Baby Steps

We are always in a hurry to get nowhere fast, and life struggles to keep up. The same goes for our walk with God. We try so hard to be grown up Christians that we miss the life God has for us. Try feeding a steak to a baby, or even some chicken. their teeth don't start coming in until about six months, then it takes a few years until they have the teeth to chew meat.

I have been a believer for about 20 years now, but it has been in the past 7 to 5 years that I have really grown. The problem was, I had grown up in church and thought I already knew everything, and tried to rely on that. What I didn't know was that I didn't have real understanding of God , the Bible or the Christian life. It wasn't until I fed on the "milk" of the Word that growth began.

Don't be weary of the "milk", it is essential for growth, you have to cut your teeth spiritually on it first. God will use it to grow you to become a healthy Christian.

¹ Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. ² I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, ³ for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

I Corinthians 3:1-3

Keep it between the ditches!

Whenever Pastor Mike leaves for a trip, he always says to me "keep it between the ditches". He wants to make sure nothing happens to pull our attention away from the main thing. In life we try to do the same thing, but how often do we end up in the "ditch". We probably spend more time there than we would like to admit.

In Psalm 37:23 it says "The Lord directs the steps of the godly.He delights in every detail of their lives." When Peter stepped out of the boat, it was at Jesus' command. He didn't begin to sink until he took his eyes off of Christ. When we focus on the things around us, rather than on Jesus, we will certainly get off track. That's when everything seems to fall apart. In Isaiah 26:3 is says "
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,all whose thoughts are fixed on you!"; notice those last three words. Perfect peace has a contingency, fixing our focus on God.

It's amazing how things always seem to work out, when we let God handle the details. It's easy to keep it between the ditches when God is in control of the steering. Where ever you are headed this week, let Christ have the steering wheel of your life, and keep your "thoughts fixed" on Him.

"Where He Leads Me I Will Follow"

So many Christians seem to think they are doing everything they are supposed to do. There is a statement that has been said of the modern church, "10% of the people do 90% percent of the work". How true that statement is. The problem is, the other 90% don't even realize that they are doing just 10%. I think we rely to much on the belief that that is all God requires of us. We think God only owns 10% of our money, time or effort. The truth is God owns it all. He created us, gave us all we have and we return just 10%. Christ was our ultimate example, he gave everything to bring us into a right relationship with God. We should be willing to do no less. When we respond to the grace bestowed on us, after realizing where we stand with God, nothing less than the entirety of our being will suffice.

In your journey do you stand with the 10% or the 90%? The key is to realize there is always more you could be doing. Do get caught in the mind trap, thinking " I have done enough". Enough is never enough, we should continue to follow God wherever He leads and do the work that is there before us. That line in the old hymn, "Where He Leads Me I Will Follow", should be the anthem of our Journey.

I pray your journey will take you to a new level of commitment this week.

Jon

In The Beginning

In the beginning man was created in the image of God. He was the mirror reflection of God, but something happened that distorted the reflection, sin. In the beginning the world was perfect, no war, no hunger, no disaster. Eden was the place to be, and man had it made, but then sin entered into the world. Everything changed! God had created man to live forever, he had made the world to stay in perfection, but then sin.
Sin has a way of getting in and messing things up. What about the"in the beginning" of your journey. How quickly did sin bring you down from the place God set you up on? God wants that mirror reflection to be perfect again. He wants us to reflect to the world who he is. Is sin distorting the worlds view of God because of you? Where will this take you on your journey?