Back when I was in my early teens, Dothan, AL built Wiregrass Commons Mall, and it immediately became a hotspot for shopping and more importantly for me, a place where teenagers flocked to hang out. In some of the display windows of the stores, you could often find a group of people staring at an autostereogram (Yes. I had to google it.). An autostereogram is one of those weird pieces of printed art that had thousands of odd shapes and if you looked at it long enough, crossed your eyes in just the right way, a 3D picture would emerge from the off pattern of shapes. I know this sounds weird, but it was the 80’s!
Essential Ingredients For Spiritual Growth
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, – 2 Peter 1.3
Introduction:
My mother is the type of cook that can throw things into a pan…mix it up…and when she’s done, she ends up with a delicious red velvet cake. I like to cook, but I’m not that kind of chef. I need a recipe. If the recipe is good, then usually I can pull off a pretty good meal myself. If the recipe is bad, then the end result is usually bad.
I recently attempted to make, what my family calls, a no-bake cheesecake. However, when I purchased the ingredients, I mistakenly bought light cool whip instead of regular. It didn’t end well. The recipe is simple. There are 4, maybe 5 ingredients. If the right ingredients are mixed together, there’s always success. However, as I learned, an unworthy substitute rendered unflattering results.
Our growth as believers requires the proper ingredients as well. The recipe isn’t complex, but these ingredients are essential. The ingredients are: biblical faith and good theology. A combination of these two ingredients results should result in a savory biblical growth.
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The Authentic Disciple: Counting the Costs -Luke 14:25-35
A few years ago my wife and I went on a cruise with some friends and one of our stops was in Cozumel, Mexico, where my wife and her pal had planned to stock up on new diamonds for their wedding rings. In one of the shops we visited, my wife’s friend found a beautiful, large diamond, it came with a price tag of about $5,000! The salesman immediately discounted the ring for his new customer, to the tune of, let’s say, $1000. Our friend immediately became excited, but I looked at her husband and said, “That thing is a pile of junk.” Why? Things that are valuable cost something, because they’re worth something.
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