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(I corrected several path problems on August 29, August 30, and September 1, including these selections: Which  Version?, Christmas, Images, Body of Christ Discovered, Hymn Midis, KJV Bible, and Spiritual Warfare.  Sorry for any problems; please let know if you find others. - Gary)

Corn on the Cob

Hebrews 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

1 Corinthians 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

I grew up on a small farm in the hills of West Virginia. One thing we almost always grew in our garden was sweet corn, as opposed to field corn that was intended for the animals. Hot buttered corn on the cob is still one of my favorite things to eat, though as I've lost my original teeth it's not as easy as it once was. Eating corn on the cob requires good, strong teeth; it's not for babies still rely on the bottle as their source of nourishment.

One of the sad facts of life is that many, if not most, Christians are still relying on the same spiritual food as they did when when they were newborn in the faith. While there's nothing wrong with learning the basics of the faith in Sunday School or Bible Study class, and it's essential for new Christians, that should not be the extent of learning and study for Christians who have been many years in God's church as born-again believers. If we just revisit the same topics over and over again, our spiritual growth is stunted, and God cannot use us as he would like.

How do we move on beyond the basics? The short answer is that the Holy Spirit is our teacher, and we should rely on his instruction rather than on our own understanding when we study the Word. Beyond that, we need to spend more time, not just a few minutes a day or less, in studying Scripture. So long as it doesn't become a dead ritual, we should follow a plan for our study, whether an outline method that answers certain questions for each passage, or an in-depth study of each book we read. There are a multitude of study aids we can use, from concordances to Bible dictionaries to commentaries. These are good for background material, but should not be a substitute for our own immersion in God's Word. The real key is meditation, which is not some mystical exercise, but active thinking about the verses we're reading, with the Holy Spirit's guidance in understanding truths we've never seen before.

Like prayer, success in Bible study comes only from actively seeking the fellowship and direction of the Holy Spirit. Bible study, in fact, should be preceded by prayer, specifically seeking the Spirit's guidance in studying and understanding the passage we're about to read. It's also about taking the time to do what needs to be done; if we can't give God's Word a priority greater than TV, or reading secular books, or playing compute games, there is something seriously wrong with our priorities. Only when we get these straight can we hope to progress beyond the stage of babies feeding on the milk, to eating corn on the cob.

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