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?

Tuesday, February 7

2 Timothy 2:3-7

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer.  Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.  The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.  Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Reflection

One of the ways we mature into a self-feeding, self-leading and self-multiplying believer is to move forward through all the challenges and difficulties.  In this passage Paul is encouraging Timothy not to attempt to avoid every difficulty but to endure those challenges as a follower of Jesus Christ.  Paul is encouraging Timothy to endure and to persevere.  Paul gives the examples of a good soldier, an athlete competing for a reward and a farmer who works his field to produce a crop.  These examples indicate that if we want to grow and mature in the faith we can’t give up.  We need to keep going forward.

How have you worked through difficulties and problems?  How have those experiences helped you to mature in the faith?  How can you help other believers persevere when they face challenges?

Monday, February 6

2 Timothy 2:1-2

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

Reflection

Paul is urging Timothy to be strong and grow in his faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul wants Timothy to become stronger.  He doesn’t want him to stay the way he is.  Paul also encourages Timothy, as a leader in the church, to pass on what he learns to others so that they will grow and mature in the faith and become strong leaders as well.

How have you matured in the Christian faith?  How have you helped other believers grow and develop in the faith?

February 5-11

Where We Want to Go is Self-feeding, Self-leading and Self-Multiplying

2 Timothy 2:1-7, 14-15

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.  Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer.  Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules.  The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.  Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all of this.

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.  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.

Hebrews 5:12-14

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!  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.

Last week we investigated where new believers begin when they start their journey toward Jesus.  This week we are going to look at where we want those new believers to go.  We will investigate the qualities we want them to develop in their lives.  Those qualities include these three things: self-feeding, self-leading and self-multiplying.  New believers should be directed and encouraged to grow in maturity so that they take responsibility for their spiritual growth instead of always looking for other people to do for them what they should be doing for themselves. 

This week our devotions will be focused on how new Christians, as well as all Christians, should attempt to become mature in the faith.