1 TIMOTHY 4:15 – Practice and cultivate and meditate upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them, so that your progress may be evident to everybody. (Amplified Bible)”
THEME OF THE DAY: DOERS OF THE WORD. The morning started out great. I rolled out of bed from a nice night of sleep feeling refreshed, early enough to ensure no frantic rushing into the day, and the stillness allowed for unhurried time in the Word and prayer. Fellowship with the living God was so enjoyed. Then the world came alive around me. As a sleeping giant awakened, it started to bark out its demands. This giant is different for each of us in many ways, but we also share common agents of this giant who are ready to take the confidence of a quiet time with the Lord and drive it into the land of forgetfulness. Some of the giant’s friends might be insensitive people on either the home front or workplace. Maybe a difficult co-worker or boss. The giant could just send “good” but not best things our way to distract us from Jesus. Whatever means the giant employs, his aim is to make what we enjoyed with the Lord seem like it never happened! If we are not on guard, he may eat us up before lunch!
Keeping a daily time with the Lord is not optional for spiritual health. Our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ demands diligent cultivation marked by consistency and discipline. Hit and miss times in the Word and prayer only make our hearts fodder for the world to consume. And it will. Take a moment and ponder how frazzled, stressed out, and exhausted we become when our spiritual lives are neglected. When I allow things of the world, not sinful, but just “busy, demanding things” steal away the best times of the day when I am most alert. What happens too often is prayer and the Word get the “leftovers” at the end of the day. When our times in the Word and prayer are served leftovers, it easily just becomes a dry and lifeless routine. Robert Murray M’Cheyne said, “I ought to spend the best hours of the day in communion with God. It is my noblest and most fruitful employment and is not to be thrust into any corner.”
But the quiet time is not the end goal. It is keeping the quiet time alive throughout the day which is the goal. Time with the Lord is not a learning experience separated from daily living. We strive to know Him in private to live for Him in public. In today’s reference, I used the Amplified Bible translation. It provides an accurate and thorough call to spiritual diligence. Let me provide a “Jim commentary” to apply in our daily prayer and Bible times. “Give the time spent with the Lord your absolute best part of the day. Don’t let the distractions of good things and demands from others cause you to rush through the Word. Refuse to give in. Persevere. Don’t walk away until your heart is warmed, and your mind settled on the truth so it sticks and is able to go with you into the day. Ensure that you leave your Bible with a better understanding of who Jesus is and a practical application to put into your life that very day.” That is how I translate the verse of the day for me! If we would commit to this type of disciplined approach to our daily times in the Word, when the world’s giant awakens and seeks to gobble us up, we will be able to slay him and any of his friends with the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) keeping the quiet time alive throughout the day!
Prayer: “Father, guard our times of needed and unhurried fellowship with You. Prevent us from neglecting such sacred times.”
Quote: Thomas Watson, “Those who do not thirst for righteousness shall be in perpetual hunger and thirst.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim