What is Spiritual Immaturity?

One of my passions is to spur others on to grow in their faith. I long to see those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior grow up in their salvation. A discipline that helps with this is regularly reading the Word of God, the Bible, so that the Word of God can be in them!  I love to observe the lights that go on in a young believer's head and heart as the Word of God comes alive in them and they connect with it. 

Did you know that the Bible defines spiritual immaturity for us? Look at these two quotes from scripture below:

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?  1 Corinthians 3:1-3

About this, we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. Hebrews 5:11-13

The goal of a Christian is to grow up into a spiritual adult and pursue maturity, rather than returning to the elementary teachings of Christianity. We study the principles given to us in scripture that give us a solid foundation. Eventually, we need to come alongside younger believers, teach them these truths, and make every effort to grow up individually and communally. Primarily and foremost, we need to start on the spiritual milk, but eventually we need to move on to study the solid food of the Bible. (This is an excerpt from the 1st chapter of the bible study Grow Up)

If you are getting an appetite for the word, I pray you find a Bible-believing church to attend that teaches the Word of God. Also, I pray you find a small group to do life and study with. 

Hope you have a blessed day.

Why Suffering?

I hope you have a lovely Christmas season. But more than that, I hope you have hope in Jesus Christ.

I recently went through a very challenging time. What transpired was pain, suffering, abundant hope, peace, and comfort. Perhaps it will be one of my upcoming blogs, but this message trumps my experience right now. 

If you have experienced loss, pain, or suffering and it has led you to be angry with God, I hope you will read the quotes below prayerfully. Then, I hope you will cry out to God in your anger. 

I know I have heard the question "Why does God allow suffering and pain?" I realize it is a reason many have rejected God and turned from His offer of salvation. However, I have always had a graciousness toward the Lord in this matter. I always wanted to have an answer when I was asked this perplexing question, but I feel Chip Ingram with the help of the words of C.S. Lewis to answer this question very clearly in the podcast. If you have time, please listen to this message. One of the better ones I have heard on this topic. 

Below are quotes from Chip Ingram from Living on the Edge. His message Jesus Unfiltered - Believe - Jesus - Offers Hope to the Hopeless, Part 2.

His main point: There is hope for the hopeless.

Scripture reference:

John 5:24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."

Quotes from the message:

"You would rather be sick in your sin. You would rather have the consequences of your sin because you like it. Because you are comfortable in it."

"Ask for help, have mercy on me, and cleanse me. He wants to say yes. He wants to heal us."

"There comes a day when we will be judged. Today is the day if you hear His voice. To say maybe or later is a no. He wants us to say yes and respond to the light."

"Why does suffering/pain exist if God is a good God?"  

Chip quotes CS Lewis in Shadowland with all of these quotes below:

"God creates us free. Free to be selfish." 

"But God adds a mechanism that will penetrate our selfishness and wake us up to the presence of others in the world. That mechanism is called suffering."

"Pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

"Why pain? Why can't He wake us more gently with violins or laughter? Because the dream from which we must be awakened is the dream that all is well. All is not well. If you do not have a relationship with God through the person of Jesus Christ, you are spiritually in a hopeless situation and you need a savior. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you do not seek him, you will not find him. The suffering in the world is not the failure of God for us it is his action."

Here is the link to this podcast. These quotes start around the 19-minute mark and on. Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram Daily Podcast: Jesus Unfiltered - Believe - Jesus - Offers Hope to the Hopeless, Part 2 on Apple Podcasts