spiritual maturity

the moral difference between a born again Christian and a morally upright atheist is nothing. NOTHING. we have all sinned and fallen short of the kingdom of God (Romans 3:23). all of our works are like dirty rags before the Lord (Isaiah 64:6). what is man that You are mindful of him (Psalm 8:4)? the bar is set so high that we are morally not even close. the born again Christian deserves hell no less than the moral atheist. even cults do a better job of "earning" their salvation than some Christians. being an upright moral person is only half the battle!

knowledge of the Bible is great, but it has has limited growth potential. the Bible is clear that prayer should be the focus of our relationship with the Lord..."pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). it never says to read without ceasing (although reading is VERY important -- 2 Timothy 3:16), or memorize every verse of the Bible (although memorizing is VERY important -- Psalm 119:11), or do good works without ceasing (although doing good works is VERY important -- James 2:18). far more people can boast about memorized Scripture or memorized Jewish festival prayers than they can about their prayer time. whether it is popcorn prayers throughout the day or 30 min one on one, we need to draw close to God -- for as James 4:8 states "Come near to God and he will come near to you"

we do not want to be said of us what the writer of Hebrews said as he chastised against spiritual immaturity:

Heb 5:12-14 -- For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

how do we become "skilled in the word of righteousness"? how do we "discern both good and evil"? we need to be praying and asking the Spirit to open our hearts and explain to us the Scriptures as we read them (Matthew 11:15; Rev 3:22). learning the Bible is much more than just knowledge. the Bible is the living, breathing Word of God. the Spirit speaks to us through the Scripture. if the apostles needed Jesus to open their eyes (Luke 24:27,32), how much more for us as well?

there are many things that make up a spiritually mature Christian, but for sure, one of them is a complete giving of oneself to God -- 100% -- and committing to do EVERYTHING His way. when it comes to the decisions you have to make and the problems you face, who are you trusting? your self? your spouse? your friends? your money? the government? spiritually mature Christians go to God with all problems, all desires, all dreams and all plans. they actively seek Him and hand it all over to God. if we want all of our dilemmas to be resolved God's way, then we need to not only include God in our dilemmas, we need to GIVE Him all our dilemmas. pretent God is the boss of a company and you are just a lowly secretary -- visualize putting your dilemma in a plain manila file folder and handing it to God for Him to take control over it. this should cover everything -- how we make our money, how we spend our money, family issues, job issues, etc., etc. 

spiritually immature Christians, by contrast, go through life on their own power. they put themselves through a whole host of self inflicted trials and tribulations. holding back from God only hurts us. they miss out on all sorts of blessings, divine protections, divine provisions communion with God and peace in our lives. they go through life in survival mode, constantly looking for answers and help from sources other than the Trinity -- like friends, family, more money or more government handouts. simply trodding through life is NOT Gods plan for you. dont make God out to be a distant relative who cares for you from far away. another mark of a spiritually mature Christian is someone who uses their talants to build Gods kingdom. for some people when they got saved, they gave it all to God. but as the years went by, they start taking peisces back -- a little here, a little there. after a while, it is sometimes hard to tell what parts, if any, are still completey devoted to Him.  

what have you done today, this week, this month....even this year to build Gods kingdom using the gifts He has given you? or are you so consumed by building your own little kingdom here on earth that you really just dont have the time and energy for His?

to the stagnant, luke warm Christian, God says in Revelation 3:16 -- "So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

as always, the choice is yours.