A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (April 11, 2016)
Brethren, do not be children [immature] in your thinking; continue to be babes in [matters of] evil, but in your minds be mature [men]. (1 Corinthians 14:20, Amplified Bible)
One of the subjects talked about in the Bible a lot is maturity and this is one of the problems we see a lot in counseling with people. It seems that some people just don’t want to grow up. They just want to stay in that 16-25 year old behaviorial range even into their sixties and seventies.
When I was in that young age range I was just as wild as anybody. I wanted to party all weekend, chase girls, and/or hangout with the guys at the local beer and pool hall. When I got married and we had children I had to start growing up. Chasing girls and getting drunk with the guys had to go. Unfortunately, some of the people we counsel with have never let it go. They seem to be stuck in a time warp.
When I was about 35 years of age I went back to one of my former pool hall hangouts just to visit. This was after I had given my life to the Lord. It was a very sad situation. Some of the same guys were still there doing the same type things they had been doing for 20 years. They had never grown up. They were still spending their entire paycheck on booze, gambling, and girls.
God wants us to grow up and be men and women of faith and power! He wants us to be men and women of commitment. We don’t have to jump from relationship to relationship. We don’t have to run away every time something goes wrong or gets a little hard. Sticking in through the hard times builds faith, endurance, and patience. We don’t need drugs or alcohol to get high. We can get high on life. We can get high on Jesus and the Holy Ghost.
We see so many of these same people that have been virtually ruined by their religious upbringing. They have never experienced a personal relationship with Jesus. They have only witnessed hard religion that is full of rules , regulations, dos, and do nots. That is not Jesus!!!
Please listen to me!!! There is a better way. You do not have to go through this life always looking forward to the next party or the next relationship or the next husband or the next wife. You can have a stable and happy life if you just build a relationship with the one person that will never leave you nor forsake you. His name is Jesus. He is real and He will change your life if you just answer the door. He is knocking at the door of your heart. You just have to open the door and let Him in.
It is time to grow up! It is time to give it up!
Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. (Hebrews 5:14, NLT)
“Victory is not in the fight, but in the surrender”
