March 6, 2017
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Are You A Spiritual Baby?

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Loving God, Your mercies are new every morning, Your faithfulness is great. I confidently place my future in Your hands.

Read Hebrews 5:11—6:3

[11] We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. [12] In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! [13] Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. [14] But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. [1] Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, [2] instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. [3] And God permitting, we will do so.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“Infantile faith can indeed be a very tempting proposition long after it has ceased to be appropriate” (Joy Tetley).

How did you respond to the reference to Melchizedek in Saturday’s reading (Heb. 5:6), especially as the notes didn’t offer any explanation regarding it? Are you offended by the title for today’s note? The writer of Hebrews obviously thought his readers should have been hungry to know more but were too lazy to do anything about increasing their understanding of Christ and his demands on their lives. These are strong words. If the preacher in your church next Sunday castigates you for just wanting your ears tickled, would you be offended?

Many churches, in their desire to be seeker-sensitive, have relegated the teaching ministry of their church to shorter or less well-attended time slots, or made any opportunity for their members to grow in their Bible knowledge an optional extra. This is short-changing their people, giving them sips of warm milk when they should be encouraged to take in solid food. Of course our means of communicating and teaching change with the culture and the times, but when my students say sermons are just old-fashioned, I ask them to listen to a few TED talks. These very popular talks use the best of current communication techniques to effectively get across to their audience in 18 minutes something the speaker is passionate about and has researched well, using illustrations and graphics to great effect and speaking from a standing position on a bare stage. We still respond to good communicators speaking the truth. Spirit-empowered ones are even more welcome.

Readers of Encounter with God obviously have a hunger to grow spiritually, but we need, just as passionately, to advocate spiritual growth for others as strongly as the writer to the Hebrews is doing. And we need to be willing teachers. It is a matter of life and death for all Christians to be able to “distinguish good from evil” (14).

Apply

What can you do to encourage your church and family to eat a healthy spiritual diet?

Closing prayer

Lord, excavate within me an emptiness that only You can fill. I invite You in all Your fullness into my life.

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