Remember the old, Xmen posts I did?
By old I actually mean, about a month ago.
Well I’ve got a lot more to say on this deal for all the masses who read this blog. Seriously, you should both get a lot out of this.  Well, even though those posts were in reference to men and their inherent trouble with developing deep meaningful friendships with other men, I actually believe all human beings want to live that abundant life Jesus talked about here. Â
So I will periodically revisit this topic and talk about the spiritual side of things, the so called ‘accountability’ issue, marriage, parenthood, the workplace, and, yes, friendship–I still have more to say about that too.Â
So, let me ease back into this thing for my 2 readers as well as a 3rd or 4th who might be interested along the way.   The Beginning: Intro to Spiritual Life 101Â
This is where it all begins and ends. I’m not being melodramatic in telling you, the reader that the rest is pointless if you do not heed the words of this (appropriately placed) first section. Though some naively deny it, we are all living on two planes, a physical and a spiritual. The stakes are high with each, but infinitely greater in the spiritual. The reason? This life is but a dress rehearsal for the eternal play. This life, the Bible adds, is just a vapor in comparison to eternity, so, with that in mind, we need to try and understand why most men upon close examination still remain the spiritual equivalent of a toddler who never grows up.  If we are to believe the spiritual assessments that seem to indicate that most every believer desires to grow in the Lord then we are forced to admit that something is going terribly wrong along the way—preventing almost all of them from ever realizing this vital relationship with God. Â
There are a boat load of theorys as to what it could be. For instance, some say we are just uneducated today.
But think about this for a moment, if it were simply a matter of education then the literally thousands of books written on the spiritual disciplines (not to mention the best selling one of all time – the Bible) would be enough. One would simply need to familiarize himself with, “The List†of requirements, and work on them diligently.
Right?
Well, apparently not. Even though the Bible is a living, powerful, supernatural book—it can be reduced to a set of formulas and rules without a real (true) spiritual connection with Jesus Christ. A lot of people can regurgitate at least a partial list of the spiritual disciplines or habits necessary for maturing in the Lord, but a surprising few ever practice them on a consistent, daily basis. Throughout these posts you will quickly note a pattern. For each one of the seven sections we will take a look at we will point out the characteristics of people at each stage. A few words about this before we dive right in. To begin, the first level (usually accompanied by such descriptive markers as, “wimpy, anemic, frivolous, empty, etc.) doesn’t simply indicate a week Christian. More often than not, what it represents is someone who is not a believer at all.
Somewhere along the line this individual has learned the lingo, put in a little time at church, been a part of some kind of charity work, or any number of other activities and attitudes associated with being a Christian.
The problem is that without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ they lack the power.
Ok, that’s enough for now..
Here’s one of several ground rules should you choose to read on…
1st, please don’t make the mistake of seeing this first category as “a nice try†on your way to the big leagues. See it for what it is—a tragedy with eternal consequences. To spend your life in some of these areas (as a believer) is, at best a total wash for eternity though you will still enter heaven according to God’s Word, you will have wasted your life. At worst, if you are an unbeliever it means, that after buying a lie for your entire life you will, in the end spend all of eternity separated from the God you never knew. Rather high stakes. Â
That’s why I wish to share with you up front the importance of truly understanding what it is Jesus Christ came to do for you and I.
But not just understanding it—embracing it as well