Investing Into Your Heavenly Account 2

<p>Tuesday 19 January&nbsp;</p> <p><br></p> <p>A beautiful Tuesday to you in the name of Jesus.&nbsp;</p> <p>We are talking about Investing Into Your Heavenly Account. We have already said a lot about our heavenly account but without our investments, we can’t make withdrawals. Another thing you need to understand is that even though the investment is your, as part of the inheritance reserved for you in Christ, it takes maturity to access the benefits.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Galatians 4:1 (NLT) 1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had.&nbsp;</p> <p><br></p> <p>Even though the Father has reserved great benefits for us in Christ, we cannot access them until we grow up and mature. And one of the proofs of maturity is our ability to make investment. It takes some discipline to say “I will not do this or that” especially when you can. This is called delayed gratification. Discipline is a major key when it comes to making investment. When everything around us is screaming “buy me, get me...”, it takes discipline to say “I will take something out today and invest it to create a better tomorrow.”&nbsp;</p> <p><br></p> <p>Years ago, I read a book titled Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, in the book he talked about 12 different attributes necessary for effective Christian growth and maturity. These 12 attributes are grouped into 3 categories:</p> <p><br></p> <p>• The Inward Disciplines</p> <p>&nbsp;(meditation, prayer, fasting, study)</p> <p><br></p> <p>• The Outward Disciplines</p> <p>&nbsp;(simplicity, solitude, submission, service)</p> <p><br></p> <p>• The Corporate Disciplines</p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;(confession, worship, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;guidance, celebration)</p> <p><br></p> <p>According to Richard Foster, if we are diligent in practicing these 12 disciplines, it would bring us to a place of growth and maturity in Christ,