I would like to attribute my lack of blogging to the alert I received that I am out of space on Picasa, but really I have just been plain busy. I am still doing school, cooking, playing, and everything else as usual, but too much of it to have time to record it all! So, as I am working out my space issue for photos, here is a post minus the usual pictures...
As BSF and Bible study comes to a close for the year, I am overwhelmed by the blessing God has given me to be in a place that presses me to press on to maturity (key word= press on...I have a long way to go)! In Hebrews, the writer calls this solid food. He goes on to make an analogy between the physical growth of a child and the maturity of a Christian. A mature Christian should crave solid teaching that moves beyond the basic steps of faith, just like a mature child has an appetite for solid food. (We must not confuse this analogy with the one mentioned in Matthew 18:2-4 when Jesus commends having the attitude of dependency and humility of a child. It is important to hold on to this!)
Hebrews 5:13-14 "Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." and then he names the basics of faith in 6:1-2 "Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement."
These are the foundations of faith (and are very important!), but it doesn't stop here! There needs to be understanding of the reality of Jesus and the gospel message and application of it. This passage tells us that solid food is the teaching of deeper things beyond the basic truths above. This includes sound judgement and discernment, distinguishing good versus evil, and moving from the knowledge of truths to the application of them.
1 Peter 2:2 "Like new babies, crave spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." -The milk (basic truths) is only a taste!
Ephesians 4:12-14 tells us the goal of the body of Christ is to "reach unity in the faith and in knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. THEN we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming."
James 2:17 "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
Maturity doesn't just develop on its own over time in a believer. It takes time, effort, accountability, and prayer...and in my experience, lots of it! I am thankful to have people in my life to encourage me to press on to maturity when I don't have the desire, energy, time, etc. Bible study has been a huge help in this way! This will always be a challenge and there will always be room to grow because complete maturity is only attained in the fullness of Christ. If you are a believer in the basic truths of Christ, ask yourself these questions that I am continually asking myself.
As BSF and Bible study comes to a close for the year, I am overwhelmed by the blessing God has given me to be in a place that presses me to press on to maturity (key word= press on...I have a long way to go)! In Hebrews, the writer calls this solid food. He goes on to make an analogy between the physical growth of a child and the maturity of a Christian. A mature Christian should crave solid teaching that moves beyond the basic steps of faith, just like a mature child has an appetite for solid food. (We must not confuse this analogy with the one mentioned in Matthew 18:2-4 when Jesus commends having the attitude of dependency and humility of a child. It is important to hold on to this!)
Hebrews 5:13-14 "Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." and then he names the basics of faith in 6:1-2 "Therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement."
These are the foundations of faith (and are very important!), but it doesn't stop here! There needs to be understanding of the reality of Jesus and the gospel message and application of it. This passage tells us that solid food is the teaching of deeper things beyond the basic truths above. This includes sound judgement and discernment, distinguishing good versus evil, and moving from the knowledge of truths to the application of them.
1 Peter 2:2 "Like new babies, crave spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." -The milk (basic truths) is only a taste!
Ephesians 4:12-14 tells us the goal of the body of Christ is to "reach unity in the faith and in knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. THEN we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming."
James 2:17 "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
Maturity doesn't just develop on its own over time in a believer. It takes time, effort, accountability, and prayer...and in my experience, lots of it! I am thankful to have people in my life to encourage me to press on to maturity when I don't have the desire, energy, time, etc. Bible study has been a huge help in this way! This will always be a challenge and there will always be room to grow because complete maturity is only attained in the fullness of Christ. If you are a believer in the basic truths of Christ, ask yourself these questions that I am continually asking myself.
Am I living in the comfort of just drinking milk?
In which of the "milk" areas am I ready to move on to "solid food"?
What disciplines are needed in my life to mature?
What am I actively doing right now to press on to maturity in my faith?
What blessings has God provided for me to know, share, and apply these truths?
Part of the reason I haven't done much blogging either is because I, too, am out of Picasa space. I just have not had the time/energy/motivation to go look for an alternative that is as easy as Picasa, either. Well, that's only part of the reason as to why I haven't been blogging, but really, I don't want my blog to crash from all of the new traffic if I talked about all of the things that are really going on in my life. HMG CoA reductase and angiotensin II are pretty thrilling topics that I know would bring everyone to the blog yard.
ReplyDeleteI hope things are going well!