Daily Disciples - February 2
February 2
Today's Reading: Exodus 29; Matthew 21:23-46
Today's Thoughts: Growing Up
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
When we first come to Christ, we are like babies. We crawl, then we wobble and stumble until we finally start to walk. Once we learn to walk, we want to walk faster, farther and without hindrances. Then we realize that the only way to go is upward, aiming for heaven. We do not want to move sideways any longer, but straight up. So we look up and try to figure out how to move up with the same pace… farther, faster, and without hindrances.
But God does not desire for us to move up as of yet. In John 17:15, Jesus prayed, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.” Being taken out of the world would be to move up and to get out of here. That is the natural desire of our heart when we really come to know Jesus. We just want to be with Him and we just want to see Him and please Him. Wouldn’t it be great if the moment we met the Lord on earth, He brought us up to heaven?
We would accept Him in faith on earth but immediately see Him face-to-face in heaven. But…that was not His will nor His prayer for us. His desire is that we learn to advance from crawling to walking. His desire is that we walk by faith. Walking by faith does not come naturally. The believer’s stages of development are not easy but necessary. The Lord wants us to become mature, healthy, spirit-filled believers able to continue the work He began. Growing up is difficult because it always involves discipline. We are not born physically or spiritually knowing what is right and wrong.
Many times we need to learn through trial and error. God is patient and loving to guide us and love us through those hard times of discipline. So, the Lord’s plan for us is not to move up, but to grow up.
Pray about it: Oh Lord, thank You for being my Lord. You love me so much to help me through every stage of growth and maturity. Remind me that You are always on my side, guiding me and directing me to the next stage for my own good. Mature me so that You may use me. I love You Lord. Let my life reflect my love for You.
Our mission is to evangelize the lost and awaken the saved to live empowered lives by the Work of God and His Holy Spirit. Daily Disciples Ministries makes a difference for the kingdom of God by teaching and training believers how to be in God's Word, how to pray and how to walk with Jesus every day, as His daily disciple.
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