Saturday, June 29 – Need Milk And Not Solid Food

WORD FOR TODAY by PASTOR JESUS FIGUEROA

DAILY DEVOTIONAL * WWW.JESUSFIGUEROA.ORG

Saturday, June 29

Need Milk And Not Solid Food

Theme: It’s Time to Move from Milk to Solid Food.

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

Hebrews 5:12 (NKJV)

Daily Reading Plan

Psalms 84-88

Bible Versions:

Hebrews 5:12 (GNT) — 12 There has been enough time for you to be teachers—yet you still need someone to teach you the first lessons of God’s message. Instead of eating solid food, you still have to drink milk.

Hebrews 5:12 (NLT) — 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.

Hebrews 5:12 (NIV) — 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!

Devotional Thought:

The writer of Hebrews uses the metaphor of spiritual diet in the life of every believer. The contrast between milk and solid food is very clear, representing two different levels of spiritual maturity. This metaphor provides us with clarity and a simple way to understand our spiritual state. It serves as a powerful resource to self-evaluate and determine if we are spiritually children or adults. It is evident that a child in the faith has specific characteristics, as 1 Corinthians 13:11 tells us: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

A child in the faith is one who needs milk, which represents the basic teachings of Christianity. These fundamental truths are essential for a new believer to understand their faith. The writer of Hebrews exhorts them to move beyond these basic principles and not remain at the same level of spiritual food. As Hebrews 6:1 says: “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.” In other words, they have the responsibility to progress from the basic and elementary to the deeper teachings.

Are you ready for solid food this morning, the food of the deeper and more complex aspects of our Christian journey? The spiritual things that only the mature can comprehend, as 1 Corinthians 2:6 says: “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.” May you and I be those who attain spiritual maturity. Only then will we experience all that God has for us! Let us pray that we progress beyond where we are spiritually and become mature believers, capable of understanding and living the deeper truths of the Gospel. Let us leave behind the basics and advance towards solid food!

Key Scriptures:

1 Corinthians 13:11 (NKJV) — 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Ephesians 4:14 (NKJV) — 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

1 Corinthians 14:20 (NKJV) — 20 Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.

1 Corinthians 2:6 (NKJV) — 6 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

Ephesians 4:13 (NKJV) — 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

Ephesians 1:18 (NKJV) — 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

Reflection & Edification Questions:

Do you consider yourself a child in the faith who needs spiritual milk, or an adult who is ready for solid food? What evidence in your life supports your evaluation?

How does the metaphor of the spiritual diet (milk vs. solid food) help you understand your own spiritual state and that of other believers?

What are some of the challenges you face on your path to spiritual maturity, and how can you overcome them?

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