Wednesday’s Word

Are You an Infant, Adolescent or Adult?

Welcome to Wednesday’s Word @ Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Trench Classes United. Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith, and let’s go tie some knots in our faith by overcoming the complexity and focusing on the simplicity of His Word.

Have you ever looked at the Bible and been overwhelmed by wondering where to start, how to start? It’s a big, big book, and usually when we grab a book, we want to read from beginning to end, but we also want to understand, enjoy and hopefully be challenged by what we read. What if I were to tell you that the Bible is the greatest love story ever written, and lived out? Or that it is full of mystery, drama, oh, does it have a lot of drama. Our connection group has been studying in the book of 1^st Samuel, and we have been nearly bowled over with shock by the drama, mystery, and twisted love stories all woven in this historical time.

I remember a long time ago, when I used to just dream about writing, I wanted to start with 101 ways to read the Bible…maybe someday I’ll get back to that, but for now, I’d like to share another simple thing I learned in our Discover class, a class designed to help us discover how to have a closer relationship with our Living God through the Bible. Of course, I’ll put my spin on it, just like I did the Five-Finger Prayer, with the hope that it will stir something down in your soul and cause you to open up the greatest book ever written, the one book that has been on the New York Best Seller’s list since it’s been published!

What is the difference between an infant, an adolescent and an adult? Give up? Okay. Well, an infant has to be fed, an adolescent can feed themselves, and an adult can feed themselves and others. Do you see the difference? When you have a baby, don’t you measure their growth by how much they eat?

So now let’s put a spiritual twist on this: as spiritual infants, we need to be fed by others whether that be through church, connection groups, study groups, worship services, to name a few types of feeding. As we grow spiritually, we should be setting aside time to feed ourselves with the goal of becoming a spiritual adult, able to feed self and others.

The truth is many of us don’t make it past the adolescent stage, and are still figuring out how to feed ourselves. We can’t feed others and fulfill His great commission if we are not feeding ourselves. Why? Because we can’t give what we don’t have or haven’t received! We have become such a smart-phone society that we are losing sight of true spiritual food; not only do we not take the time to sit down and eat, but often when we do, we then forget to digest it!

In Matthew 28: 19-20 Jesus gives specific marching orders for each of us:  ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

So may I encourage you with a starting point: If you want to learn about Jesus, study the books of Matthew, Luke and John; history, study the book of Acts. If you want some life application principles from Jesus Himself, start with Ephesians, Galatians and then Colossians. If you want to read about how to pray, read Psalms. If you need comfort, read Psalms (a Psalm a day keeps the blues away!) If you want to know God’s story, read Genesis through Deuteronomy, and if you want some wisdom, read Proverbs.

We are not alone; He waits for you in that comfy chair, or that secluded place, or that special corner to share His promises and principles with you, to help you understand what you are reading that you may be able to digest it for digestion leads planting and planting to blooming and what we plant in our hearts and minds blooms in our life, one sentence at a time!

Longing to hang out in His Word…

Evinda