Here is the monthly message for July.
In July God often begins to expand our vision and show us a bigger glimpse for our live. July is also a reminder that we have favor with God. But, it's important to remember that we can grow in favor. Luke 2:52 says that Jesus grew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man.
How do we grow in favor with God and man? Patterns and relationships are two big keys. Recently I have been working with my kids on math and something we have been reinforcing over and over is that math is simply understanding patterns and relationships. When we understand the repetitive patterns and relationships with numbers math becomes much easier.
In a similar way growing in favor with God and people has much to do with pattern recognition and how we relate to both God and people. Both God and people have patterns. For example, my wife and kids know my patterns. They know my habits and routines and the times I do them. They also know what pushes my buttons and the things that are pleasing to me.
To grow in favor with God and people first requires understanding, but then we must move to knowing them. Once we understand someone it is much easier to better relate with them and find ways to be a blessing to them. A friend of mine who built a fairly large organization often says that to truly know people you need to know two things...
If you know these two things about people it changes the way you relate to them. This is true of God, ourselves, and people. God has rhythms and patterns, there are things that please him and things he hates, and he also has a vision and purpose. We can grow in favor with him by learning more about him and converting that understanding into things that bless him. We can also do the same with people. Ultimately growing in favor is about being generous and looking for ways to be a blessing and the more we understand and know about people the more we can do this.
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