When we bundled up to go outside during the snow, Timothy’s looks clearly communicated that he was feeling very unsure of his people. The toboggans and hoods obscured the familiar faces and he was visibly shaken. Once inside, we peeled off jackets and hats and still it took a moment for him to lose the wariness and smile. At ten months, he’s not quite old enough to enjoy the frigid outdoors independently and his winter gear makes him look a little like the Michelin Tire Man. Swinging works for a few minutes but his mobility is seriously limited because he can’t bend at the waist or the knees. He loves to be outside and once he’s toddling, he’ll be able to enjoy winter outdoors. For now, he’s relegated to swimming in the shallows, so to speak.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people.
I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ.
I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger.
And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature.
You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other.
Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature?
Aren’t you living like people of the world?”
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.3.1-3.NLT
In faith as in life, we are conditioned to flit from one task to the next, never lighting for long lest we become curious or feel a sense of conviction. We exist from one snack, one sip, to the next without going deeper. We never inhale deeply and sit with the Spirit for long. We tiptoe around in the shallows complaining of the cold or of getting our hems wet.
When reading our Bibles becomes just one more item to tick off our to do lists, we can easily dismiss any promptings from the Spirit as easily as walking by a mirror and adjusting our hair before stepping back out into the wind or the rain, maybe even snow or sleet. But our spiritual maturity isn’t measured by the length of our quiet time or the number of Bible studies we’ve completed. Scripture repeatedly ties a growing faith and love for God to obedience.
“But don’t just listen to God’s word.
You must do what it says.
Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.
You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.
But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”
James 1:22-25 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.22-25.NLT
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.
He will not rebuke you for asking.
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.
Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
James 1:5-8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.5-8.NLT
“Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.””
John 7:24 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.7.24.NLT
Sure, scripture is dated and difficult. It was written within a particular time frame in the languages of the day using culturally understood examples, but none of that means it is inaccessible today. Peter points to Paul’s letters, though difficult, as wisdom imparted from God. When we view God’s Word rightly, we see the wonderful gift He gives- Himself. Yet it is so much more and the Psalmist, the man after God’s own heart, understood better than most when he spoke, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8) Like a heavenly buffet which can never be exhausted, the Bible is God’s Word, His revelation of all that is needful for His own to know Him and to prepare ourselves to enter His presence, now and for eternity.
“And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved.
This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— speaking of these things in all of his letters.
Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture.
And this will result in their destruction.
You already know these things, dear friends.
So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing.
Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.”
2 Peter 3:15-18 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2pe.3.18.NLT
“For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.
I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain.
Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.
I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.
But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit.
It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 2:2-5, 14, 16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.2.2-16.NLT
Jesus modeled this deep dive where trust meets obedience to the Father perfectly in His life and His death. He does not ask of us what He was unwilling to do Himself. Jesus prayed for you and he commissioned you. More than that, He is with you to the very end.
“Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.
And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you.
And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”
John 17:18-21 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.17.18-21.NLT
“Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say.
My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.
Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.
And remember, my words are not my own.
What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.
But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart.
And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.
So don’t be troubled or afraid.
I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.
I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches.
He has no power over me, but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father.”
John 14:23-24, 26-27, 29-31 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.14.23-31.NLT
“There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.
You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others.
Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word.
You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.
For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.
Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”
Hebrews 5:11-14 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.5.11-14.NLT
There it is again. Actions speak louder than words. Only God sees our hearts but a watching world sees what we do, hears what we say. Unbelievers are uninterested in what we say we believe. Do we practice what we preach? Do our words align with our deeds? Do we know God’s Word in order to obey God’s commands, or do we stay in the shallows, content with believing what we don’t know won’t hurt us? As the Church, the unified body of Christ, we are ambassadors representing the Lord until He comes. Take the plunge today.
““This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach.
It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’
It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’
No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.
Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster.
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses.
Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make.
Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!
You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him.
This is the key to your life.”
Deuteronomy 30:11-15, 19-20 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/deu.30.11-20.NLT
Steven Curtis Chapman DIVE
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