Welcome to 2015! I believe that this is the year of growth, spiritual growth. We all should want to grow and mature in God’s ways. Anything that is healthy will grow. The Christian life, in a lot of ways, is a parallel to our physical life, in that we are “born” and then we are supposed to grow and finally we are to attain maturity. I Corinthians 14:20 says, “Brethren, do not be children (immature) in your thinking; continue to be babes in (matters of) evil, but in your minds be mature (men).” When we are born-again we are babes in Christ; this means that we are new to God’s kingdom and unsure of His ways. We must learn to operate and function now as Christians. However, we all need a desire to grow. Some never get out of being a “baby” Christian. The characteristics of a new baby are: having no responsibility, every need is taken care of, and not contributing or involving him or herself. These characteristics boil down to a “free ride;” therefore, their relationship with God remains very fragile. As a new Christian, we should grow. In the physical realm, children want to grow and as parents, we want them to grow. We get excited about their first words, first steps, and really excited when they are potty trained.

There is no difference within the spiritual realm. We should grow, contribute, and consistently learn more each day about who our Father in heaven is, who our Lord Jesus is. We need to walk, talk and act like Him. We will only grow as we learn the Word of God. Jesus said, “Man does not live on bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). We need to hear and learn the Word of God and practice it. Let’s be committed to getting involved and really growing and maturing. A story has been told of a little boy who fell out of bed and when asked what happened, he said, “I guess I just stayed too close to the gettin-in place.” That is exactly why many people fall away from God, after they are born-again. They stay too close to the gettin-in place and do not grow to maturity. Welcome again to 2015; this will be the year to grow.

Just a Thought,

PSS