Stretching Forward to What Lies Ahead

When we first become Christians, we repent of our sins, put our faith in Jesus Christ, and then allow God to conform us to His image. Some, however, don't go forward in their walk with God, increasing in their faith and spiritual maturity. Instead, they go back and forth. They live for God for a few years, then turn their backs on God, forgetting all about Him, and live in sin again. Their life becomes a mess, so they come back to God, repent of their sins, and start their walk with God over again. Sometimes the cycle continues on and on, or they just give up completely being a Christian because they have been relying on their own strength to live a life pleasing to God.

"So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again.

Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding.

Surely we don't need to start again

with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds

and placing our faith in God."

Hebrews 6:1

In order for any of us to grow in spiritual maturity, we need to be in God's Word daily. This gives the power to live for Christ and grow in Him. We must understand that the Bible is the actual inspired words of God, so the words you read in the Bible are powerful and life-transforming. No other book in the world has the power that God's words have. The Bible is God speaking to you and when we read His Word, you bring God's presence near you. He speaks truths into you mind and changes your heart.

"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet;

but one thing I do:

forgetting what lies behind

and reaching forward to what lies ahead."

Philippians 3:13

Go forward with your walk with God. Don't turn around, go back . . . and then start all over again. Forget what lies behind and focus on what lies ahead by reading God's Word daily. Listening to a pastor's sermon once a week is not going to be enough for you to grow in God and have the strength to resist the temptations of this world. You need to rely on God and His Word.