Monday, February 20

Hebrews 6:1a

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity…

Reflection

It is important that we learn the basics of the faith.  However, we cannot spend all of our time going over and over the basics and never going deeper into the faith.  Even though it might be hard we need to learn more than the basics of the faith.  If we do this we will grow in our faith and it will enable us to become more mature in our faith.  Many Christians never move beyond the infancy stage of the faith.  One of the signs of an infantile Christian faith is when people say, “I need to be fed.”  Infants need to be fed; mature adults feed themselves. 

How can we grow into Christians who take responsibility for our own spiritual nutrition?  One of the ways we can do this is by participation in a small group that is serious about helping one another grow in the faith.  Involvement in a small group can provide the accountability that we need to send our roots deeper into the faith.

Think about this as a line from infancy to adulthood.

Where are you on the continuum of spiritual maturity? 

Do you have someone or a group of people who help you stay on track concerning your spiritual growth?

February 19-25

We Grow Through Small Groups

Hebrews 6:1a, 11-12

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity…  We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.  We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Philippians 3:12-15a

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  All of us who are mature should take such a view of things…

Maturity in the faith is not something that might happen; it is essential.  Growth in the faith that takes us toward maturity is something that we must take seriously.  In order for our faith to grow so that we move toward maturity we must cease to make our discipleship that which we add on to our lives and we need to make following Jesus the central and most important thing in our lives.  When we do that then we will have the commitment we need to grow and become mature in Jesus Christ.

This week we are going to focus on how we can nurture that growth and maturity through participation in a small group of Christians.

Saturday, February 25

2 Peter 1:3-9

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But if anyone does not have them, he is near-sighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Reflection

Peter tells us that we should develop these qualities

in our lives: goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love.  Why should we possess these qualities?  Peter says

so that we will not be ineffective and unproductive as we follow Jesus Christ.  Isn’t that the goal of maturity to be effective and productive for Jesus?  If we

possess maturity then we will be effective disciples

for Jesus Christ.

As you mature in your faith are you developing more Christ-like qualities?

Is a goal of your Christian maturity to become more effective for Jesus?

Saturday, February 11

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.

Reflection

Milk is for infants.  Christians that constantly stay at a basic level in their growth remain as spiritual infants.  If we want to mature and grow in the faith then we must begin to move to spiritual food that helps us to mature and grow into the Christ follower that we need to be.  When we graduate from the food of infants to the food of adults, from a spiritual perspective, then we will be able to make good, strong decisions in the faith and we will be able to distinguish between good and evil choices.

Are you consuming the food of infants or adults? 

What does this say about your maturity?  Are you

self-feeding, self-leading and self-multiplying?

Friday, February 10

Hebrews 5:12

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.  You need milk, not solid food.

Reflection

The author of Hebrews is admonishing his readers concerning their obvious lack of maturity.  He tells them that they should, at this point, be teachers.  However, he points out that they are not teachers and to make it even worse they need teachers to point out the basic truths of the faith for them all over again.  He then tells them they are babies in the faith!  How do we know he does this because he says they are only capable of digesting spiritual food like milk?  They are not capable of handling solid spiritual food.

Consider where you stand in your Christian maturity?  Are you feeding on milk or solid food?

Thursday, February 9

2 Timothy 2:15

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

Reflection

Paul encourages Timothy to set for himself the goal of being a workman who is approved by God.  The only way that Timothy can achieve this goal is to develop practices and behaviors that help him to mature and grow in the faith.  Paul assures Timothy that if he moves toward maturity in his Christian journey that he will never need to be ashamed of how he follows the Lord.  As Timothy grows in the Christian faith he will grow more and more adept in interpreting and handling the word of God.  All of this is a product of growing more mature in the faith.

Do you feel that your level of maturity in the faith has enabled you to be a workman approved by God?  How can you help others take the journey toward maturity so that they will be a workman approved by God?

Wednesday, February 8

2 Timothy 2:14

Keep reminding them of these things.  Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.

Reflection

In this verse Paul wants Timothy to keep before the Christians that he leads the reality that fruitless activities, such as quarreling, will not lead them toward being mature and grown up in the faith.  Timothy is encouraged to warn Christians to stay away from behaviors that reinforce immaturity.  Paul wants Christians to forsake this kind of behavior and embrace mature expressions of the faith.

What behaviors have you noticed that tend to keep us from developing maturity in the faith?  On the other side of the coin, what behaviors have you noticed that help us to grow deeper and more mature in the faith?