Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 1 Thessalonians 4:1, NIVOn Sunday I had the pleasure of visiting the church where a childhood friend is the pastor’s wife. They were celebrating their 25th anniversary of serving in this particular church. One of the sections of the day’s program was a review of the church’s history. The church was established some 55 years ago and they have had four pastors to serve; I cannot remember the length of time the first two pastors served but the last two lengths of service I do recall—21 years and 25 years. The numbers in membership have grown tremendously; an average of about 50 in Sunday School has grown to about 250; around 500 have been baptized in the last 25 years and they now average offerings of about $13,000 each Sunday. It is truly amazing what can happen when you let go and let God; blessings follow obedience.
In all of this I was reminded the Christian walk should be one of growth and forward progress. As we follow our Lord in obedience to Him, we should be moving onward, learning, growing, maturing as we walk on the journey of faith. This should be true of our individual journey and should be true of our local body of believers, and thus should be true of our church.
As parents, we look forward excitedly to our children learning and progressing through each level of maturity. It is also the will of our Heavenly Father that we learn, mature and make forward progress in our spiritual journey.
Are you where you should be in your journey of faith? Are you doing what you should be doing? If not, why not? Seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit; spend time alone with God; confess, repent, believe; He not only has the answer; He IS the answer.
God Bless!
