From birth, to teenager, and beyond in God

How do we serve God? How do we Love Him? Both of these questions are based not on ourselves but, Him. We can only serve and Love Jesus based on His Love to us. The inspiration and even desire, comes all through His Love. However, we must be obedient to the leading of Holy Spirit. As we mature and grow in Him, this become more and more important. A daily Bible reading, a few moments of Prayer now and again will not satisfy us, the same as when we were young Christians. It is not for lack of inspiration that we may struggle with these things as we become older. 1Cor 13:11 When I was a child, I was speaking as a child, I was led as a child, I was thinking as a child, but when I became a man, I ceased these childish things. Again, to the point it is obedience that we must serve God. As we grow older in the Lord, we cannot fall into the thinking that, we can “work God in!” When we were younger in the Lord, the excitement and thankfulness we felt. We could not get enough of God it may of felt at times. Yet, like all things the “new” can wear off. Before anyone gets up in arms with me, let me explain further. As we learn more we begin to count the cost. And, this of course were the Words of Jesus in Luke 14:28-29 28“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? 29Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. So it is perfectly natural to “count the cost.” Which brings me back to my point. Jesus was speaking about being a follower. Luke 14:26-27 26“If you want to be My disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be My disciple. 27And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be my disciple. This is what can begin to happen as we actually experience growing up in God. The responsibility of our actions, the weight of our choices. As anyone who has children can tell you. When our children are young we can feel overwhelmed. But, as they become teenagers it can seem as if all the rules have changed. The mistakes we made when they were young, truly begin to show. {To side step here just for a moment, not all poor or even bad action of teenagers are the fault of their parents. I do not want the enemy to lay quilt on anyone!} Enough said. As Paul tells us in
1Cor 3:10-15 10Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. In the same fashion, we go through teenage years as Christians also. As these verses tell us, we Must take care in how we build upon the foundation poured when we became Born Again. When you build a wall, if you start off even a fraction of a inch wrong. The mistake grows every step of the way, after that first mistake. The Grace of God is a Most Powerful force that works with us. We must Trust it and not take it for granted. For as we see in verses 12-15 12Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. His Love for us will always be our inspiration. Yet, milk will not gratify or even placate the hunger that builds inside of us, as we grow up in the Lord. This is one reason many become, burned out or feel ill prepared for life. Nothing can take the place of the Word of God and Prayer. The more we grow, the more we need to quench that hunger. The Joy of the Lord is our Strength Isa.29:19 Humble people again will find Joy in the LORD. The poorest of people will find Joy in the Holy One of Israel. Ps 28:7 The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. So as Jesus tells us, “ 27And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be my disciple.” These words are not to discourage anyone, they are instruction. We are told to Love Him as no other, but also we find our Joy in Him. Matt 11:30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light." We may all have times when this hard believe. But, if we follow the leading of the Spirit, obey the Word of God. We can make it through from birth, the teenage years, and into becoming mature in the Lord.