The Cause Of Retarded Growth
By Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
In the physical realm retarded growth may be due to some mishap or may be simply one of the results of the curse, having no direct bearing on the behavior of the parents, and certainly not of the child itself. In the spiritual realm this is not so. God has made abundant provision for every child of God to grow to spiritual manhood, and Paul rebukes the Corinthian believers for not having grown.
The trouble with the Corinthians was that they did not have much appetite for the Word; they did not have a passion to know and obey the truth, for the babe in Christ who “desires” the pure milk of the Word will surely “grow thereby.” This was the trouble with the Hebrew believers too, for when the Apostle would have gone further into the great subject of Christ as “an High Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec,” he was forced to write:
“Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull [Gr., nothros, slothful] of hearing” (Heb. 5:11).
This is precisely the cause of the carnality among believers today. During World War II there were several occasions when parents came to the writer with letters from their sons in the armed forces, explaining that a code had been arranged by which “Johnny” could let them know to which theatre of war he had been sent, but that now it was difficult to understand his letter. Together we would sit down and study the letter in detail in an effort to make out exactly what it was that “Johnny” was trying to make his parents understand.
Such interest and concern over a letter from “Johnny”! And appropriately so, but do the majority of believers show such interest in the Word of God to them? They do not. They are satisfied with “the simple things,” with knowing only a few passages which “warm their hearts.” This is the root cause of the spiritual immaturity in the Church today.
Today's Devotional Sponsor:
Melting Hearts
By Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
Melting hearts, in Scripture, are consistently associated with discouragement and fear. Note a few examples:
“And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt…” (II Sam. 17:10).
“Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt” (Isa. 13:7).
“The heart melteth and the knees smite together…” (Nah. 2:10).
Christians, therefore, should not pray for melted hearts, as so many do. There are too many believers with melting hearts now! Indeed, men of God, down through the ages, have always found it a real task to keep the hearts of Christians from melting. Fear can easily become cowardice and cowardice, like courage, is extremely contagious. For this reason God explicitly instructed the military officers of Israel to announce to their armies:
“What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart” (Deut. 20:8).
If ever God’s people needed confidence and courage it is in the day of crisis — especially spiritual crisis — in which we live. Here Paul’s word to the Ephesian believers is appropriate:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against [wicked spirits] in high places” (Eph. 6:12).
Thank God! While the opposition of our adversary during “this present evil age” calls for special courage and steadfastness of heart, God has made particular provision for us, for He has given us more light on His Word than was given those of former ages and we can meet the enemy with “the whole armor of God.” Moreover we have God’s Word through Paul, that battle-scarred warrior:
“God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, His prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God” (II Tim. 1:7,8).
Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Ingredients for easy spaghetti sauce recipe:
• 1 lb Ground Beef (or ground turkey)
• 1 lb Sweet Italian Sausage (or turkey Italian Sausage)
• 1 cup minced Onion
• 1 tbsp minced Garlic Powder
• 8 oz Mini Sweet Peppers (stems and seeds removed) – may replace with bell peppers
• 45 oz Diced Tomatoes, drained (You can also used crushed tomatoes)
• 24 oz Tomato Sauce
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 2 tsp Basil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
Try this delicious crock pot spaghetti sauce recipe that you can make just by tossing everything in your crockpot. Crockpot spaghetti sauce is so easy!
How to make spaghetti sauce in a crock pot:
1. Crumble and brown ground beef and sausage, along with onion and garlic on medium heat in a large skillet.
2. Drain excess fat.
3. Place meat mixture into slow cooker.
4. Add remaining ingredients.
5. Cover and cook the sauce on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
6. Serve meat sauce over your favorite pasta before serving, or allow to cool completely and then freeze until ready to use.
NOTE:
Can you freeze this slow cooker spaghetti sauce recipe?
Yes! Just place it in a freezer bag and freeze before cooking and freeze.
You can also cook it and then freeze it. You can heat it up in the crock pot or over the stove top.
Stock up on tomatoes when they are on sale and make a big pot of this spaghetti sauce. In fact, this is how I cut my grocery bill in half!
DAILY SMILE:
Doctors On Strike
Doctor Jokes
Submitted by Stuart Page
Doctors at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York have gone on strike!
Hospital officials say they will find out what the doctors' demands are as soon as they can get a pharmacist over there to read the picket signs.
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