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Move on to the Meat - Your Daily Forward Devotional

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In The Days of the Judges

In The Days of the Judges

A Glimmer of Hope

A Glimmer of Hope

Bitter or a Believer?

Bitter or a Believer?

Great Faithfulness

Great Faithfulness

Bitter Emptiness

Bitter Emptiness

God Intended It For Good

God Intended It For Good

Getting Started...

Getting Started...

The True Vine

  • Jun 3, 2023

The True Vine

The Way

  • Jun 2, 2023

The Way

The Resurrection and the Life

  • Jun 1, 2023

The Resurrection and the Life

The Good Shepherd

  • May 31, 2023

The Good Shepherd

The Door

  • May 30, 2023

The Door

The Bread and the Light

  • May 29, 2023

The Bread and the Light

John Saw It All

  • May 27, 2023

John Saw It All

Worry About Yourself

  • May 26, 2023

Worry About Yourself

Count the Cost

  • May 25, 2023

Count the Cost

Do You Love God?

  • May 24, 2023

Do You Love God?

Jump All In

  • May 23, 2023

Jump All In

Gone Fishing Again

  • May 22, 2023

Gone Fishing Again

You May Have Life In His Name

  • May 20, 2023

You May Have Life In His Name

The Disciple Who Believed

  • May 19, 2023

The Disciple Who Believed

The Disciple Who Doubted

  • May 18, 2023

The Disciple Who Doubted

APRIL - JUNE 2023
January - March 2023
October - December 2022
July - September 2022
April - June 2022

The Return of Christ

  • Jun 30, 2022

The Return of Christ

Just Jesus

  • Jun 29, 2022

Just Jesus

Joy In Christ

  • Jun 28, 2022

Joy In Christ

Privileges and Practices for Christians

  • Jun 27, 2022

Privileges and Practices for Christians

Grace and Freedom

  • Jun 25, 2022

Grace and Freedom

So We Do Not Lose Heart

  • Jun 24, 2022

So We Do Not Lose Heart

Fatherly Discipline

  • Jun 23, 2022

Fatherly Discipline

The Righteous Shall Live By Faith

  • Jun 22, 2022

The Righteous Shall Live By Faith

Witnesses To the End of The Earth

  • Jun 21, 2022

Witnesses To the End of The Earth

God in The Flesh

  • Jun 20, 2022

God in The Flesh

The Great Physician

  • Jun 18, 2022

The Great Physician

Service and Sacrifice

  • Jun 17, 2022

Service and Sacrifice

The Long-Awaited King of the Jews

  • Jun 16, 2022

The Long-Awaited King of the Jews

Is It Even Worth It?

  • Jun 15, 2022

Is It Even Worth It?

A Future Perspective

  • Jun 14, 2022

A Future Perspective

Misplaced Priorities

  • Jun 13, 2022

Misplaced Priorities

Judgment and Joy

  • Jun 11, 2022

Judgment and Joy

The Righteous Will Live By Faith

  • Jun 10, 2022

The Righteous Will Live By Faith

Pride Goes Before Destruction

  • Jun 9, 2022

Pride Goes Before Destruction

Does God Care About Justice?

  • Jun 8, 2022

Does God Care About Justice?

That All Should Be Saved

  • Jun 7, 2022

That All Should Be Saved

A Battle Between Brothers

  • Jun 6, 2022

A Battle Between Brothers

The Cold Hard Truth

  • Jun 4, 2022

The Cold Hard Truth

Just You Wait

  • Jun 3, 2022

Just You Wait

Idolatry Vs. Adultery

  • Jun 2, 2022

Idolatry Vs. Adultery

The Lord Reigns Supreme

  • Jun 1, 2022

The Lord Reigns Supreme

Restored to Glory

  • May 31, 2022

Restored to Glory

The Saddest Chapter In The Book

  • May 30, 2022

The Saddest Chapter In The Book

The Bearer of Bad News

  • May 28, 2022

The Bearer of Bad News

Salvation Is of The Lord

  • May 27, 2022

Salvation Is of The Lord

God’s Plan

  • May 26, 2022

God’s Plan

What’s the Point?

  • May 25, 2022

What’s the Point?

Read the Instructions

  • May 24, 2022

Read the Instructions

A Real Relationship

  • May 23, 2022

A Real Relationship

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

  • May 21, 2022

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

God Behind the Scenes

  • May 20, 2022

God Behind the Scenes

Miraculous Reconstruction

  • May 19, 2022

Miraculous Reconstruction

Coming Home

  • May 18, 2022

Coming Home

Not Just A Building

  • May 17, 2022

Not Just A Building

The Family of God

  • May 16, 2022

The Family of God

Discipline and Destruction

  • May 14, 2022

Discipline and Destruction

A Heart and Kingdom Divided

  • May 13, 2022

A Heart and Kingdom Divided

The Greatest King Ever

  • May 12, 2022

The Greatest King Ever

No King But God?

  • May 11, 2022

No King But God?

A Love That Redeems

  • May 10, 2022

A Love That Redeems

Rebel, Rescue, Repeat

  • May 9, 2022

Rebel, Rescue, Repeat

A Literal Scarlet Thread

  • May 7, 2022

A Literal Scarlet Thread

He’s Faithful, So Be Faithful

  • May 6, 2022

He’s Faithful, So Be Faithful

Why Did It Take So Long?

  • May 5, 2022

Why Did It Take So Long?

Holy as He Is Holy

  • May 4, 2022

Holy as He Is Holy

Passed Over

  • May 3, 2022

Passed Over

The Beginning of Redemption

  • May 2, 2022

The Beginning of Redemption

The Lord Is Near

  • Apr 30, 2022

The Lord Is Near

I’ll Be Happy When…

  • Apr 29, 2022

I’ll Be Happy When…

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

  • Apr 28, 2022

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

You Can’t Hide a Lie

  • Apr 27, 2022

You Can’t Hide a Lie

The Sin Underneath All Others

  • Apr 26, 2022

The Sin Underneath All Others

Play the Long Game

  • Apr 25, 2022

Play the Long Game

Where Does Joy Come From?

  • Apr 23, 2022

Where Does Joy Come From?

Well Worth the Wait

  • Apr 22, 2022

Well Worth the Wait

Getting to Know God

  • Apr 21, 2022

Getting to Know God

Why Don’t We Just Give Up?

  • Apr 20, 2022

Why Don’t We Just Give Up?

Take Heart, He’s With You

  • Apr 19, 2022

Take Heart, He’s With You

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

  • Apr 18, 2022

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

What Are You Afraid Of?

  • Apr 16, 2022

What Are You Afraid Of?

Nothing Can Separate Us

  • Apr 15, 2022

Nothing Can Separate Us

What Has God Forgiven You For?

  • Apr 14, 2022

What Has God Forgiven You For?

But by the Grace Of God

  • Apr 13, 2022

But by the Grace Of God

A Healthy Swap

  • Apr 12, 2022

A Healthy Swap

Tell Yourself the Truth

  • Apr 11, 2022

Tell Yourself the Truth

He Hears You

  • Apr 9, 2022

He Hears You

Listen and Learn

  • Apr 8, 2022

Listen and Learn

Do You Need to Put Up Some Walls?

  • Apr 7, 2022

Do You Need to Put Up Some Walls?

Keep Your Cool

  • Apr 6, 2022

Keep Your Cool

Great Is His Faithfulness

  • Apr 5, 2022

Great Is His Faithfulness

Move on to the Meat

  • Apr 4, 2022

Move on to the Meat

Saving Faith Works

  • Apr 2, 2022

Saving Faith Works

Is Other People’s Faith Your Business?

  • Apr 1, 2022

Is Other People’s Faith Your Business?

January - March 2022
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July - September 2021
April - June 2021
January - March 2021
October - December 2020
July - September 2020
April - June 2020
January - March 2020
backtothebiblebttb2
Back to the BibleApr 4, 2022 6:00 am GMT

Move on to the Meat

 

April 4

 

Read Hebrews 6:1-2 (ESV)

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

 

Reflect

What are some practical steps you can take to grow in your faith when you feel stuck?

 

Recently, I came across a study conducted by Arizona Christian University. In 2020, their American Worldview Inventory survey found that only 21% of Protestant Christians who attend evangelical churches have a biblical worldview. The stats were even more grim for the “mainline” Protestant churches with only 8% holding a biblical worldview. These are people who claim to be Christians! But the vast majority don’t even take the Bible at its word. What in the world is the problem? I believe a lack of robust biblical training and a shallow understanding of the historic Christian faith for the past few generations are to blame.

 

In today’s verses, the author of Hebrews urged the early Jewish converts to Christianity to “leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity.” He tells them that they don’t have to keep going back to the foundational doctrines of the faith. While there is definite value in going “back to the basics” to ensure a solid understanding of essential Christian doctrines, we should strive to grow, learn, and progress in our knowledge, understanding, and discernment.

 

Imagine going to preschool to learn your ABCs and 123s but then you show up at kindergarten the next year only to be taught your letters and numbers again. Then, it’s more ABCs and 123s in first grade. By second grade, you complain that you are still stuck doing “baby stuff” when you are more than ready to apply that foundational knowledge and learn to actually read and do math. The Christian faith is just like learning anything else. We start with and should never abandon “elementary doctrines.” But there is so much more we can learn from that point on! God’s Word is full and rich. We can read it every day for our entire lives and never completely mine every nugget of wisdom and understanding of God. There is always more for us to learn.

 

The author of Hebrews also used a food analogy to help us understand this: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14).” As babies, we need milk! It is foundational to our diet. But as we grow, we gradually begin introducing solid food into our diet. If we don’t, we will be malnourished as adults.

 

If we truly grasp and accept the elementary doctrines of the Christian faith but don’t progress or grow spiritually, we’ll still be saved. But that doesn’t mean we will be spiritually healthy or thriving. We’ll be missing out on the richness and fullness of God’s Word.

 

Unfortunately, we won’t be the only ones that suffer because of our spiritual malnourishment. As we saw in those statistics, the body of Christ needs mature Christians who know their Bibles. We need strong, mature, and biblically faithful pastors in our pulpits, of course! But we need Biblically strong Christians in every sphere of influence in our community. We need faithful Christians in local, state, and national politics. We need biblical values represented in the business world. We need the hope of Christ represented in our health care workers. We need strong Christian educators in our schools. We need biblically faithful volunteers in our children’s ministries. And perhaps most of all, we need parents and the family to learn and grow in their faith so that they can teach their own children.

 

Friends, I want to encourage you to not be discouraged. If you need to go back to the basics to get the foundation of your faith right, do that. If you are just starting out as a believer in Jesus Christ, there is no shame in learning your spiritual ABCs and 123s. We all have to master the elementary doctrines of Christ before we graduate to a deeper understanding and begin to apply it to our lives. We all need to start off with a steady diet of spiritual milk before we get to the meat. So start where you are. But don’t be content to stay there. The author of Hebrews says to “go onto maturity” (Hebrews 6:1). How? By “being trained by constant practice” (Hebrews 5:14) So, open your Bibles today. Sit under solid Biblical instruction every chance you get. Get your training in so you can move on to the meat.

 

Pray

Lord, thank You for Your Word. By it You teach me, reprimand me, correct me, and train me for righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). When I read Your Word, I grow in wisdom, knowledge and discernment. Help me move on towards maturity. Not just for myself but so that I can be effective salt and light in a dark and decaying world (Matthew 5:13-16). Grow me and use me to glorify You. Amen.

 

~ Pastor Nat Crawford

 

 

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S
shirleynorah98
a year ago
GOOD MORNING FAMILY 👪 AMEN
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V
Virginia
a year ago
Lord, help me to avail more of my time in spending it with you, reading your word, listening to you and applying your word to my daily life, and in sharing your word with others, in Jesus Name I pray, Amen!
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D
David
a year ago
Lord Jesus, I want to know more of You. Show me the way of greater knowledge and understanding that I can worship You more sincerely, that I can obey and follow Your Word more closely, so that You could be more prominent in my life. Lord, as I look to You, I ask that You would hold me closer to Your side. Amen.
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M
marsha360
a year ago
Thanks Pastor for this timely reminder
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T
theshepherdsmaiden
a year ago
"Lord, please allow me to continue growing and maturing in my faith. Thank You for all that You have shown me in my lifetime. Please bless me and show me how to be a blessing to others. Amen."
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