixth year we have had he and Lois here and it is always such a pleasure.
This year Brother Clayton recounted the story of leading Jack and his wife to the Lord. Jack was a successful businessman and a recipient of the Korean Medal of Honor. But when Brother Clayton instructed he and his wife to kneel there at their couch and trust the Lord, their lives were forever changed.

Brother Clayton said he explained to Jack that he was not going to be in town much longer so he had to dump the whole load on him right then. Jack told him to go ahead and pile it on. Brother Clayton told him about

• baptism
• church membership
• faithfulness and
• service

He told him about

• prayer and
• Bible study and
• tithing

He gave him a whole discipleship program in one night.

Months later Brother Clayton spoke to Jack who said, "I've been doing just what you told me to do preacher."
A few years later he quit his successful career and went to Bible College. He and his son were students at the same time.
Jack served on Brother Clayton's revival teams for two years and went on to pastor a church on the East Coast until Alzheimer's took his mind. (Jack's wife one time confided to Brother Clayton that she was just about to divorce Jack that day the preacher came and led them to know Christ.)

And then Brother Clayton looked me in the eyes and said, "It doesn't seem like we catch that big of fish much any more."

Times have changed even in the world of fishing. Fishermen just don't catch as big of fish as they once did. In some cases the big fish they once caught no longer exist. A friend who has worked for the fish hatchery service in Oregon once told me that the species of Salmon from the Columbia River that could weigh 100-150 pounds no longer exists. It is not merely that salmon are being caught before they can reach that size but that the species of salmon that grew to such great sizes has been eliminated; fished into extinction. Tales of catching those fish are left to fewer and fewer people who are still alive to tell the stories. Mind you, it is not that there are no fish to catch today. They are just not those fish.

I went out to eat with Brother Clayton and Pastor Benjamin Park, from Korea tonight. Brother Clayton told us stories of preaching in Korea in the 60's and 70's when nine thousand factory workers would come stand in the fields and listen  to him preach. Scores of professions of faith in Christ were made and churches were planted almost daily in those days. Pastor Park mused almost under his breath, "I wish we could see those days again, but I am afraid they are over." To which Brother Clayton replied, "It is a different kind of work now, but no less important."

In other words, the fishing is still fine, even though it is a different sort of fish we catch.

Marvin McKenzie
From the field

To my readers:

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For more than 3700 Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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