It is not God's will that we remain babies

"Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? "                       I Corinthians 3:1-3

As parents we are constantly watching for signs of growth and maturity in our children.  From the moment they are born we start watching for these signs.  Are they gaining weight? Are they rolling over? Are they crawling, speaking, walking? The watching goes on all of their life.  Why? Because if there is no growth and no maturity, then something is wrong.  We were not born to stay infants. We were born to grow into adulthood.  

The same is true of our spiritual birth.  From the time we are born of the Spirit the Father begins watching for signs of our growth and maturity.  Are we loving and forgiving of each other? Are we caring for each other?  Are we giving, obeying, sacrificing? If these things aren't happening something is wrong!  We were not born of the Spirit to stay infants in our faith.  We were born to grow up to be like Jesus!  Take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself these questions?  How have I grown in my walk in the last year?  Do I look like the world, or do I look like Jesus? If you haven't grown and matured in your walk, there is good news.  Repent and begin growing in Christ.  The Father is watching for us to grow.  

Fruit

Food for thought. 

"Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12

Which then reminded me of Psalm 1:1-3
"Blessed is the one .... who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers."

The thing that stood out to me at first was the source of the tree's sustenance. The first verse says that the tree will bear fruit, because it is watered from the sanctuary. What is that saying to you? The second verse says that when we meditate on the Word, we will be like a tree planted by streams of water. I see the Word as the streams of water that feed the tree so that it can produce fruit. Another question that came to my mind is what fruit am I bearing? My heart's desire is to produce this fruit~~love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I don't always do that. Sometimes the fruit I produce is anger, discord, unfaithfulness, no control. When that is happening I need to look at how I am feeding my tree. I can't have it being fed by a stream filled with toxic waste and expect to produce good fruit. Are we producing healing in the lives of those around us?

There is a children's song that says "be careful little eyes what you see, be careful little ears what you hear." As adults we should take these words to heart as well. We become what we feed ourselves, and we reproduce who we are. 

Blessings~~Robin

Today

As I was checking email and following one link after another, running through my mind was this thought.~~ It is amazing to be able to have any information at your fingertips in a matter of moments. That prompted another thought. ~~How does that impact me and others? Well, for me the answer at first seems simple.  I can increase my knowledge at any time and almost anywhere.  But it is so much more than that.  

The Internet is a wonderful invention but like all things, there is the ability for it to be used in a negative way as well.  Last night on the news they were discussing the addiction to porn and the Internet.  I am not sure of the ratio of good information in relationship to bad on the web, but today I want to help tip the scales toward the good.

 I have always had a passion for the written word, and it's impact on others. So like Esther of long ago, I believe I am no mistake and am here for such a time as this.  Hence, my blog name.  I hope that my words will encourage and help someone grow. 

“The Bible tells us that we are God’s masterpieces (poiema in Greek); not only creatures, but His creations, His poems (Eph 2:10). We are living epistles (2 Cor 3:3).

And so, our lives are meant to be listened to, because it is God who is speaking into and out of and through the symphony of the years, and the masterpiece of a lifetime.” ~Michael Card

 So this is the birth of my blog and I look forward to many posts and to hearing what you think. I wait in eager anticipation to hear where you are in your life and how you are using your life to impact others.

Blessings~~Robin