Based on “The Church – Why We Do What We Do, Part 2” by Pastor Mark Balmer;
2/6-7/10, Message #MB407; Daily Devotional #1 - “Baby Steps”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction): With arms stretched out and voices encouraging, a mother and father eagerly await the first steps of their toddler. Many times before they have watched the same scene unfold, with the child falling to the ground. But in the midst of a new moment, they watched as one step became two and were filled with joy as the child’s baby steps led them right into their loving arms.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): From the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:8) to the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:24), the Bible speaks a lot about walking. Some people walked with God, and others walked apart from Him, but everyone walks in one direction or another. From the time we took our first wobbly steps to when we became steady on our feet, our walk leads us to many places. Our sin nature causes us to stumble, struggle, and stray as we walk through life, and no matter how many times we get up, we will continue to fall down so long as we walk with our infant feet. There are open arms awaiting us too: the arms of the enemy and the arms of Jesus. The enemy encourages us to do the wrong things over and over so that we can never stand firm; he deceives us with his crafty lies, so we walk away from God. Jesus encourages us to come to Him just as we are, so He can love us unconditionally; He reveals His truth to us, so we can walk in His perfect ways (Psalm 18:32). Whose arms are you walking toward? Our reactions to situations and people are often dictated by our life experiences, causing us to walk apart from God, as if He created our messes. In our times of drought or temptation the choice is ours as to which direction to walk. Our baby steps can lead us into the arms of the father of lies or into the everlasting arms of God (Deuteronomy 33:27). Those who walked with God were not exempt from trials, but they were not alone while they went through them. When we find ourselves in the midst of a challenge, we can lean on God, expecting our steps to be directed by Him, or we can navigate our own course and be lost. Jesus said to follow Him, not only physically but spiritually, that our thoughts, actions, and attitudes would be the same as His (Philippians 2:5). Following Jesus means to walk the same road. His road was not always easy, but He was faithful to God’s commands. His feet led Him to the cross to be pierced with nails so that we could see the loving arms of our Heavenly Father stretched out for us.
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): Scripture says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105. And what is this ‘word’? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1). This ‘word’ is Jesus—the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). But … if we don’t know or believe this Word we are going to stumble. Life will take us to places we may not want to go, and although we will stumble and fall (Psalm 37:24), we can get up again with the joy of the Lord as our strength. He rescues us from the miry clay and sets our feet on solid ground. One baby step at a time, we become more like Jesus as we read, study, and obey the Word.
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Is your walk taking you toward God or away from Him?
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Do your thoughts, actions, and attitudes match up to Jesus?
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Are you reading, studying, and obeying the Word?
Cultivating (Additional Reading): Jeremiah 10:23; 2 Corinthians 4:8-9; 1 John 2:6
KYR
Calvary Chapel of Melbourne; 2955 Minton Road; W. Melbourne, FL 32904; 321-952-9673
All Bible references are from the New International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.