The Problem of Immaturity

11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 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! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 5:11-14

Self reflection and knowing your strengths and weaknesses is so important when it comes to development. We push ourselves to grow in the things that we know are weaknesses to become a better version of ourselves (more Christ-like).

We can’t just say, “I’m just not good at x,y,z…” when it comes to spirituality and following Christ. We acknowledge there are things we are not called to be, but we never use that as an excuse to not learn things such as humility or patience.

I like when Paul say “you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again” because it shows the importance of continuing to use what we learn. If we learn the basics but never use them, we have to start at the beginning again and relearn. I think of CPR and first aid because most people who learn it don’t use it, and then you have to relearn it every year or two years. If there is something you are weak at; keep working at it or you will never get stronger in it.

Another important thing to see is how he uses the difference of milk and solid food. I think some people get all excited and gungho about religion or anything else and try to dive in completely, but then end up drowning. Small baby steps are needed to slowly learn and adapt. For some people, Christianity is a major lifestyle change, and the pressure of being perceived as perfect has them caving and retreating back to where they were before because it’s comfortable and familiar.

When I wasn’t working, it was easy for me to write everyday and spend time on WordPress reading other people’s writing. Now that I started working this past week, I have had a hard time continuing to do it everyday (hence the lack of a post yesterday). Part of me wanted to quit completely now that I already didn’t meet my daily goal and start again when I was readjusted to my routine, but I knew I probably wouldn’t ever start again or my writing skills would be lacking. I told myself that I still needed to write when I can because it will keep me in the practice of doing it, but I can’t put the pressure on myself to write everyday as I’m facing major life changes.

Hopefully this encourages someone else to not be so hard on themselves to be perfect, but sometimes slow baby steps are necessary not to drown! Thanks for reading 🙂

Rest Versus Resting in Him

(kind of a weird picture of me, but I thought it was fitting lol)

When we think of rest, the image of sleeping, lifting our feet up on the couch, or chilling in the bathtub might come to mind. However, there is a deeper rest that can be found that brings true peace and rejuvenates the soul.

 1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

Hebrews 4:1,9-11

By reading these above verse, we know that Christians are called to take rest. This seems contrary to what we hear in the society and even church, where we preach excessive work and service instead.

However, this Sabbath day is not supposed to be just a day of doing nothing, but instead a day spent in God’s presence. That is why we call it His rest.

You see, there is a danger in idleness outside of the Lord. The phrase “idle hands are the devil’s playground” has real truth. When we use our rest time in our own ways, that is when we end up falling into the Devil’s trap by watching this, reading that, or doing something we know we shouldn’t.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

True rest and peace can only be found when we allow our savior to carry our burdens. Especially as our eyes are open to injustice and evil, God wants to be with us to take it on because we cannot do it ourselves.

Thanks for reading and supporting! Sorry for missing a day yesterday, but I wrote last night and am attempting to use the post later feature since I’ve started work this week and have struggled to post in the morning.

If We are Called, the Time is Now – Daily Devotional 5.18.20

If you are a Christian, you should believe these fundamental things:

  1. God is the creator of all things and is sovereign over all.
  2. God sent His son to die on the cross for our salvation.
  3. We were created to glorify our creator (ref #1).
  4. Our calling is to preach these above messages to all the nations.

If these above statement are true, then why do we delay pursuing our calling?

14 Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of His voice. 15 For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now, why delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.’

Acts 22:14-16

We have been chosen to be God’s people. We have been given the blessing of knowing what Christ has done for us. We have been equipped by the Holy Spirit through salvation. So, why delay?

Get up and share the message.

Not in Our Hands – Daily Devotional 5.15.20

There are times where the ones we love go down paths that we know will only cause pain. We know that our loved one, both Christian and non-Christian, will feel pain and be tested. As Christians, we sometimes take on too much responsibility for those we see need salvation, and it can make us weary and doubtful.

I remember right before I was supposed to leave for college, I was scared to leave my younger sister because I saw her going down a path that made me nervous. I thought for some reason that if I was there, she wouldn’t get into trouble or feel pain; that I could prevent the bad things.

I came to realize my direct interference would push her further away in reality. The only thing I could hold on to was prayer and hope that God would work in her life. I was reminded of this time when I read Paul’s words:

29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 

Acts 20:29-32

Paul knew that tests would come and pain would arrive at the Ephesian church, but he had to leave anyways.

Sometimes, the only thing we can do for the ones we love is commit them into God’s hands because we do not have the ability to change their path. When I look at my sister today, see her healthy lifestyle, hear her asking deeper questions; I know that God was the one who led her to this point and answered my prayers.

Solomon’s Love and Wisdom – Daily Devotional 5.14.20

While widely known as the wisest man who lived, Solomon’s life has a lot it can teach us. His wisdom was used for the good of his people, to make just decisions in court. It stemmed from not only a love for his people but a love for his God also. You can see this in both Proverbs and Song of Solomon. Now I’m not going to get into whether Song of Songs is a love story between man and woman, God and the church, or both. My point is that He had a great fear and love for the Lord rivaled by maybe only his father, King David. This leads us this question: How do we become like Solomon in love and wisdom?

3 Solomon loved the Lord by walking in the statutes of his father David, but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

7 “Lord my God, You have now made Your servant king in my father David’s place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership. 8 Your servant is among Your people You have chosen, a people too numerous to be numbered or counted. 9 So give Your servant an obedient heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?”

1st Kings 3:3,9

1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 listening closely[a] to wisdom
and directing your heart to understanding;
3 furthermore, if you call out to insight
and lift your voice to understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it like hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and discover the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2:1-6

Solomon showed his love for the Lord by being obedient. I don’t know if it’s a society thing or just a me thing, but I have never thought of how do I show my love for the Lord. I say I love Him, but I see His love for me in the bible, the way he provides for me, and the way He guides my path. I never stopped to view a relationship with God as a mutual give and take, but I have been content to let God just pour His love on me without me necessarily doing anything in return.

I was obedient because I knew I saw supposed to be, but how does my obedience change when I view it as a way to show my love for the Lord? How else do I show my love and give back to God for all He does for me? How does this change and my worldly relationships?

If you have your own answers to the questions above, let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for reading and supporting!

When Fear Stops You – Daily Devotion 5.13.20

27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”

30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

Numbers 13:27-33

The Lord promised the Israelites a land flowing with milk and honey, Canaan. He had performed miracle after miracle for them, and yet they still doubted. There was time and time again God showed His faithfulness to them, but they could not return it. These were a people who had witnessed the Red Sea parting, pillars of clouds and fire guiding them and manna falling from the heavens; but they still could not put their trust in Him. They let their fear get in the way of the blessings God had planned for them. They were so fearful that they wanted to return (not for the first time) back to Egypt where they had been slaves and treated terribly.

 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?

20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 

Numbers 14:2-11, 20-24

God forgave them time and time again for their unfaithfulness, but they did not learn. As soon as they let fear speak to them, they turned their backs on God for something safer and more stable.

How often do we take the safe route, the one without risk? How often do we turn to something more stable instead of towards what God is calling us to do because we are scared of the unknown?

Caleb remained faithful to God. He believed that if God told them to go there, they would not fail. Because of this great trust, God said the land that could have been the Israelites would be given to Caleb and his descendants.

God blesses the trust we put in Him, be it here or in heaven. We can rest in the assurance that He is for us if we just put our faith in Him.

The Heart is a Gateway – Daily Devotional 5.12.20

23 Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
    keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
    fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[c] paths for your feet
    and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
    keep your foot from evil.

Proverbs 4:23-27

The heart and what we allow into it dictates so many decisions that we make. When we fall in love, our focus turns to that person, and we make rash and illogical choices because it feels good in the moment or it’s best for the other individual. I’ve let things fall apart in every other area in my life because I cared so much for one person and everything that revolved around them for it to be then destroyed so quickly.

This doesn’t just apply to people though but to things that we prioritize also. Everyday, we allow things from a secular world to enter our minds; and, if we don’t guard it, our heart also. As Christians, we have to make sure God is in full control of our hearts because then our actions, words, and choices reflect His goodness.

TO AN UNKNOWN GOD – Daily Devotion 5.11.20

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 

Acts 17:22-25

“What idiots.” – my first reaction when I read about the people of Athens. Then I stop and think about myself and our nation and realize were not so different from those people of long ago. Maybe we don’t have shrines and altars to foreign and unknown gods, but we sure worship inanimate objects and earthly people. We are, in fact, a very religious group of people also.

I don’t know how many times I have heard, “I’ll worship what I believe, and you can worship what your believe.” While I love how open and accepting our society has become, it’s also what may lead to the ruin of our religion. Even in the church, we accept without question and make sinful things the norm. If we start teaching what society teaches and not the bible, we will be the ones worshiping an unknown god.

Our altars are now work, and our sacrifice is time in order to reap the benefit of money and success. We hold high on a pedestal earthly people who speak words of “wisdom” because they are things we want to hear and make us feel better about ourselves. The idea of individualism is worshiped so much; but, when we worship the individual, we forget the creator.

We are a self serving and feel good society that pushes away things that may make us feel guilty or wrong. This is the opposite of our religion though! We worship a God who is perfect and good, who we strive to be like. If we are imperfect and flawed, there are things that we need to be convicted of and change in order to become more Christ-like. This process will not feel good and goes against what we’ve been taught in society, but in the end we become more balanced and stable.

29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

Acts 17:29-31

Feel free to leave thoughts or comments below!

Also, sorry for being MIA! I didn’t realize my Fri. post never uploaded, and I have made the decision to not write on Sat. or Sun. for now on in order to give myself a little bit of a break and to produce better quality content instead of quantity content. I’m so thankful for the people who spend the time to read the stuff I write!

Following and Teaching – Daily Devotion 5.8.20

2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

Titus 2:2-8

I read this passage, and I liked how clearly it lists out responsibilities and how we should act. I liked the equal responsibility that is given to both men and women what it comes to love and respect.

Mostly I like how it uses the words teach and set an example because these are characteristics that do not come naturally to most people. Human nature tends to be more selfish, and we have to intentionally make the decision to put others first until it becomes second nature. By following the examples of those we respect and see God in, we grow more and more like them. We are called to follow and learn first; and then teach and set examples second.