Mature Faith

Hebrews 5:¹²In 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! ¹³Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 6:¹Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, ²instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. ³And God permitting, we will do so.

⁴It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, ⁶if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because^b]">[b]to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

⁷Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. ⁸But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

⁹Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation. ¹⁰God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. ¹¹We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. ¹²We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

Hebrews 5:12-6:12

Approval of men or of God?

Deuteronomy 13; Deuteronomy 14; Deuteronomy 15; Galatians 1

Galatians 1:⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! ⁹As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul is shocked at how soon and how easy it was for man to twist the gospel of Jesus. He is warning those that are doing so, that if they continue to do it, they will be cursed. He says that if we are to change any bit of the gospel, we are perverting it, making it no longer the gospel. Paul also states that even if what he says comes off a bit abrasive for mankind, it doesn't matter because he is a servant of Christ and not trying to please man.

We must remember to not twist the one true gospel to how we may want it to be. Once we enter in our own opinions and our own "take" on it, we lose the entire meaning and purpose of the gospel. I will no longer try to win the approval of mankind. I am not a servant to mankind, but a servant of Christ. The one and only Jesus Christ. My actions and words should please Him, for His approval is all that matters.

Lord,

It is so easy for man to pervert Your gospel. I pray for forgiveness, I pray that I don't come to the point of twisting Your gospel for my own personal gain. Jesus, I also pray that You take pleasure in my actions and in my words. I know now that the opinions of man does not matter, if I am pleasing You then I am a servant of yours. I don't want to be a servant of mankind. Thank you for your grace and mercy and for coming to earth to die for us. Because of Your mercy we can be forgiven, because of Your grace, we are blessed. Thank you Lord. In Your merciful name,

Amen

It's your choice: Be Blessed or Be Cursed

Deuteronomy 10; Deuteronomy 11; Deuteronomy 12; Mark 16

Deuteronomy 11^{: 26} “Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! ²⁷ You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. ²⁸ But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before.

God gave us the choice to be blessed or to be cursed. It is as easy as following the commandments of our Lord or rejecting them. Basically, follow what God has commanded us to do and don't reject what He has commanded us by turning away from him and worshiping other gods.

I know that when God said do not worship other gods, He didn't just mean other religion's gods; He also meant putting things ahead of Him. Whether it's our jobs, school, friends, and addictions. We must commit to making God the god of our lives. Whatever it is we see as important, let's not put that before God and His commandments. Let's choose to be blessed.

Lord Jesus,
I want to put You first in my life. I know that at times, I may focus on other things, but Lord I am willing and ready to make that change. You gave us the choice to be blessed or to be cursed. And Lord, I choose to be blessed. Thank You for that choice.

In Your Holy and Mighty name,
Amen