Monday Morning Perspective

If I write everything I want to about yesterday's sermon, I would be here forever.  SO, I think I'll just jot down the things that hit me throughout the message...
...Those in the infant stage of their Christian life, no matter their physical age, base everything on their feelings. They go from spiritual highs to valleys and life is like a rollercoaster.  They are selfish, thinking the whole world revolves around them and their needs.  They make messes, in bible study, on committees, etc.  They fuss and fight over everything.  They are easily led astray.  I know we all have days like this but God help us not to live in this stage.  You know they are the ones you see coming and want to avoid or the ones you care very little about spending time with.  Who wants to be like this?!  Praying the Lord brings all this back to my mind the next time I venture into this stage.
...Mature believers are those who move from the bottle to the battle.  They are interested in serving others.  They put on the whole armour of God and know how to do battle with the devil.  Eddie mentioned that a small percentage of believers actually read their Bible.  I know we have a lot of people in bible study but the number doesn't look so good when I look at it as the percentage of members that we have.  Praying for more to get in the Word and grow in their walk.
...I love how Eddie compared fathers in their spiritual walk to our earthly fathers.  What a great visual!  They are God-centered and so focused on Christ that the inconveniences of life rarely trip them up.  They also reproduce by leading others to Christ and discipling them.  This is the stage I long for.  It takes struggles and fighting in the trenches to get there but I'm convinced it's worth it.
I echo what Eddie said yesterday that I too look back and my biggest regrets are times I wasn't growing as I should in my walk with Christ.  Times when I got distracted with other things that seemed important at the time and now I see them as a huge waste of time.  I'm so glad that God redeems and He gives back.  I'm praying that He continues to redeem those times when I got off track.  If you missed this message it would be well worth your time to take a listen!!