“because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.” I would like to point out some very important things here to help us understand how we grow in Christ, and how some just don’t seem to be moving on from the elementary things. The first, it’s that you “received the word of God”. It’s not that you heard the word of God, or like me, how many times you heard it, it’s when you received it. For me, it was driving a truck up I-95 listening to “Unshackled” on the radio on Christmas Eve in 1989. I’ve heard the Gospel before but it never hit me until that night. I received it, and it has become in me that last seed Jesus talks about in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:8), that went deep and is producing more. It happens because you believed it was the Holy Word of God Himself. No matter who wrote it down, you believed and received it as truth. It is not only Holy, it is “truth” and nobody can prove it otherwise. Finally, you are growing as a true follower of Jesus Christ because it is “effectively working in you”, which also proves that it is truth and will be noticed in your transformed life. Do you know someone who isn’t growing as a Christian even though you see them in Church every week? Help them to receive the Word of God, as it is in truth, and watch them come alive!