Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Growing Is For Everyone

Growing is for Everyone

My daughter and I have been observing the baby geese (goslings) along the river where we run. There are various sizes, from the new born, fuzzy softball size, to the football sized teenage version. One thing they all have in common, they are all growing quickly, because they love to eat! Why were they different sizes? Some were older and had eaten more bugs and worms.

What can we learn from these creatures? We should all be growing in Christ! To grow spiritually, we must eat. Do you love to eat like the goslings? No, not bugs and worms, and not pizza or scrambled eggs either. Christians grow by reading the word of God and acting on it.

We too are commanded to grow. “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. 1 Peter 2:1-3. Every believer should be making progress in their relationship with God, in their faith, “Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all.”1 Timothy 4:15.

In Ephesians 4:14-16 we read about each member of the body of Christ show grow and mature, “until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Growth is not only for goslings. Growth is not only for pastors, leaders, or professional Christians. It is for all of us!

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

You Can Know What God Wants

Just read this from a doctor who will remain anonymous,

As I see it, very little truth of any kind comes out of churches, local or global. How could it? The central business of churches, religious guidance, is based on the mass delusion that the church knows what "God" wants. But how can anyone possibly know what "God" wants or doesn't want? To repeat: how can any human person possibly know what "God" wants or doesn't want?

And is it not the height of egotism for one human being to imagine that he or she knows the rules of the universe (if there even are such rules) and so can explain them to others? What nonsense!

And, if there really is a God who hears prayers and answers questions by speaking to my small, still self, why would I not want to find Him/Her myself, apart from what anyone else might believe? Why would I not want to find out for myself what "God" thinks is right and wrong?

While there are many churches which have little or no truth, there are many that do. It depends on the specific church, the pastor, priest, and the people in the church.

The real question though is, can anyone know what God wants? Absolutely! God has revealed Himself (truth) through the prophets, the Bible and through His Son Jesus Christ.

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." Hebrews 1:1-3

Jesus claimed to be Truth, "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6

The good doctor was right, God wants you to find the truth for yourself. If you sincerely look for the truth, you will find it. Jesus promised this when He was accused of having His own teaching that was not from God,

"If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him." John 7:17-18

Are you willing to do His will? If not, you will never know the truth!

God wants you to find the truth! He loves you and wants you to find Him!

"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13