Slowing Down For the Speed Bumps
'So abandon every form of evil, deceit, hypocrisy, feelings of jealousy
and slander. In the same way that nursing infants cry for milk, you
must intensely crave the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word. For this
“milk” will cause you to grow into maturity, fully nourished and strong
for life— especially now that you have had a taste of the goodness of
the Lord Jehovah and have experienced his kindness.
So keep coming to him who is the Living Stone—though he was rejected and discarded by men but chosen by God and is priceless in God’s sight. Come and be his “living stones” who are continually being assembled into a sanctuary for God. For now you serve as holy priests, offering up spiritual sacrifices that he readily accepts through Jesus Christ. For it says in Scripture:
Look! I lay a cornerstone in Zion,
a chosen and priceless stone!
And whoever believes in him
will certainly not be disappointed.
As believers you know his great worth—indeed, his preciousness is imparted to you. But for those who do not believe:
The stone that the builders rejected and discarded has now become the cornerstone
And
A stone that makes them stumble and a rock to trip over.
They keep stumbling over the message because they refuse to believe it. And this they were destined to do.' 1 Peter 2:1-8 (TPT)
So, I was drawn to these verses today because of my Healthy Mind and Body program lesson this morning which was; what you focus on you feed, what you feed grows, what grows seems real, what seems real I become. I like that. I like the lesson in 1 Peter 2 even more. The lesson God wants to drum home to me as a believer is one of growth and that growth is in the spiritual life and in holiness. I want to be more like that.
Growing in holiness then, it seems to me, is more like how we feed a baby. They love their bottles and the milk we provide them. I was giving my grandson a bottle on Thursday and was considering this very thing. He loves his bottle. He finds comfort in the closeness he feels to me as I am holding him. He finds comfort in the warmth, the rocking, the sounds he hears and he is nourished as well. He feels safe. What a wonderful thing, to be able, as a grandmother, to take a small part in that amazing little man's growth. The feeding, even the diaper changing, because even that is a big part of the process of helping him grow during the 'totally dependent on my parents' stage of his development.
So it goes with us. Shouldn't we make it our priority to be totally dependent on our heavenly Father? Shouldn't we focus on freeing ourselves from the bonds of sin by feeding our spirits with the Word which is the antidote and key to the padlock on the chains of our pain? Especially now, that we have tasted His goodness and know how simply delicious His love for us is! In Him we find comfort and we are safe. His Word nourishes us. He takes us, the good and the bad, and helps us along as we grow in holiness. As I draw nearer to Him, at times I feel totally dependent on Him. Why would we be drawn to the inferior and the quick fix solutions that the world offers? What the world calls pain relief is really only dope. Nope to dope.
So when I focus on Him and feed myself on His Word of truth I begin to see myself as He sees me and that image of myself begins to grow. When I keep coming to Him as one that realizes a need for the sunlight, He becomes my Living Stone. I like that. The Stone that is the cornerstone of the sanctuary where I am called to come and assemble together as one of His living stones. He never disappoints. He is my rock to build upon and He sustains me. To those that do not know Him, He only becomes their stumbling block and rock to trip over. It seems that some of us simply refuse to slow down for the speed bumps. What a contrast. What the world calls living is really only choosing spiritual death. Have faith. Choose life in Him.
So keep coming to him who is the Living Stone—though he was rejected and discarded by men but chosen by God and is priceless in God’s sight. Come and be his “living stones” who are continually being assembled into a sanctuary for God. For now you serve as holy priests, offering up spiritual sacrifices that he readily accepts through Jesus Christ. For it says in Scripture:
Look! I lay a cornerstone in Zion,
a chosen and priceless stone!
And whoever believes in him
will certainly not be disappointed.
As believers you know his great worth—indeed, his preciousness is imparted to you. But for those who do not believe:
The stone that the builders rejected and discarded has now become the cornerstone
And
A stone that makes them stumble and a rock to trip over.
They keep stumbling over the message because they refuse to believe it. And this they were destined to do.' 1 Peter 2:1-8 (TPT)
So, I was drawn to these verses today because of my Healthy Mind and Body program lesson this morning which was; what you focus on you feed, what you feed grows, what grows seems real, what seems real I become. I like that. I like the lesson in 1 Peter 2 even more. The lesson God wants to drum home to me as a believer is one of growth and that growth is in the spiritual life and in holiness. I want to be more like that.
Growing in holiness then, it seems to me, is more like how we feed a baby. They love their bottles and the milk we provide them. I was giving my grandson a bottle on Thursday and was considering this very thing. He loves his bottle. He finds comfort in the closeness he feels to me as I am holding him. He finds comfort in the warmth, the rocking, the sounds he hears and he is nourished as well. He feels safe. What a wonderful thing, to be able, as a grandmother, to take a small part in that amazing little man's growth. The feeding, even the diaper changing, because even that is a big part of the process of helping him grow during the 'totally dependent on my parents' stage of his development.
So it goes with us. Shouldn't we make it our priority to be totally dependent on our heavenly Father? Shouldn't we focus on freeing ourselves from the bonds of sin by feeding our spirits with the Word which is the antidote and key to the padlock on the chains of our pain? Especially now, that we have tasted His goodness and know how simply delicious His love for us is! In Him we find comfort and we are safe. His Word nourishes us. He takes us, the good and the bad, and helps us along as we grow in holiness. As I draw nearer to Him, at times I feel totally dependent on Him. Why would we be drawn to the inferior and the quick fix solutions that the world offers? What the world calls pain relief is really only dope. Nope to dope.
So when I focus on Him and feed myself on His Word of truth I begin to see myself as He sees me and that image of myself begins to grow. When I keep coming to Him as one that realizes a need for the sunlight, He becomes my Living Stone. I like that. The Stone that is the cornerstone of the sanctuary where I am called to come and assemble together as one of His living stones. He never disappoints. He is my rock to build upon and He sustains me. To those that do not know Him, He only becomes their stumbling block and rock to trip over. It seems that some of us simply refuse to slow down for the speed bumps. What a contrast. What the world calls living is really only choosing spiritual death. Have faith. Choose life in Him.
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