Three-Week Wonder
Theme of the Week: Stalled? Or Growing?
Eddie Smith
Monday, August 13, 2007
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: "Like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. They believe for a while, but they wilt when the hot winds of testing blow"(Luke 8:13).Bonus Reading: Ephesians 4:12-16
About 30 years ago, a young man came to Christ in our Dallas church. B.J., well known in the community, was fresh off the streets and direct from the drug culture. For the first three weeks after he was saved, I don't think his feet ever touched the ground; he was electrified with his newfound faith. He witnessed to everything that moved. If it didn't move, he'd put a gospel tract on it!
Then, suddenly, B.J. was gone—he absolutely disappeared. We didn't see him for more than a month. Finally, one night he wandered back into our services, looking terrible. At the conclusion, when the invitation was given, he came weeping to the altar, deeply broken and sorrowfully repentant. He told the congregation of his sinful past and remarkable conversion experience. Next he spoke of his new life in Christ and his struggle to live it. Humiliated, he tearfully confessed that he had crashed and burned because of his spiritual pride, summarizing with, "I guess I thought I was super-saved or somethin'."
We do baby believers a disservice when we fail to teach them that spiritual maturity is a gradual journey that entails knowing God's Word and using it to distinguish good from evil.
—Eddie Smith in Breaking the Enemy's Grip
My Response: Have I learned to apply God's Word to real-life experiences?
Adapted from Breaking the Enemy's Grip (Bethany, 2004) by permission.
Copyright © 2007 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
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Don't let me plateau in my spiritual development, Lord. Keep me growing and make me fruitful.
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