Saturday July 2, 2011

Read 2 Peter 1:19-21; 2 Sam 22:31; Psalm 33:4

After driving for some 10 hours I pulled up at a petrol station and filled up my empty tank. As I put the nozzle back on the pump I realised that the ULP dollar signs were on, not the diesel one! I had inadvertently put unleaded petrol into a diesel motor! Doh! Double Doh! Now you don’t have to be a diesel mechanic to realise that driving a diesel motor on unleaded petrol can and probably will cause a lot of damage. What you put inside makes all the difference!

The same applies to you and I. You don’t need to be a psychologist to work out that what you put into your mind makes all the difference. If children watch a lot of violent TV, there’s a highly likely chance that they will be violent towards others. If they watch a lot of shows that accentuate disrespect to adults and make it fun, what do you think they will show? Good fuel in - good stuff out! Bad fuel in - bad stuff out! It’s a simple, easy to understand truth, isn’t it?

The Word of the Lord, the Bible, is perfectly good. It’s good clean fuel to be putting into your system. It’s pure and perfect and will produce a good output. The question is not about the Word of God but about the way that you and I are getting it into our system.

Maybe it’s time to re-juggle our lives and to reprioritise. Often we leave God and His Word to the very end of the day. In tiredness and frustration we sit before God, read a bit of the Bible and fall asleep. It’s good fuel, but it aint getting in! Maybe we could spend 30 minutes with God before we get rolling for the day. Maybe we could spend our lunch times engrossed with God and His Word. Maybe we could set aside time in the early afternoon before the heaviness of our eyes and minds takes over. Maybe we could spend time with God as soon as we get home from work or school. Take some time to think about your life and commitments and where you could find quality time to refuel on the good stuff of the Word.

The most obvious way to have good input is through church. But even there, you need to be engaged. Remember our very first study in this series? A man reaps what he sows. If you prepare yourself for Church tomorrow, if you pre-read the passage and think about it, if you ask God or petition God to prepare your heart, you will be greatly blessed by the service. If you turn up and think through the week ahead and mentally do those assignments and chores, if you see an opportunity to catch up on much needed rest, then you’ll get as much out of it. A man reaps what he sows. What are you sowing for Church this week?

Prayer:

V Pray for the Christians in Burma’s Chin state as they are under intense persecution from the Burmese soldiers.

V Pray for our children and teens to know God deeper and more intimately. Pray that these teens and children will be regular readers of the Word and that prayer would be a priority for them pray so that they will be world changes in their own environments.

V Pray for ESA and Jon Jones as they fly to India today. Pray that their week there will pave the way for the upcoming mission trip to be all it can be for God's Kingdom and for their safety and health during thus time.