Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Listening

In today's Our Daily Bread, Joe Stowell reminded us that it was often decades between times that God spoke to Abraham. While many might long for that audible voice, we have lost focus of what has been made available to us. On this side of history's greatest event (the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ), the Holy Spirit indwells us and speaks through His Word.

A brother challenged me that (as I understood it) the easily digested "milk" of the Our Daily Bread readings are not "meaty" enough for someone with the spiritual maturity I should have. I agree that this is true, but I think it misses my intent for this blogging exercise.

Yes, I ought to be dining on "meatier" truthes from the Word, but I have found myself slacking and understanding too well the longing that Joe Stowell talked about. I've lost my taste for the "meats" and forgotten the truth that I mentioned above: He is accessible, and more so desires His children spend time with Him.

I was recently challenged from Revelation 2 that, like the Ephesians, all manner of good, praiseworthy things can be done, but if I have "left [my] first love" I am still not pleasing to my Lord as I ought to be. I used to love time in the Word drawing near to my Lord, but I have let the cares of this world and selfish pursuits choke out that thrist.

I remember when I was in college the pastor of the church I attended did a sermon series on "Count God In." As a young college student, I didn't realize how easy it is to let all the temporal, "urgent" things of this word that bombard all five senses 24-7-365 crowd out Christ. But this is where I find myself and this blog is a step toward restoration in two specific areas: time commitment to make time in the Word an important part of my daily schedule and to reaquire my taste for the Word.

So it boils down to this: if I believe what I say I believe, why aren't my actions supporting that? Time to fix that.

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