Dr David Jeremiah, in his daily devotional writes: “The natural order in all creation is growth: Seeds become plants, infants become adults, calves become cows, acorns become oaks, and minnows become fish. When something doesn’t grow, it is a cause for concern; something abnormal is happening. Growth is also the expected progression in the spiritual life: Babes in Christ grow into mature followers of Christ."
It is vital that believers in the resurrection of Jesus Christ continue in the faith and press on to maturity. The young are most vulnerable and in need of protection. Consider what we do to protect our infants and toddlers, we put safety locks on cupboard doors and cabinets. Young calves are helpless against predators and need their mothers nearby for safety. The Apostle Paul speaks of the extreme need for spiritual infants to hear the Word of God and mature. The Ephesian believers were to be “built up” in the faith and knowledge of the Son and God and become mature. As infants in the faith, they were susceptible to being “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” It is easy to trick or deceive little children, not so much for mature believers. The Apostle Peter calls the believers to maturity, urging them to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” How does one become a “mature” believer? Growth is a process that doesn’t happen overnight, but with proper nourishment and time, maturity will happen.
One of the first things you do for newborn calves and babies is to make sure they are nursing. They may have a healthy start but without proper nourishment, neither will survive long. If they continue without proper nourishment they will not grow up into their full potential. The Apostle Peter’s admonition to the church is: "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good." (1Peter 2:2-3) Are you living up to your full potential as a follower of Christ?
For a new believer to reach their potential they must be fed the spiritual food of the Word of God. When a child is baptized the parents make a promise to nurture the faith of the child. That is fulfilled by bringing their child to God’s house to hear the Word. The children are nourished in the faith through Sunday School, VBS, and by teaching them the Word of God at home by reading bible stories and family devotions. As they get older there is youth group, and confirmation to strengthen them as an aid in their spiritual development. We also place in their hands the Holy Scriptures so that they can feed themselves.
We have recently gathered and celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The gift of faith and salvation is a wonderful and valuable gift, but it needs to be nourished. The apostle Paul his first letter to the church at Corinth, addressed their lack of spiritual growth (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). Instead of acting like mature spiritual adults, they were acting like carnal infants. He could not address them as mature adults because they had not grown in their faith. In healthy believers spiritual growth continues even beyond maturity.
Are you taking time to grow and strengthen your faith?
Pastor David
The Voice
May/June 2025
All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. Colossians 1:6
The Voice
April 2025
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Matthew 28:5-6
In his book Unbelievable, Justin Brierley writes convincingly that the resurrection is the only adequate explanation for the historical evidence found in the Gospels:
Mike Licona and Bart Ehrman are both New Testament scholars who have very different takes on the resurrection of Jesus. Ehrman let go of his Christian faith after encountering perceived problems with the New Testament. Mike Licona had a similar crisis of faith in the early years of his academic career when his study of the New Testament didn't match what he had been taught while growing up. However, whereas Ehrman's study led him away from Christianity, Licona's research convinced him that the resurrection was the only adequate explanation for the historical evidence he found in the Gospels.
Other pieces of the puzzle fell into place as Licona began to appreciate how the New Testament accounts reflected the literary conventions of their day rather than the modern standards often imposed on them by both Christians and critics. During one of his dialogues with Licona on the show, Ehrman rattled off a list of differences between the Gospel accounts of the resurrection, such as the number of women and the accounts of angels at the empty tomb.
He argued that these differences give reason to doubt the reliability of the resurrection story. Naturally, Licona knows these differences just as well as Ehrman but he didn't find that they count against the overall strength of the account, saying:
It is a bit like the Titanic. There were conflicting accounts from survivors, such as whether the ship broke in half before sinking or whether it went down in its entirety. But no one called into question whether the Titanic sank or not. It was the periphery details that were in question. It is the same thing with the New Testament. They are all peripheral details that have no impact on the fundamental truth of Christianity.
(Source: Adapted from Justin Brierley, Unbelievable?: Why After Ten Years of Talking With Atheists, I'm Still a Christian (SPCK, 2017), pages 139-140)
As you read through the Gospels, you will find that all the writers agree that Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried. They all acknowledged that the stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty. All four writers agree that Jesus appeared to the Eleven disciples after his resurrection. John is the sole author who makes no mention of the ascension. Though there are differences in their accounts there is not question as to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The resurrection of Jesus gives us great confidence in life after death. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and we believe that one day according to His promise He will come back to take us to be with Him. The Apostle Paul wrote, And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you. (Romans 8:11)
Easter holds the promise of eternal life for all who believe. Rejoice in this glorious hope.
Pastor David
The Voice
March 2025
Voice of the Shepherd
November 2024
Voice of the Shepherd
October 2024
updated May 2025