Elementary Principles
Many years ago, I heard a speaker share their definition of maturity as “...the everyday application of elementary principles.” It struck a chord with me then and resonates with me today.
Growing up in church, I have to fight for relationship over religion. I am very much a type A, checklist kind of person so the daily Christian disciplines were more of a checklist to complete, rather than getting to know Jesus. I can easily fall into a rhythm of religion and miss the whole point of Jesus coming to earth, which is to have a personal relationship with me.
Jesus came to earth in such an unassuming and simple way. He could have just as easily been born in a palace surrounded by luxury and anything He needed, but God knew we would struggle to relate to Jesus if He had come that way. Jesus came to earth in a manner that you and I can relate to and identify with.
Matthew 18:1-4 CSB
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a small child and had him stand among them. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child — this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
I have had the privilege of serving in Littles, and they remind me every time how unphased and uninhibited they are when it comes to loving people. Even babies who can’t say anything can look at you with such love and admiration; and when they extend their arms to you for you to hold them, it always melts my heart. They haven’t had a chance to learn how complicated the world can be and that not everyone can be trusted to love and protect us. They know the purest love. It’s only as we get older that we become jaded by all the things that happen to us and the complications that come with walking out this journey with Christ in a fallen world. But Jesus reminds us to come to Him with our arms held out to Him and to run to Him with the uncomplicated love of a child.
ACTIVATION: Picture yourself as a child, running freely to the arms of Jesus, sitting down in His lap, and just enjoying His company and presence. No agenda, no preconceived notions. Just you and Jesus.
I am a learner and I love gathering information to learn more about something. But at times, I have found myself overwhelmed by all the sources of information around me causing me to become confused and miss the heart of the matter. While there are so many good devotionals out there, we can often read someone else’s revelation and neglect to find our own. Over the last year, I felt compelled to eliminate all other sources and consume His Word only. Not that I don’t read a devotion here or there, but it’s not my main source. God wants to speak to us every day, but He won’t shout over everyone else to get our attention. He speaks in a still, small voice that we have to intentionally stop to hear.
Trying to figure out what to read can be daunting - I’ve been there, and done that. There are a lot of good reading plans out there. Opendoor’s Bible Reading Plan (https://opendoorchurch.com/biblereadingplan) is a great place to start. It pulls from different books of the Bible each day to illustrate how Jesus is woven into every aspect of the Bible.
Isaiah 30:15 CSB
“For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence...””
As we reflect on all God did during Conference, He’s calling us back to the simple things. We may not understand why God does what He does, but He is not complicated. He walked with Adam in the cool of the day to have a relationship with him. He didn’t bring Adam into the throne room or sit on His throne and talk down to Adam. He walked side by side until sin separated them and then He sent Jesus so we could once again walk side by side. I love the idea that “maturity is the everyday application of elementary principles”.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 CSB
“When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.”
JOURNAL: Take some time to reflect on your relationship with Jesus. Are your actions out of religious activity or a pure desire for relationship? If religious activity, how can you make small shifts in your daily walk to move from religion to relationship?
Ephesians 3:16-21 NLT
“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for making a way so that I can have a personal relationship with You. I repent of any religious activity that has taken my eyes off You and just become something else to accomplish in my day. I want to grow in my relationship with You, becoming mature, but remembering to come to You as a child. Help me throw aside anything that would keep me from running to You, arms outstretched like a child running to their parent. I want to know Your voice so well that I can hear Your still, small whisper above all the noise. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen!
Growing up in church, I have to fight for relationship over religion. I am very much a type A, checklist kind of person so the daily Christian disciplines were more of a checklist to complete, rather than getting to know Jesus. I can easily fall into a rhythm of religion and miss the whole point of Jesus coming to earth, which is to have a personal relationship with me.
Jesus came to earth in such an unassuming and simple way. He could have just as easily been born in a palace surrounded by luxury and anything He needed, but God knew we would struggle to relate to Jesus if He had come that way. Jesus came to earth in a manner that you and I can relate to and identify with.
Matthew 18:1-4 CSB
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “So who is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a small child and had him stand among them. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child — this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
I have had the privilege of serving in Littles, and they remind me every time how unphased and uninhibited they are when it comes to loving people. Even babies who can’t say anything can look at you with such love and admiration; and when they extend their arms to you for you to hold them, it always melts my heart. They haven’t had a chance to learn how complicated the world can be and that not everyone can be trusted to love and protect us. They know the purest love. It’s only as we get older that we become jaded by all the things that happen to us and the complications that come with walking out this journey with Christ in a fallen world. But Jesus reminds us to come to Him with our arms held out to Him and to run to Him with the uncomplicated love of a child.
ACTIVATION: Picture yourself as a child, running freely to the arms of Jesus, sitting down in His lap, and just enjoying His company and presence. No agenda, no preconceived notions. Just you and Jesus.
I am a learner and I love gathering information to learn more about something. But at times, I have found myself overwhelmed by all the sources of information around me causing me to become confused and miss the heart of the matter. While there are so many good devotionals out there, we can often read someone else’s revelation and neglect to find our own. Over the last year, I felt compelled to eliminate all other sources and consume His Word only. Not that I don’t read a devotion here or there, but it’s not my main source. God wants to speak to us every day, but He won’t shout over everyone else to get our attention. He speaks in a still, small voice that we have to intentionally stop to hear.
Trying to figure out what to read can be daunting - I’ve been there, and done that. There are a lot of good reading plans out there. Opendoor’s Bible Reading Plan (https://opendoorchurch.com/biblereadingplan) is a great place to start. It pulls from different books of the Bible each day to illustrate how Jesus is woven into every aspect of the Bible.
Isaiah 30:15 CSB
“For the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “You will be delivered by returning and resting; your strength will lie in quiet confidence...””
As we reflect on all God did during Conference, He’s calling us back to the simple things. We may not understand why God does what He does, but He is not complicated. He walked with Adam in the cool of the day to have a relationship with him. He didn’t bring Adam into the throne room or sit on His throne and talk down to Adam. He walked side by side until sin separated them and then He sent Jesus so we could once again walk side by side. I love the idea that “maturity is the everyday application of elementary principles”.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5 CSB
“When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.”
JOURNAL: Take some time to reflect on your relationship with Jesus. Are your actions out of religious activity or a pure desire for relationship? If religious activity, how can you make small shifts in your daily walk to move from religion to relationship?
Ephesians 3:16-21 NLT
“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for making a way so that I can have a personal relationship with You. I repent of any religious activity that has taken my eyes off You and just become something else to accomplish in my day. I want to grow in my relationship with You, becoming mature, but remembering to come to You as a child. Help me throw aside anything that would keep me from running to You, arms outstretched like a child running to their parent. I want to know Your voice so well that I can hear Your still, small whisper above all the noise. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen!
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1 Comment
I love the imagery of running to Jesus and flailing myself in His arms, and also the picture of walking with Him in the garden, He's not looking down on me or coming from somewhere far above, but right beside me. This is what I needed to hear today.