Malnutrition is a prevalent and serious global impediment to healthy human development. Much of the world’s population suffers from under-nutrition, diets lacking in adequate calories and proteins. Wealthier nations deal with malnutrition in a different form. Excess consumption of unhealthy fats and carbohydrates causes severe health problems. Any form of malnutrition is a tragic reality that aborts the potential of living a healthy and productive life.

Spiritual malnutrition is a needless plague with serious consequences. It is a tragedy when Christ-followers do not grow into the fullness of their holy identity in Christ. Man was created to know God, to glorify Him by displaying His holy character. Feeding upon the fleeting pleasures of this world, sinful desires and lie-based beliefs starves the life of Christ in us. The sin-conquering power of the indwelling Holy Spirit is rendered inoperative.

As children need proper nutrition to grow physically, so too, children of God must nourish the life of Christ in them to mature spiritually.

“As newborn babes, desire the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word, that you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2).

Jesus is the Word of God and faith grows through the daily intake of His words. The Holy Spirit teaches and guides us into the truth of Christ, empowering our obedience to it. Obedient faith results in victory over sin. His word purifies our thoughts and conduct. The resulting fruit from our lives is holy character. This is what it means to “grow in respect to salvation”, being daily delivered from sin.

Are you nourishing the life of Christ in you? If not, your faith will be weak. You will not stand against the lies of Satan or the sinful patterns and desires of your old nature. Come humbly and repentantly to Jesus. Cultivate His friendship. God’s Spirit will be released to work powerfully, growing you into a vigorous likeness of His glorious Son.

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the Bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry.”

John 6:35

The woman at the cash register looked at my husband, as people have done his entire life, and said, “I know who your father is. You look just like him.” A profound resemblance between a parent and child often results when the genetic traits in one parent’s DNA are more dominant than the other parent’s. Beyond facial features and body structure, some children even share a parent’s mannerisms and expressions.

There’s never been a more striking resemblance than that of Jesus to His heavenly Father. The likeness was so exact that Jesus could say, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Scripture describes Jesus as:

“…the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:3).

“…the image of the invisible God…God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him” (Colossians 1:15,19).

As Jesus was in this world, so we are called to be. Because the Holy Spirit lives in us, the glorious character of God — His excellence, purity and holiness — can be displayed in and through us. The physical resemblance between a parent and child stems from deep within. Likewise, the Spirit of God living in our spirit will be beautifully expressed as we allow Him to live through us. We will think like Him, speak like Him and act like Him.

It was said of Jesus:

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14).

When we allow God’s Word to penetrate and dominate our thinking, our lives will increasingly resemble the life of the One called The Word. God’s Word is the tool He uses to ensure that the DNA He put in us is displayed in our lives.

“Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

We’ve been given the ultimate privilege, calling and blessing: to become living examples of who God is. May it be said of us: “I know who your Father is. You look just like Him.”

A catastrophic avalanche struck the alpine village of Galtur, Austria in February of 1999. Thundering down the mountainside at 180 miles per hour, the avalanche buried fifty-seven people in less than sixty seconds. An immediate and massive rescue operation was deployed that saved many lives.

Christ-followers need constant rescuing from sometimes sudden and potentially devastating emotions that arise from challenging circumstances. Illnesses, financial burdens and relational struggles seek to bury us under an avalanche of hopelessness. Difficult trials are used by Satan to tempt us to doubt God and react outside the boundaries of faith. We need an immediate and powerful rescue operation from Satan’s lies that fuel wrong beliefs and unholy behaviors. Isaiah asked this question in Isaiah 50:10:

“Who is among you who (reverently) fears the Lord, who obeys the voice of His Servant, yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor (in his heart)?”

How do we experience the power of God to walk in truth, displaying His holy character in distressing times? God gives us the answer in the remainder of Isaiah 50:10:

“Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon and be supported by his God.”

We acknowledge that we are powerless to help ourselves. We affirm the truth and unlimited power of our resident Rescuer, the Holy Spirit, to help us. As we cry out to God in times of trouble, the Spirit sees and understands everything we feel. He intercedes on our behalf, performing a powerful rescue operation in His perfect love and wisdom. As God’s children, we are to depend upon His power in every moment.

Do you feel burdened under the heavy weight of distressing troubles? Come to Jesus, putting your faith in His words. In humility, yield to the Spirit’s love and power. Instead of being buried in an avalanche of overwhelming circumstances, He will rescue you in God-exalting ways.

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

Romans 8:26

New terms such as data smog, infobesity, and infoxication have surfaced to describe the massive amounts of information that bombard us on a daily basis. Never before could such vast amounts of information be distributed almost instantaneously to a global audience. In spite of all the benefits information affords, it also provides numerous opportunities for the father of all lies, Satan, to bombard us. Lies are the primary weapon Satan uses to reach his ultimate goal:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).

As a Christ-follower, we must sift everything we hear and every thought that enters our mind through God’s truth. In ancient days, a man named Job experienced devastating circumstances. Job’s faith eventually resulted in victory and blessing through his suffering. Yet in his protracted trials, he temporarily succumbed to lies about God, deepening his despair. His lie-based beliefs also affected those around him:

“Job uselessly opens his mouth and multiplies words without knowledge (drawing worthless conclusions that the righteous have no more advantage than the wicked)” (Job 35:16).

His conclusions were worthless because they were untrue, founded upon lies. Daily, we’re confronted with a plethora of worthless, lie-based mindsets and behaviors:

We’re enticed to believe our worth and happiness come from what we do, what we possess, or even who our friends are.

Similarly, there’s a pervasive mindset that our children’s happiness is of paramount importance, determined by their appearance, achievements or the acceptance of their peers.

We’re told it’s loving to advise people to seek happiness. Yet God calls us to seek holiness and joy.

According to Scripture, wisdom that doesn’t come from God:

“…is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil” (James 3:15).

It’s a sobering thought: without a diligent pursuit of truth, even people with good and godly intentions can act upon and speak lies. Such actions always reap consequences that steal, kill, and destroy the abundant life Jesus died to give us.

Will you ask God to reveal any lie-based beliefs that have crept into your thinking? When He does, repent. Then rejoice, embracing the freedom that comes from believing and walking in God’s truth:

“You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

John 8:32

The Hubble Space telescope was launched into orbit by the space shuttle Discovery in 1990. Outside the distortion of earth’s atmosphere, this space-based technology is able to magnify objects in space with astounding clarity and greater accuracy than ground-based telescopes. The amazing images relayed back to earth have expanded our understanding of the vast universe and the wonder of its galaxies.

The Word of God is like the Hubble Space telescope for Christ-followers. God’s Word magnifies and reveals to us the infinitude and holiness of His Person. David invited us to do what we were created for in Psalm 34:3: “O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.” The psalmist is entreating us to reflect in our thoughts, speech and behaviors an accurate image of who God truly is. Our success as Christ-followers to display the greatness of God depends upon how accurately we see and know Jesus.

Like the astronauts who maintain and service the Hubble telescope, the Holy Spirit interprets and guides us into the truth of Christ’s words. His voice speaks life-giving words to us through the pages of Scripture. Holy Spirit power is activated in our lives as we yield our wills to Christ’s commandments.

Earth’s turbulent atmosphere distorts the clarity of distant galaxies when viewed through ground-based telescopes. In like manner, the turbulent temptations and trials of our lives seek to distort the true power and beauty of God which we were created to reflect. Although Job, a righteous man, believed God, he endured intense emotions of despair in the midst of terrible loss and suffering. But he chose to view his suffering through the lens of God’s clarifying telescope, His Word. Job was rewarded with a deeper, experiential vision of God and His sovereign goodness.

Will you trust God at all times, letting Him shine through you? The lights of stars and galaxies are brightly magnified through the Hubble telescope against the blackness of the universe. So it is with us. The beauty of Christ’s character is most brilliantly displayed as we magnify His name in the dark night of the soul.

“I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees Thee”

Job 42:5