If you are going to mature and reach your potential you have to expose yourself to relevant teaching of the scripture. It needs to be presented to you in a way that is meaningful and useful to the present day you live in. Jesus was a master in this type of teaching. He always presented truth but did it in a way that considered how best to make it meaningful to the people listening.
Let me illustrated this way, if you were on the side of the road with a flat tire and someone jumped out with jumper cables and said, "these are important to have and I want to show you how to use them"...what would be your response? You would not argue that what they were saying isn't true, but it doesn't seem relevant to where you are at that moment. It is the job of very teacher and preacher to ask if they are communicating the truth not only correctly, but are they considering where the listener is and how do I express truth so that they can see its relevance. This is a very difficult task and takes time, something that most teachers/preachers don't want to do.
Here is one IMPORTANT thing to remember when it comes to your growth and knowledge. Knowledge doesn't not produce growth alone. Today it seems that the approach to growth is totally based on getting you knowledgeable of the scripture. So we have every kind of Bible study, on Sundays we give you a message and then we send you to a "school" where we teach you some more, and of course we have several Bible studies through out the week. We even in many churches hire Ministers of Education to educate us. All because we tend to think that if you can get you knowing enough correct information, you will mature.
The problem with this is that all you have to do is look at the Pharisees and see that knowledge alone does not produce maturity. These guys knew the scripture like no one else and yet they did not recognize God when he stood right before them. Knowledge is important, but it is one of the five things need for growth, not the only one needed.
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I think constant exposure to the spoken word, written word, or even musical is a good way to enforce change in your way of thinking. Doing so doesnt give you time to think about the "other" things that clog your mind. But, as one draw back, you eventually must face that alone time. So using that exposure to reference things that have become engrained into your mind as a result of constantly exposuing yourself to the word is a good way to combat the thoughts you struggle with most. I once thought sunday school to be something for kids and adults just to pass the time before service. More and more, especially in my own life, I have the need for a more structured type of learning regarding the word. Bible verses learned in childhood, teenage years only help for so long before the realities of adulthood hit. A good strong cirriculum involving the word will definitely prepare the young ones for adult hood. Not just devotional type readings, but the more in depth studies as well.
its taken years for me to get back into church. Keep up the good work.
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