Hi, I am Claude and welcome to Acts.net.

This topics "Babies are Growing" has 15 chapters that we will be walking through together.

Acts 1-12, James 1:17, Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians 6:4, Matthew 6:16-18, 2 Timothy 3:14-15,
1 John 3:1, 2 Peter 3:18, Philippians 4:13, 1 Corinthians 13:11, 1 Peter 2:2-3,
Hebrews 5:12-14, Colossians 2:6-7, Ephesians 3:16-19, Psalm 139:13-22

When you have kids and they are doing things as a toddler you wonder where are they going to be in 10 - 20 and even 30 years from now. Do you think your kids are done growing?

Kids are never done growing. Their perspective on the world keeps changing. One minute they want to be a fireman. One hour later, they now want to be in sports. When they become 10 years old now, they know everything, and they will dispute you on pretty much every topic you can bring. That is a kid's life. They always want to be someone.

Let's go back a few thousand years and see how those children grew up. They did not have computers, electricity, cars, bicycles, phone, and pretty much anything that works on electricity or fossil fuel. They were still able to play and help parents to get things done. Sometimes they had to walk long distances to get water or food. They used oil for lamp fuel and wood to cook. They had simple food, not one thousand types of food, just what was needed.

For those kids, life was awesome. The family was strong in every aspect of their life. One of the reasons was the fact that they all were helping out around the house. Everyone was contributing to make it a great family. They had their ups and downs, but mainly they would talk about everything and work at it.

We could learn from their experiences. Going to work knowing that the family was ok and safe at home. Safe, because the whole neighbourhood was there to help each other. It was a strong community.

As time goes by, toddlers becoming teenagers start to do things differently. Most of their teaching comes from the church, and they have to be with their parents. They had to follow the Jewish tradition. At the age of thirteen, the Jewish boy had to prove himself to the Bar Mitzvah. Then he is considered a man. At this age, he begins to be responsible for his own actions and obliged to perform mitzvot or good deeds. For a Jewish girl, the age of reason begins at the age of twelve years. Now, they have responsibilities. They are treated like new adults at twelve or thirteen years old.

Let's go back to what else was going on in those days with the children growing. Like all nations worldwide, those times were not the perfect place to live a long life. Even with that, if the child could survive the land's hardship, they could live a long life into their mid-eighties and higher. We stop here, and I would prefer not to go into the darkness but stay in the positive light of God.

Now let see what else our babies are doing has young adults. They would find a niche that they can use for years or months and then find another. In our case, we are looking at Joseph, the father of Jesus. Knowing that God is His real Father, God has trusted this father to take care of Jesus on Earth.

Joseph was a carpenter, and with that, he had many niches that he could use. From creating furniture, fixing roofs - waggons - old furniture, building homes. So Joseph was busy. He taught Jesus carpentry, knowing that if he needed some money, he would be able to have worked anywhere he went. On the other hand, he was also guided by either God or the Holy Spirit during his time on Earth until he was ready to start his assignment that he volunteered to do.

Now let's move on to the twelve disciples. We know that most of them already had work being fisherman. That type of work was demanding on the body. Long hours were common. Finding the right place to catch the fish could have been hard. Too much sun and the fish are going deeper in the water. The fisherman went early in the morning because the water is cool at the top meaning, probably a good catch for the day. One of them was married, So he had someone to take care of, plus a possibility of helping mother and father on both sides. When times are hard, people do their best to help one another because it was the thing do in those days.

Then Jesus comes to them and calls them to follow Him. Without hesitation, the twelve started to follow Him. Their life together went on for forty-two months, which you can read through Matthew, Mark, John and Luke. During the forty-two months, Jesus taught them everything they needed to know to continue the journey of bringing people back to God. At first, they converted Jews. Later, it was the Gentiles, in other words, everyone else who were not Jews.

During the forty-two months, Jesus showed them how He was doing all those miracles. They did understand what they saw. Then, they were told to go and do the same, and they did. Now they all knew that Jesus was getting ready to move on to the next realm. He had to finish what He came to Earth and then go back home in Heaven and be with His Father. Jesus' last time on Earth was ten days before the Holy Spirit came on the disciples.

How did the disciples know to follow Him? I think we can go to Proverbs 22:6 for the answer. "Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it." You can also read this verse from Ephesians 6:4 "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." The disciples were all trained in their synagogue in the way of the Torah. They also knew and understood that one day the Messiah would come. Jesus also knew this from going to the synagogue to learn, and He also learned from His Father. Show the light, and they will follow. In this case, bring the Torah to life, and they will follow. That was also a problem for the Pharisees and the Sadducees because they were blind and could not understand Jesus. Also, because these two types of priests knew to be different, let's leave it at that for now.

Here James is reassuring the twelves tribes dispersed abroad. He starts with, " Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters (James 1:16-17). All generous giving and every perfect gift are from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change." Even though Jesus was in heaven, He still helps His disciples and new Christians through His Holy Spirit. Even today, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are still guiding us in doing what is right and what God would like us to do for Him.

Growing is not just a physical thing. It is also emotional and how to be with other people. How to use all the gifts of emotions to relate to another human being who is suffering. To be able to help so many people, the disciples had to mature quickly. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, they were able to take on any challenges.

They also knew how important it was to slow down through fasting and prayer. They knew that the best way to fast was to do it at home in secrecy. They did not want to bring attention to themselves like the Pharisees. You could start looking at Matthew 6:16-18 to learn more about proper fasting.

Part of growing is knowing the thing that is not revealed to the world. John 3:1-3 says it best: "See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called God’s children—and indeed we are! For this reason the world does not know us: because it did not know him. Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. And everyone who has this hope focused on Him purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure." The disciples were looking forward to being like Jesus, and we should too. The disciples knew how to encourage; 2 Peter 3:18 reads, "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the honour both now and on that eternal day." That gives me chills on my spine.

1 Corinthians 13:11 was written by Paul, and in this verse he wrote, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways." Was he trying to tell someone then and now how to grow up? Knowing that the Jewish boys become a man at the age of thirteen while doing the Bar Mitzvah. You should remember that from that day, they had responsibilities to take care of.

Hebrews 5:11-14 and Hebrews 6:1-12. These chapters and verses are about maturity and salvation. Do take a moment to read them.

Psalms 139 can explain many things about how we feel as Christians. These words from mostly from David:

"1 O Lord, you examine me and know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
even from far away you understand my motives.
3 You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest;
you are aware of everything I do.
4 Certainly my tongue does not frame a word
without you, O Lord, being thoroughly aware of it.
5 You squeeze me in from behind and in front;
you place your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension;
it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee to escape your presence?
8 If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there.
If I were to sprawl out in Sheol, there you would be.
9 If I were to fly away on the wings of the dawn,
and settle down on the other side of the sea,
10 even there your hand would guide me,
your right hand would grab hold of me.
11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me,
and the light will turn to night all around me,”
12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see,
and the night is as bright as day;
darkness and light are the same to you.
13 Certainly you made my mind and heart;
you wove me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing.
You knew me thoroughly;
15 my bones were not hidden from you,
when I was made in secret
and sewed together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was inside the womb.
All the days ordained for me
were recorded in your scroll
before one of them came into existence.
17 How difficult it is for me to fathom your thoughts about me, O God!
How vast is their sum total.
18 If I tried to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
Even if I finished counting them,
I would still have to contend with you.
19 If only you would kill the wicked, O God!
Get away from me, you violent men!
20 They rebel against you and act deceitfully;
your enemies lie.
21 O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you,
and despise those who oppose you?
22 I absolutely hate them;
they have become my enemies.
23 Examine me, O God, and probe my thoughts.
Test me, and know my concerns.
24 See if there is any idolatrous way in me,
and lead me in the everlasting way."

Knowing God is one of the things you will learn when you become a Christian. You will see how the Holy Spirit will guide you through this learning curve.