Milk Toast Gospel - Daily Devotional April 30th, 2010

Bible Reading - Numbers 7, Psalm 42 & 43, Song of Solomon 5, Hebrews 5

Milk Toast

According to dictionary.com milk toast is, "toast, usually buttered, served in hot milk with sugar or with salt and pepper". My definition is this, it is not quite toast and its not quite milk it is a mushy substance that you have to put some spice on in order to make it eatable. There is an adjective use of this word as noted in dictionary.com as well with the definition being, "easily dominated; extremely mild; ineffectual; namby-pamby; wishy-washy". My favorite part of this definition being, "namby-pamby".

Now, I have never tried milk toast and to be completely honest I have no desire to. Unfortunately though far to many of us eat milk toast daily when it comes to our spiritual life. Whether it is our own personal devotions, pod casts or sermonettes we are not giving ourselves the right substance to live a strong healthy overcoming spiritual life. Yes there is a time for milk and even a time for toast but God forbid, never milk toast. Milk is for infants as they are not able to chew and swallow solids yet. Toast is for sick people or at least that's what my mom always gave me when I was not feeling well. Milk toasts is for... Well its for namby-pamby people who are stuck somewhere between infancy and illness (I sense a sermons series for Urban coming soon).

Hebrews 5:12-14 says, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil". Obviously the writer of Hebrews is a bit frustrated with the people because they are still drinking the milk of the word rather than getting the solid substance of the word. Notice that he is not saying there is anything wrong with milk but rather if you are no longer an infant in your faith, graduate from the milk into the solid substance of the word. If you do not, the tragic result is that we never develop the power of discernment to overcome evil because we cannot distinguish it form the good. This is not a pretty picture. Milk toast only produces overgrown infants in the Kingdom of God.

As a preacher of the word I find myself wrestling back and forth with my messages. I want to give milk to the new comer but yet I want to give solid toast to the one that is a mature believer. The problem is that I find myself often times feeding the congregants milk toast and in the process treating all of them like sick infants. There is a cure for all of this however and it is found as we rely more on the Holy Spirit and less on our abilities and strategies. When I rely more on the Holy Spirit I am able to serve both milk to the new believer and solids to the more mature believer. We must understand that milk is good (especially when mixed with chocolate) and has it's place. Toast is also good (and really yummy with cinnamon and sugar on it) and has its place. We must understand that both of these can be served at the same time to the same table yet to different people. I can serve my daughter milk while I sit at the same table and eat toast and therefore the infant is getting what she needs and the more mature is getting what he needs. Mixing the two together however is just not a good idea and leaves us both saying... YUCK!

It is time as believers to know where we are at in our maturing process so that if you are in need of the milk you get all you can out of the milk and grow into maturity. As you mature you must graduate on to the solids so that you can get all of the nutrients for a healthy christian life. As we get to this level of maturity we must not go back to the milk because if we do we will lack the power to discern and overcome evil. Lets not get the mush lets get the milk or the solid. Lets all leave the milk toast alone.

Tomorrows Bible Reading - Numbers 8, Psalm 44, Song of Solomon 6, Hebrews 6

Dream Big,
Ben