GROWING OUT OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR FAITH
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
Our greatest tragedy most of the time in our churches is when we stop trying to help a new Christian grow. We are all excited when someone first comes to know Jesus as their Savior, but is not usually very long before we start to try to plug them into a group which may be active in the church, but many times is not equipped to nurture a new Christian.
As the new Christian gets exposed to others within the church many times they also get exposed to a million other concepts that may pull them away from the foundations of their faith. When I refer to the process of Mentoring individuals it may mean a much slower growth process than our instant society is used to; in fact, it could also be very costly for us as a group to raise someone in Christ properly. What this all really means is that we as a church have an investment through Jesus Christ to bring that new soul into a place where they can stand on their own and feed themselves with the word of God. We need to be teaching them how to find things in scripture, and how to read the word of God in a way that makes sense to them. There are many people who will learn the terms of church vocabulary and yet not understand the meaning of any of the words they are using. There are many who may have been given a bible that they can't read because it is from a different time and language from any reality to them. They need to be able to read the word of God in their own words; the language they can make sense of, and then if there are any translation problems there we who are in the church should be right there to help them understand what the word is saying.
I cannot help but feel that for many of the younger people in this country, in particular, there is a disconnect between what is said in the King James version of scripture and in other translations, but we can bridge that gap for them if we try. We can start by really living out and explaining the two commandments that when combined intertwine all of the other commandments, " To love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul, and then to love others as we love ourselves" These are the foundations of why God loved us in the first place, and how to love as He has loved us. God's main desire for us is that we believe in Him. He wishes to draw us closer to Him so that we might have an eternal and lasting relationship with Him. The very first step in making that happen for a new Christian will be for the Church to stand and take responsibility for feeding and training those who come to Him through the Holy Spirit in the basic foundations that Jesus has given us. We must make sure that people understand the principals of what it means when they give their lives to God because if we do not they will not be able to have the strength to stand for Him in this world. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
Our greatest tragedy most of the time in our churches is when we stop trying to help a new Christian grow. We are all excited when someone first comes to know Jesus as their Savior, but is not usually very long before we start to try to plug them into a group which may be active in the church, but many times is not equipped to nurture a new Christian.
As the new Christian gets exposed to others within the church many times they also get exposed to a million other concepts that may pull them away from the foundations of their faith. When I refer to the process of Mentoring individuals it may mean a much slower growth process than our instant society is used to; in fact, it could also be very costly for us as a group to raise someone in Christ properly. What this all really means is that we as a church have an investment through Jesus Christ to bring that new soul into a place where they can stand on their own and feed themselves with the word of God. We need to be teaching them how to find things in scripture, and how to read the word of God in a way that makes sense to them. There are many people who will learn the terms of church vocabulary and yet not understand the meaning of any of the words they are using. There are many who may have been given a bible that they can't read because it is from a different time and language from any reality to them. They need to be able to read the word of God in their own words; the language they can make sense of, and then if there are any translation problems there we who are in the church should be right there to help them understand what the word is saying.
I cannot help but feel that for many of the younger people in this country, in particular, there is a disconnect between what is said in the King James version of scripture and in other translations, but we can bridge that gap for them if we try. We can start by really living out and explaining the two commandments that when combined intertwine all of the other commandments, " To love God with all of our heart, mind, and soul, and then to love others as we love ourselves" These are the foundations of why God loved us in the first place, and how to love as He has loved us. God's main desire for us is that we believe in Him. He wishes to draw us closer to Him so that we might have an eternal and lasting relationship with Him. The very first step in making that happen for a new Christian will be for the Church to stand and take responsibility for feeding and training those who come to Him through the Holy Spirit in the basic foundations that Jesus has given us. We must make sure that people understand the principals of what it means when they give their lives to God because if we do not they will not be able to have the strength to stand for Him in this world. May you richly bless God through your life in Him.THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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