Get Growing!

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. (1 Peter 2:2)

Accepting Christ as Savior is just the beginning of the Christian life. Once we are born  again, we start the growing process. The key to that process is God’s Word, which gives  us nourishment. We can’t grow without it.

Like all newborns, we start with milk. The apostle Peter says we should “crave”  it (1 Peter 2:2). We start by digesting the basics of the faith—the well-known stories in  Scripture and the general outline of what it means to be a Christian.

We must not stop there, however. In 1 Corinthians 3:2, the apostle Paul makes it  clear that there is a difference between spiritual milk and spiritual solid food. If we don’t progress to solid food—the more complex teachings in Scripture—we cannot continue growing as Christians.

God expects us to grow constantly. He wants us to learn about him and his nature.  He wants us to know what he has done in the past. He wants us to know what he is going to do in the future. He wants us to crave the nourishment of his Word in the same way we crave food when we are hungry. He wants us to become spiritually mature.

Dear God, thank you for feeding us through the words of Scripture. Help us continue to  grow by reading and obeying your Word. Amen.

This devotion was written for Once a Day: At the Table Family Devotional. This is a family-oriented devotional book written by my writing team & me. Reprinted with permission.

Facing a Tough Decision?

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5)

We live in a complicated world. We will face complicated decisions. Fortunately for us, we have a resource we can use. God, the source of all wisdom, invites us to share our dilemmas with him. He makes his wisdom available to us.     In order to take full advantage of the opportunity, though, we first need to empty ourselves of our own “wisdom.” Sometimes when we ask for advice, we already have our minds made up and we’re just looking for someone to agree with us. That might work with friends, but not with God. If we’re going to tap into his wisdom, we need to forget about what we want or what we think should happen. We need to let him tell us.     If you’re not sure how to recognize his voice, try talking to him from different perspectives about the situation you’re facing. Talk about the pros, the reasons you should do something. Then talk about the cons, the reasons you shouldn’t do it. Let him work in your heart and mind to help you realize which direction is best.     Just know this: If you really want God’s wisdom, it’s yours if you ask God for it.

PRAYER

Dear God, thank you for sharing your wisdom with us. Never let us forget that your help is available whenever we need it. Amen.

This devotion was written for Once a Day: At the Table Family Devotional. This is a family-oriented devotional book written by my writing team & me. Reprinted with permission.

What Happened on Good Friday and Easter?

What happened on Good Friday and Easter? Below  is an excerpt from my book The Most Significant People, Places, and Events of the Bible.

The Events of Good Friday

Shortly after Peter professes that Jesus is the Messiah of God (Luke 9:18 – 20), Jesus again tells his followers that he must suffer, be rejected by the church leaders, be killed, and then be raised to life on the third day. He then explains that anyone who wants to be his disciple must take up his or her cross and follow him (Luke 9:21 – 23).

Jesus’ crucifixion begins with a brutal beating, wearing a crown of thorns, and carrying his own crossbeam through the city to the place of his execution. While Jesus

is dying, the land becomes supernaturally dark. Around three in the afternoon, Jesus cries out in Hebrew, quoting from Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45 – 46, NIV). At this moment, Jesus is taking upon himself all of humanity’s sin, as well as all of God’s wrath, mysteriously experiencing complete separation from the Father.

In John’s account of the crucifixion, he records Jesus’ last words as “It is finished,” after which Jesus “bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:28 – 30, NIV). These words signify the accomplishment of the Father’s will in reconciling humanity to himself. The cross of Christ, the blood of the Lamb, now provides direct access to a holy and loving God.

When Jesus dies, the earth shakes, rocks split, tombs open, and the massive veil in the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem temple is split from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51 – 52). Jesus is then placed inside of a cave-like tomb secured by a large boulder and guarded by two Roman soldiers (Mark 15:42 – 47; Matthew 27:62 – 66).

The Miracle of Easter

On the third day after Jesus’ death, an angel with an “appearance like lightning” and “clothes as white as snow” appears at the tomb. The guards are so afraid, they become “like dead men.” To the women at Jesus’ tomb who had come to tend to his body, the angel says, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:5 – 6, NIV). 

The angel then tells the women to go and tell the disciples the news: Jesus “has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him” (Matthew 28:7, NIV). As the women report this news to the disciples, Jesus appears to them. They fall at his feet and worship him (Matthew 28:9). Jesus, the Author of life, now holds the keys of death and hades (Revelation 1:18).

For more on The Most Significant People, Places, and Events of the Bible, watch the 30 second video trailer here.