Are you alert to the ways of God and ready for Jesus? Are you heeding the gospel and living it out every way you can? Are you helping others along the way? Good for you. Then you are right where God wants you to be.

But if you are not satisfied where you are spiritually, now it’s time to make a change. You don’t want to abandon the living God. You do not want to become spiritually dull and not be ready for Jesus. Watch out, friend. Know that you do not have to become holy by your own effort. God is ready to pour out grace upon grace and make it happen for you. But you do need to heed the gospel. God will only work in willing hearts.

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 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. ¹³ For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. ¹⁴ Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. (Hebrews 5:11-14, NLT.*,

We are all called for spiritual growth. Faith is not a one-time event but a way of life. Faith is about becoming holy like Jesus. And it does not happen if we do not heed the gospel. But it organically happens if we abide in Christ and study the word of God.

We are not meant to be spiritual babies forever. We are called to grow in grace and steadily advance on our pilgrimage. This is not a to-do list but it is an invitation for a dynamic relationship with Jesus. Only then we are ready for the second coming of Jesus or for the time of our death or for suffering or for anything else. Only then we are able to be bold in Christ. Only then we are embracing all there is for children of God. Only then we are living fully.

It is odd, I know. When we give up the goodies of the world for Christ, we finally have everything we ever wanted. When we surrender our will, we receive more than we ever dreamed of. When we truly heed the gospel, we are blessed beyond measure.

Don’t delay.
Turn to God.
Heed the gospel.
Get ready.
Be blessed.

 

Gracious God,
I do want to dig deeper into your word.
Help me. Draw me in. Teach me.
Make me ready for anything and everything.
I want to heed the gospel
and do your will.
Bless me, Lord.
Thy will be done.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Are you ready for anything and everything? How do you heed the gospel?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you heed the gospel every day of your life!

* [As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses to Biblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.]

Image courtesy of Lee Tucker, design Mari-Anna Stålnacke. Linking up today with Faith-filled Fridays, Five Minute Friday and Faith Jam.