Don’t Become Stagnant!
The life I’ll never forsake
Ten years after graduating high school, I traveled six hours to meet with an old high school buddy. She and I were two peas in a pod at one time.
The problem was I had become a Christian, went to college, got married, etc. And she was still the same person as when I left, except she had been married and divorced like so many other classmates. So sad!
Talking with her was strange — it was like she was still in high school. She asked me if I “still knew how to get in trouble.” She wanted to drive around the city to make some “noise.” I went with her, but I’m sure in her eyes, I wasn’t as much fun for her to hang with as I once was.
I had grown in some ways that she had not. Or at least there was no obvious evidence of maturity in some areas. We had traveled two different roads.
Just as my friend seemed stuck in the past, believers in Christ can have a true conversion and never grow.
What happens when you don’t dig into the Word of God as a new believer?
I know believers who accepted Jesus but never cracked open any of the five Bibles their friends gave them in excitement over their new friend’s conversion.
A dear friend of mine doesn’t like to read, and that’s her excuse for not reading the Bible. But unfortunately, a chain reaction can happen when you hit the breaks after conversion:
- You don’t encounter God’s love letter written just for you.
- You don’t, then, fall in love with your Savior and want to spend time with Him.
- You might pray, and you only think you know who it is you’re praying to.
- You never grow into that assurance that God really is listening and cares about everything that you care about.
- You make up your own version of God because you haven’t read about who He is.
- You make up your own version of Christianity.
- You don’t learn how to live your best life because you’re not training your mind and heart by the Word of God.
- When trials come, and they will, you won’t know the power of praying scriptures.
- You won’t know how to stand on the Rock; you’ll wander into sinking sand.
- The wind and the waves will knock you down.
- And the enemy will keep you deceived as long as you’re passive about getting to know God in His Word.
My friend, I don’t want that for you!
Pick a chapter in Psalms, Proverbs, or the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) and read one verse at a time. Meditate on just one verse a day until you get to the end of that chapter. Pray that God will show you treasures along the way. Journal if you like to write.
You will be amazed at what happens in your spiritual life. It’s the beginning of wisdom for you. It’s the training you need to start hearing God’s voice and building a relationship that will go on forever!
I love Jesus, and after 30+ years, we have very special memories together. Memories I’ve kept in journal books for a long time. It’s a life I’ll never forsake!
Allow God to do great works in your heart and build a relationship you’ll never leave. God is worth pursuing!
Read His Word and trust Him to transform your life. For an example of how to go verse by verse, hop onto the Real With God FB Page. We’re going through Psalm 119 right now!
For some free resources that can also help you get started, check out Prepare for Prayer or How to Begin to Pray. And share with me your experiences!
