Jesus said, “You people are too stubborn to have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here.â€18 Then Jesus spoke sternly to the demon. It went out of the boy, and right then he was healed.   Matthew 17:17-18 (CEV)
Much more could be said about this subject. But it is hard to explain, and all of you are slow to understand. 12 By now you should have been teachers, but once again you need to be taught the simplest things about what God has said. You need milk instead of solid food. Â Â Â Â Hebrews 5:11-12 (CEV)
Jesus spoke sternly to the demon. I believe that today I hear Jesus speaking sternly to me.
Even as I hear the edge in Jesus’ voice, I know that His heart is also filled with love for me. It is because of that love that He knows that I need to GROW UP! and stop being content to be fed like a baby with a bottle.
Stop making excuses. Time is running out. If we can’t see that on any given day by reading or listening to the news then we are delusional! There is no more “I’ll get around to it.†The time is now to prepare ourselves by strengthening our minds and spirits in prayer and study of God’s Word. The day is already upon us when we cannot trust or have faith in what we see and hear. We must look beyond what is in this world and seek the wisdom of God for understanding. Our 401k and IRA’s will not keep us in the manner we have become accustomed. Are we ready to live with a peace that passes the world’s understanding and trust God for all that we do not see?
Read and study for myself. It is time to stop being spoon-fed by pastors and Sunday School teachers. If I have been sitting in a pew or chair in a classroom for more than a year and am still only relying on others to tell me what I should believe and what God says, then I am still in the nursery of God’s Kingdom and I should be ashamed. GROW UP! It is past time to pull out my Bible and invest in my spiritual health.
Get my priorities straight. In the past I have said in my devotions that war is coming and we must prepare. Well the war is here. If you have any doubt, go to any school and listen to what the children are talking about and the daily decisions between right and wrong that they must make. Home schooling is not going to insulate them from temptation and the seduction of the enemy. They must learn to build their spiritual muscles in prayer and reading of God’s Word for themselves. They must be led and taught by parents and grandparents who are setting the example, not by what they say, but by what they do. It is great to work hard in scholarly pursuits, athletics and music but not at the expense of cutting time in Jesus’ classroom. Do my children and grandchildren know that I spend time in prayer and study every day? Why not?
How much longer will I put off to tomorrow what I should be doing today in God’s Kingdom? May I hear Jesus’ voice and obey!
Send the Fire written by William Booth, sung by Lindell Cooley
