Over the years I have seen Christians come and go in my little country church and its been very interesting watching their behavior and opinions. Sometimes I see people who have been in church many years, they know all the information about God but they still live selfish lives. Then there are others who are new Christians who don’t know much about the Bible at all, but their lives show that God is at work and they are growing.

In the world we live in, we often think that our education or "how much we know" measures how mature or grown up we are. But in God’s kingdom it’s not only knowledge we need, but it’s the way we actually live, act and treat others that shows we are mature.

For example, take a doctor who has spent many years at college getting a medical education. That doctor knows all the facts about the human body, but if he cannot treat people well, nobody will want to come to him or her. So its not just knowledge that makes a good doctor, its also the way he acts. It’s the same with our faith in Jesus. To really grow and mature in our faith means that we learn to love others, to believe, to be considerate and to live the way Jesus asks.

So when we want to mature as believers, we study God’s word the Bible to see what it says, then we need to put it into practice. If after studying the Bible we only get knowledge but don’t practice it, we are changing our opinion, but our heart has remained where it was. If however we learn what God says and we do put it into practice we have a changed opinion and a changed heart as well.

Jesus said that people who put into practice what he taught are "wise men who built their lives on a rock." People who built their lives on such a solid foundation will certainly not be shaken when troubles come along. The blessings of God for those who are truly his disciples (and I think that is us) are magnificent.

Bless you a million
Take care
David