Maturity

Happy Sunday!

John Maxwell said, "Maturity doesn’t always come with age, sometimes age comes alone".   I love this quote, and of course it reminded me of the Word of God.  Remember when young Elihu spoke up to Job and his friends?  Read it for yourself in Job 32.  He hesitated to speak because he assumed that they were older and wiser.  BUT he saw that, "...it is not mere age that makes men wise. Rather, it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that makes him intelligent."(Job 32:9, Living Bible).

John Maxwell also said, "It’s what you learn after you know it all that makes the difference".  Don't miss this!  There is always more to learn.  No matter our age, status, or our accomplishments there is something else we do not know.  Dr. Matthew L. Stevenson III is preaching a series entitled, "Me versus Me".   Hearing him this morning brought back memories of being in church, and having the Pastor tell you to turn to your neighbor and tell them something.  That made me chuckle because my Great Aunt Elizzie had a strong opinion about this practice.  Though I can't repeat everything she said, in essence she felt the Pastor could tell them himself, and she didn't consider that person her neighbor.

Dr. Stevenson entitled this lesson, "I'm Talking To Me!"  In Matthew 3, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River.  Verse 17 says, "And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."(KJV).  In Chapter 4, Jesus is driven into the wilderness, and tempted by the Devil.  We always assume that when Jesus is responding he must only be responding to Satan.  But as our perfect example, Jesus is demonstrating what we must do when we are tempted.  Jesus is the Word, and he spoke the Word of God that applied to every temptation.  He talked to himself!  He reminded himself of the Word.  When the enemy questioned his identity, he didn't debate.  He reminded himself of the Truth.  

Luke 4:13 says, "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season."(KJV).  Don't miss this! The enemy was planning to come back again with more temptations.  It's the same in our lives as well.  He will come after you again.  No need to fear, but there is a necessity to prepare.  

The writer of Hebrews said, "You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others, but instead you have dropped back to the place where you need someone to teach you all over again the very first principles in God’s Word. You are like babies who can drink only milk, not old enough for solid food. And when a person is still living on milk it shows he isn’t very far along in the Christian life, and doesn’t know much about the difference between right and wrong. He is still a baby Christian! You will never be able to eat solid spiritual food and understand the deeper things of God’s Word until you become better Christians and learn right from wrong by PRACTICING doing right."(Hebrews 5:12-14, Living Bible).

Love and prayers, Cynthia