be, to do. And, among other things, to grow. Once you were saved, once you accepted Jesus as your Lord – this began the never ending adventure of discoveries… about yourself, about the Lord, about life, about – everything. And there are so many things to discover, you’ll never run out of spiritual matters to learn and grow in.
Have you ever taken the time to think about all the things you have been reborn to be and do? I think it’s exciting and great fun. Yes there are scrapped knees, and unthinking decisions that end in less than desired results, but there are also those moments of revelation and understanding that can never be ‘trumped’, that are transformative. You have been created to become which is why the Lord is never finished with us – perfection is a goal, not sure it ever is an attained destination. You have also been created for is to do. And that’s our determination. But why would we ever not want to do? The Lord never saved or created us to only be born again but to touch lives so that they can.
So what happens after you’ve been saved? New believers also need a Bible believing, Bible preaching church. Hopefully the person who led you to the Lord helps you to find a church home and a Bible. The church is our home, family to grow in and to fellowship with. While new believers do need a family of believers, we all do. We never outgrow our need for fellowship.
You also need your manual – the Bible. It’s there to help you grow and mature: to know what you should do, when and how. The Bible tells us where we come from. The Old Testament gives us our roots, our heritage and paves the way for the New. Example: Proverbs gives us how we should live and what we should avoid. The first 5 books is our history cloaked in teaching us ways to live, what’s important and who, how we should live.
Many times, people think we only need to focus on the New Testament. Wrong. However, I do agree that we need to begin in the New simply because it speaks clearly to our now. The teachings from Paul, the historical presentation of Jesus and what He did – which is why the gospels form a beginning understanding. Perhaps whimsical, I tend to look at Matthew and Luke as the historians and foundation builders. Mark is the one who is action based and John is our heart.
To me, learning is the start, our path to knowing. Knowing in the path to understanding. Understanding is the path to applying. And applying gives you evidences of you growing. However, you have to determine your best path. I’ve indicated mine. Growing is essential, at least in my world, because I don’t see how being saved, born again is only a one and done. Scripture tells us to work out our salvation in fear (awe) and trembling [Philippians 2:12] Again, in my world, it’s the start – and it does come first. But it isn’t the end. We are invited into a wonderful partnership – nothing we do is done alone. We always have a helper. Do you need to know? Ask. Do you need understanding? Ask. Do you know how to apply? Ask. We have a triune God that is right here with us waiting for us to turn… and ask.
