94 Sermon Illustrations on Devotions

Type A personalities are ambitious, aggressive; Type B's are easygoing, non-competitive, relaxed. "Lots of Type A's think of Type B's as slovenly failures." Application to spirituality.

Spiritual vibrancy is not something you do; it is something you are. Vibrancy is based on how we live, not simply on acts we perform every morning.

Spiritual checklist:

1. My time with God.

2. My ministry performance.

3. My marriage.

4. My besetting sins.

Sermon in Family series.

Joshua 24:14-22

"WHOM DOES YOUR FAMILY SERVE?"

I. Is Christ in your home?

A. The family has a critical role in passing on the faith.

B. Many families neglect their duty.

C. Church and Sunday School show the signs of decline.

II. Put God first in your family.

A. Do you know where your loved ones stand spiritually?

B. Develop spiritual habits in your family.

C. Church should not be an afterthought.

III. Exhibit real faith in your home. 2 Tim 3:14f

A. Teach spiritual principles as well as the standard stories.

B. Be real - don't make faith yucky.

C. Be loving and caring.

IV. What if your family is divided? 1 Cor 7:14; 1 Pet 3:1

A. Jesus knew this could happen, and warned of its pain. Matt 10:34

B. Christians have a sanctifying effect on EVERY relationship.

V. Who will lead the way?

A. We need leaders like Joshua, who stood up for what he believed.

B. Will your family commit itself to Jesus today?

#2360

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Awhile back on "The Merv Griffin Show", the guest was a body builder. During the interview, Merv asked, "Why do you develop those particular muscles?" The body builder simply stepped forward and flexed a series of well-defined muscles from chest to calf. The audience applauded.

"What do you use all those muscles for?" Merv asked. Again, the muscular specimen flexed, and biceps and triceps sprouted to impressive proportions.

"But what do you use those muscles for?" Merv persisted. The body builder was bewildered. He didn't have an answer other than to display his well-developed frame.

I was reminded that our spiritual exercises -- Bible study, prayer, reading Christian books, listening to Christian radio and tapes -- are also for a purpose. They're meant to strengthen our ability to build God's Kingdom, not simply to improve our pose before an admiring audience.

"O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning.... Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." -- Psalm 5:1-3 NLT

In World War I, Field Marshal Foch, the Allied commander in chief, could not be found when a military conference was about to start. An officer friend said, “I think I know where he might be.” Foch was found praying nearby at a bombed-out chapel.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “I would be the greatest fool on earth if I did not realize that I could never satisfy the demands of the high office without the help of One who is greater and stronger than I am.”

David realized this truth too. Although he was a powerful king, he daily acknowledged his dependence on someone far greater and stronger than he was. Not only did David begin each day depending on the Lord, but he waited expectantly throughout the day to see how God would work on his behalf. When you live each day looking upward, God often sends delightful surprises.

When we don't pray, we quit the fight.

Prayer keeps the Christian's armor bright.

And Satan trembles when he sees

The weakest saint upon his knees.

WILLIAM COWPER

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Adapted from The One Year® Book of Psalms by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen,, Tyndale House Publishers (1999), entry for February 7

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[Original illustration at this number was deleted for being obsolete]

Rekindle your passion for God. Prince Charles and Diana had a great wedding but their love fell apart. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is far greater. But sometimes our passion for the Lord grows stale. The Apostle John describes such a sitation in his letter to the church at Ephesus in Rev. 2.

An extraordinary church.

Toil and perseverance.

Strict and sound.

Steadfast and strong.

The fatal flaw.

They had left their first love for Jesus.

Falling in love again.

Step one: remember.

Step two: repent.

Step three: repeat.

Step four: remain.

Our relationship with Christian requires time alone with him.

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Five simple ways to know God better.

1. Be a student of God's handiwork.

2. Be close enough to people to see God transform lives.

3. Be alert to God's involvement in the circumstances of life.

4. Spend some time daily with the Lord.

5. Be still.

Scripture calls us to live pure lives in the midst of an impure world, and the prophet Daniel is a good example. [Fill in blanks after questions.]

1. Standing Out in a Crowd.

2. The Power of One.

3. Dare to be a Daniel.

Want to freshen up your daily quiet time? Explore the intimacy that can come though using a simple hymnal.

A book of hymns can help you express your heart to God daily, even if you can't carry a tune.

It's easier to come clean with God when you have words that put it out there, plain and simple.

1- A Primer of Praise.

2- A Chronicle of Confession.

3- An Encyclopedia of Experience.

4- A Doctrine Diary.

5- A Lexicon of Love.

#3288

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Daily worship quenches the thirst in our souls. What might happen if we worked worship into our schedules?

On hot summer days Ruth Senter used to refresh herself at an artesian well. Jesus also referred to the refreshment of wells and applied it to spiritual life. Worship is not the place or the form, but what happens inside us as we focus away from ourselves and onto God. It is coming to God for a drink.

Worship is a major theme of the Bible and not just what we do Sunday morning. In our day, it seems we honor, respect, and show allegiance to everything but God. Mostly, we worship ourselves. Israel had the same problem hundreds of years ago. Eli saw the decline of worship, and Ezekiel had a vision of the Shekinah glory abandoning the temple. But after the Exile worship was reinstated. Ezekiel also had a vision of the glory returning.

In the New Jerusalem water will flow from the center of worship and invigorate everything in its path. This also happens when we find time for worship. Not only are we refreshed, but the waters keep on flowing from us to others, bringing health and healing.

[sidebar compares David's experience in fleeing Absalom in 2 Samuel 15, with David's Psalm 63.]

How to spend extended time alone with God. To spend a day with God, start by reading a Bible passage prayerfully and slowly, perhaps aloud. Meditate on thoughts it brings up. Write down any insights. Take a break to worship or sing.

Theophane the Recluse wrote, "To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart, and there to stand before the face of the Lord - ever present, all seeing, within you." This kind of prayer is about seeking God, not getting things from God.

Hubert van Zeller wrote, "A lot of the trouble about prayer would disappear if we only realized ... that we go to pray not because we love prayer, but because we love God."

In "An Autobiography of Prayer," Albert E. Day asserts that prayer makes us more "God-conscious" and less "me-conscious." In asking for things for our own good and the good of others, we begin to see how little we really need and that all we do need is found in dependence on and relationship with God. So, the more we pray, the more God-conscious we become.

Florida State head football coach Bobby Bowden told more than 200 Baptist men at the first-ever "Legacy Builders Rally" that all he's ever really done is made himself available to God and "he has just worked out everything."

Bowden, who led the Seminoles to the 1993 national title, said he'd never intentionally applied for any coaching job he ever got, including those at Florida State and, earlier, at West Virginia University.

"My objective always was to be a head coach at a major university," Bowden said, whose first opening came after the resignation of the WVU head coach in 1969.

"But my dad was over in Birmingham dying" after unsuccessful surgery, "so rather than stay around and campaign for the job, I took off for Birmingham," he said. "The next morning they called me ... they wanted me to take the head coaching job."

The March 11 rally in Duluth, Georgia, was the launch event for the Southern Baptist Brotherhood Commission's new emphasis on Men's Ministries.

"We wanted to communicate the objectives and share our new vision for what we believe can happen among men in their local churches," said Jim Burton, the agency's Men's Ministries director. "The rally itself is an outgrowth. The name Legacy Builders, for example, comes from our new Legacy Builders weekend retreat that will be available to local churches June 1."

Brotherhood Commission President James Williams said the rally is one result of dialogue with laymen, pastors and leaders in the men's ministry movement.

"It became obvious to us that we needed to capture attention and imagination of 'boomers and busters,' many of whom were not attracted to traditional Brotherhood programs," Williams said, adding the rally is one way to "capture the strength and help direct the energies of men outward, to a world desperately in need of the gospel."

The theme of "leaving a Christian legacy" for future generations was the focus of other rally session leaders, including Gary Rosberg, author of "Guard Your Heart," and Walter Mickels, a parental issues specialist from

Dallas.

Mickels called on the men to "scuba dive" in God's Word to glean the values they should be vocally teaching to their children.

"The Scriptures are absolutely covered with the idea of living a trustworthy life, an honest life, a life of integrity. They're just loaded with them," Mickels said. "They're the true source of all these values. And these commandments have to be 'on your heart' at all times."

Devotion to intensive daily Bible study is the foundation.

"We ski on the surface when we talk about Bible study," he said. "We have a five-minute quiet time, and we're on our way. Maybe you'll have a 15-minute Bible study. That's just snorkeling, guys. If you're really going to get into Bible study, you're going to have to go scuba diving. We're talking about experiencing God. We're talking about a good, solid Bible study program.

"I started studying characters, like Joseph, Moses, Daniel and Jonah. If you start looking and digging into their lives, you see who they really are. They're nothing more than men, just like we are, but guess what: They were able to get the power of the Holy Spirit on their side because they had committed themselves to him."

Rosberg offered his view of keeping life in perspective with an illustration of five small dots representing major events in a man's life -- including birth, marriage, the birth of children and death -- followed by a much longer line, representing eternity.

"We're living for the dot, when we should be living for the line," Rosberg said. "We're missing the call if we don't shift our focus toward eternity. We've got to be 'salt,' we've got to be different, and it's happening. It's

called revival."

The rally was co-sponsored by the Brotherhood Commission and the Georgia Baptist Convention's Brotherhood department and hosted by Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta.

The Brotherhood Commission's Burton said more agency-organized regional rallies in other parts of the country may be organized in 1996, but Georgia Brotherhood director Ray Newman said he already was considering repeating the event next year in his state.

"I have yet to receive a negative reaction," Newman said after the event. "Our exit evaluations were all positive and reaffirming. Our office has been flooded with calls from men across the state saying, 'We must do this again.' So, we are going to meet that expressed need in Georgia, and we've already planned smaller-scale rallies at the associational level."

Copyright (c) 1995 Baptist Press

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Gratitude: Twelve ways to cultivate a thankful heart. A continual attitude of gratitude is one sign of a soul crucified to pride and selfishness.

A. Foundation for Holiness.

B. Disciplines of the Grateful Heart.

1. Give thanks as a holy discipline independent of feelings.

2. Give thanks for the small and ordinary things.

3. Look for the hidden blessings.

4. Thank God especially in the midst of adversity.

5. Turn your attention from your problems to God's priorities in your life.

6. Give your attention and care to those whose lives make your particular

blessings stand out by comparison.

7. Set aside time daily to express thanks to God.

8. Thank God publicly and corporately.

9. Try a voluntary fast from something you take for granted.

10. Keep a record of God's faithfulness to you.

11. Show gratitude toward others as well as God.

12. Give generously to those in need.

#3865

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How churches can prepare for Easter and Lent through service and meditation:

One of my favorite pastors is W. T. Handy, Jr. I heard him preach a sermon during Lent many years ago. The phrase which he used, I can never forget. He said, YOU CAN'T WALK IN ON EASTER! How true it is. It takes preparation to fully experience any celebration. And it takes hours, days, and weeks to fully prepare oneself to get in touch with the suffering and total giving of himself that Jesus experienced in order to rise out of suffering to new life. I sincerely trust that you are setting aside moments of each day for quiet contemplation, for reading of devotional material, and for prayer.

In my sermon the Sunday before Lent, I made the suggestion that we follow a Lenten pattern of ministry to others:

The first week of Lent we write letters to those whom we appreciate.

The second week, we make phone calls.

The third week, we give love gifts.

The fourth week we pray for one another.

The fifth week we make a personal visit.

The sixth week, which is Holy Week, we make special efforts in our own

personal meditation.

Keep your passion for Christ alive amid the demands of ministry.

1. A separate devotional time.

2. Accountability.

3. Solitude.

4. Activities where you are not in charge.

5. A proper perspective on success.

Gary Bowell tells of two men that lived in a country home in their boyhood, and they became rich men when they went away from home. They went occasionally to visit their father and mother living in the home. And finally the father and mother went to heaven.

The sons did not know what to do with this old home. One of them said to the other, “If you'll sell out your interest in it, I'll tear down the house and I'll build a summer home there, and let you come out to it when you want to.” Accordingly they took a trip out to the old homestead to tear it down.

Around that spot there swept many sacred memories. Then these two brothers, past middle life and rich, went into the house and looked around through it. One walked up and down in front of the old fireplace and the other sat down. Finally one said to the other: “You know, Bob, what I'm thinking about? I've changed my mind since I've been here. We're not going to tear down this old house. This house is going to stand here; it's not going to be torn down.”

“That is a strange thing,” the other brother said, “because when I was walking up and down in front of the fireplace, that is the same thing I was thinking about.” He looked at the chair in which his father used to sit. “Her is the old chair that father sat in when he read the Bible, when we had family worship... the chair around which we knelt as father lifted our hearts to God.”

They stayed there two hours to talk things over. They both go down on their knees by the old chair, repented, and wept their hearts out before God. They went back, saved men, and gave their money to God and lived for God. And the old house stands. Not a single thing was moved out. It was too sacred to touch because of a father's prayers that had been prayed there!

________

Gary Bowell, “Stones with Fair Colors” p. 151, 152

The story is told of a young curate in the Church of England who was greatly helped in his understanding of the Scriptures by frequent conversations with an uneducated cobbler who was, nevertheless, well acquainted with the Word of God. On one occasion when a friend of his, a young theologian, was visiting him, he mentioned this remarkable knowledge of the Bible which the cobbler possessed. The young theologue, in a spirit of pride, expressed a desire to meet him, saying he felt sure he could ask some questions which he would be quite unable to answer.

Upon being introduced to the man in his little shop, the question was put, “Can you tell me what Urim and the Thummim were?” The cobbler replied, “I don't know exactly; I understand that the words apply to something that was on the breastplate of the high priest. I know the words mean 'Lights and Perfection,'and that through the Urim and Thummim the high priest was able to discern the mind of the Lord. But I find that I can get the mind of the Lord by just changing two letters. I take this blessed Book, and by 'usin' and 'thummin' I get the mind of the Lord that way.”

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H. A. Ironside

Side by Side

(Author Unknown)

They lie on the table side by side,

The Holy Bible and the TV guide.

One is well worn and cherished with pride,

Not the Bible . . . but the TV guide.

One is used daily to help folks decide,

No, not the Bible . . . but the TV guide.

As the pages are turned, what shall they see,

Oh, what does it matter, turn on the TV.

Then confusion reigns, they can't all agree,

On what they should watch on the old TV.

So they open the book in which they confide,

No, not the Bible . . . but the TV guide.

The Word of God is seldom read,

Maybe a verse as they fall into bed.

Exhausted and sleepy and tired as can be,

Not from reading the Bible . . . from watching TV.

So then back to the table side by side,

Lie the Holy Bible and the TV guide.

No time for prayer, no time for the Word,

The plan of Salvation is seldom heard.

But forgiveness of sin, so full and free,

Is found in the Bible . . . not on TV.

Karen and I passed a sign for a town with what I found to be an amusing name - "Girdletree." Now, if you live there, I'm sorry - but I did get a chuckle out of that name. And then my wife let me know that "girdletree" really described a process I had never heard of. She said, "When I was a kid, my Dad used to girdle trees on our farm." Now without further explanation, that's going to get some ridiculous images going in your overactive imagination. Now, what Karen described to me was a process her Dad, and other farmers, used to soften a tree so it would be easier to bring down the next year. He took his ax, and he cut a ring in the bark that "girdled" the entire trunk at that point. The idea was to cut off the tree's sap delivery system. And it worked. The next year, that tree was softer and pretty easy to bring down. So, I'm not laughing anymore.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Strategy for Bringing You Down."

That strategy for bringing a tree down actually can work on people, too - especially on those of us who belong to Jesus Christ. Cut the tree - or the believer - off from its life-supply. Before long, it will be relatively easy to bring that believer down. Without even knowing it, that softening, weakening process may be happening in your life right now.

To head that off, you need to remember where your spiritual life-supply comes from and to protect it fiercely. That's what our word for today from the Word of God is about. In John 15, Jesus is comparing our relationship with Him to a branch's relationship with the grapevine - probably as He and the disciples were looking at a grapevine. He says, beginning in verse 5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing ... If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."

Now, clearly, the issue in remaining spiritually strong and alive is "remaining" in Jesus - staying in close touch, not getting disconnected, not drifting away. Your enemy the devil knows that you can, as Jesus said, do nothing spiritually apart from Jesus. So how is the devil going to bring you down? He's going to keep you away from Jesus, of course. And for someone who's listening right now, you've been falling for it - and getting weaker as time goes by.

I'm talking about your personal Jesus-time - the time you set aside each new day to be with Him and Him alone. Could it be that your times with Him have increasingly been abbreviated ... postponed ... even cancelled or ignored? Notice that Jesus ties together "remaining in Him" with His words remaining in you. The focal point of your Jesus-time is supposed to be daily hearing His heart for you through His words in the Bible. This whole business of being a follower of Jesus is all about a relationship with Him that is going strong. But you've been busy ... or down ... or preoccupied - for whatever reason, your time with your Savior has been shrinking or vanishing.

Before you get any farther from Him, before you get any weaker and more vulnerable, you need to move your time with Jesus from "when I can get to it" or "when I feel like it" to being non-negotiable. That time with Jesus is your life support system. Every other demand in your life has to fit around your time with Him! Let Jesus be the highest priority of your personal schedule. Without Him, you're just too easy to bring down.

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. 'Practical Answers to Real Life Issues'

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Every fall, the TV networks start hyping their new shows. And usually, they have a couple that feature a well-known star. You can be sure that those headline shows and those headline stars won't be on at 2:00 in the afternoon or 1:00 in the morning. No way. They will air sometime in the heart of the evening, like 8:00 or 9:00 - prime time! You know you've made it when you've got a show on prime time, you know. Even though a lot of what's on in those hours doesn't seem very prime to a lot of us, to the networks this is their best. Stick the reruns and the less popular shows in the off-hours when not as many people are watching, right? But prime time, hey, that's reserved for the best.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about “Who's on in Prime Time?”

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from the familiar, but extremely challenging, words of Matthew 6:33. “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.” In other words, put the things of God in first place in your life, and God will personally take charge of the rest. Powerful promise. Often, not the way we live.

Let's take your personal time with Jesus, for example. Now, if we're going to seek first what matters to Jesus, wouldn't that make our time with Him a primary item in our daily schedule? You've got no more important thing in your life than Jesus. Do you have Him on in prime time or stuffed in some sleepy, rushed, crummy corner of your life's broadcast schedule? Or is Jesus only on when you get around to time with Him, when you have some time left when you can squeeze Him in. Doesn't sound like seeking first the things of God, does it? It sounds like seeking the things of God if and when there's time.

There won't be time if you don't schedule it. Your time with Jesus is meant to be the non-negotiable of your personal schedule. If you have to cancel everything but one thing today, the one thing left will be your time with Jesus. Nobody else died for you. Nobody else deserves center stage in your life. No other voice can tell you what He can tell you. No other love can fill your heart. No other peace can still your heart.

All the other people, all the other responsibilities, scream for our attention. Jesus just whispers, “I'm here - waiting for you.” Maybe He's been drowned out for too long, crowded out by earth-stuff, by good things that just aren't as important as He is. It's time to say, “Jesus, I am enthroning You in a central part of my daily schedule. I'm giving You some of my prime time, not my leftover time. I am making my time with You - beginning today - non-negotiable ... the highest priority of my personal schedule. I've got no one more important than You.” That means getting up earlier, staying up later, going to bed earlier, cutting back on something else - whatever it takes. Make His time the anchor of your life.

Open your heart to Him. Look for His heart in the words He recorded in the Bible. Look for a specific praise, a specific change He can make that day, a specific promise by which you will shape your day. And keep a “Jesus Journal” where you record what your Lord has spoken to your heart and what you're going to do about it.

Remember, prime time is where you schedule the best. And the best thing you've got is your relationship with the Son of God. Make sure He's on every day - in prime time.

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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When my college roommate, Greg, got a love letter, we all knew. He didn't announce it - at least with words. He was just kind of spacey the whole day. "Greg, did you get a letter from Ann?" "Yeah. How'd you know?" Actually he'd go off somewhere private with that letter and he'd read it. And then he'd read it again. And then he'd read it again. And I'd say, "Greg! It says the same thing the fifth time it did the first time! There's no new information here!" I just didn't understand how he could get so excited about a letter! Then I started getting love letters - not from Ann - from my wife, Karen. And I'd read them a good five times. See, I was beginning to understand - it wasn't just about reading those words. It was a way of being with the person who wrote it!

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Person Behind The Words."

Now if you have been a Jesus-follower for more than a week, you know one of the biggest "supposed to's" of the Christian life: read your Bible. I know of nothing that makes more believers feel guilty than our failure to consistently read the Bible. It's not that we haven't tried. It's just that we struggle to be consistent, to make it meaningful, to get anything out of it, to really enjoy it.

Well, I'm sure I would not have gotten very excited about one of those love letters to my roommate. I didn't know his girlfriend. I didn't love his girlfriend. The letter was just words. But when that letter was from my lifetime love, Karen, those words came alive. Because it wasn't just the words - it was the person behind the words.

That's how it's supposed to be with the Lord's love letter to you called the Bible. Our word for today from the Word of God is Psalm 119:54. David says to the Lord, "Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge." He's talking about God's Word. "In the night I remember Your name, O Lord, and I will keep Your law ... You are my portion, 0 Lord, I have promised to obey Your words. I have sought Your face with all my heart." Notice, "Your words, O Lord. ... I have sought Your face." David says, "Your words are a way to be close to You, Lord." Like reading a letter from someone you love.

In Psalm 119:72, he says, "The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold." God's words mean so much to him because they come right from God's mouth! You can sit there in your room with your Bible in your lap and literally imagine Jesus actually sitting across from you, saying to you the very words you're reading. That's what He says to people! That's His heart on paper!

So reading the Bible isn't just about reading a book, it's about being with a person - the One who loved you enough to die for you! You express your love back to Him by spending time with Him each new day. And one day you won't need your Bible anymore. You'll be with Him in person forever! But until then, you're with Him by reading what He wrote to you.

And that perspective changes everything! I don't mind leaving the Bible sitting there. The Book doesn't care if I show up. But I do mind leaving my Savior sitting there. He does care if I show up. In the booklet, "My Heart, Christ's Home," the writer likens turning his life over to Jesus to giving Him the various rooms in his heart-house. And at one point, the writer begins to meet with Jesus each morning in the study. Until one day when he's real busy and he misses that time. And it's about a month later when one morning he runs into the study to grab something he almost forgot. And there sits Jesus. The writer says, "Jesus, I didn't know You were in here." And Jesus replies, "I've been here every morning, waiting for you."

He's there every day. Don't miss Him. And don't ever again read the Bible as just words. It's the heart of your Lord on paper - your way to be with the one you love until one day you can be with Him forever.

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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I'm told that many new babies actually lose a little weight between the time they're born and the checkup they have two weeks later. Oh, not when our little granddaughter was new! No, no! And we know why. She was extremely dedicated to eating often and eating a lot. Her mother's milk obviously agrees with her. She has been one happy little girl - until it was time to eat again. At which point she would crank it up and let us know in no uncertain terms, “I'm hungry and I will not be delayed and I will not be denied!” I think that's what she said.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about “A Healthy Appetite.”

Watching my granddaughter's demand for mama's milk has actually helped me understand even more how God uses that example in showing us how to grow in Him. I feel like He's talking about my little darlin' when He says in 1 Peter 2:2, our word for today from the Word of God, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”

I know how our granddaughter was about her milk - insistent on getting it on a regular basis. Is that how you are about the spiritual milk of God's Word, the Bible? Are you insistent on getting into His Scriptures on a regular basis? Or do you consult God's Word when you have time ... when you're in a jam ... when you feel like it?

We're not talking here about some mechanical, grudging fulfillment of my Christian duty to read my Bible. Our granddaughter didn't seem to be saying, “Well, I know I'm supposed to be getting some milk. I guess it's my duty, I'd better stop and eat.” No, no, no - it's not a duty for her - we're talking about an insatiable desire. It's not occasional either - it's regular. Just like our time with the Lord in His Word needs to be. Almost every detour from God's way and God's will can ultimately be traced to neglecting our time with Him.

Time with Jesus in His Book has to be a commitment - something you insist on, no matter what. It's easy to quote the verse about “seeking first the kingdom of God” - but it's hard to believe you mean it if your time with the King isn't the highest priority of your personal schedule. Is it? Better yet, is He? Because it's all about Jesus. It's all about being with Him, not being with a Book. But like the person you love connecting with you through the love letter that they write to you, our main connection to Jesus is His Love Letter called the Bible.

Frankly, we are so clueless about how to handle this day's challenges without time getting God's perspective and God's direction. God's Word is designed to be your anchor, the one thing that doesn't move when everything else is. God gave you His Word to be your flashlight to illuminate the ground you have to walk on today. It's your harbor where you can find God's peace in any storm. And in His words, God reveals your orders from heaven for this day.

So without the heaven-link of time in God's Word, you are living a day without your flashlight, without your anchor, without your harbor, without your orders. It's time for you to make your time with God in His Word the non-cancelable, non-negotiable of your daily schedule.

It all comes down to appetite. If you've allowed an appetite for TV or sports or music or news or friends or anything else to marginalize your appetite for God's Word, things are just messed up. Ask God to give you - like a baby - a desperate appetite for more of what He has to say. It's the only way to “grow up in your salvation.”

________________

Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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[Original illustration at this number was added to HolwickID #16635]

It used to be that if you had a message to get through to someone, you left that message on their voice mail to get their attention. Then fax machines came along and a fax was a more dynamic way to communicate your message and have it noticed. Then along came e-mail and introduced an even more dynamic way to get through. Now it's not uncommon for e-mailers to check their computer several times a day - eagerly wanting to know, “Has someone tried to reach me? What did they have to say?” And many e-mailers hope to hear that little voice from their computer that raises their expectations. It says, “You've got mail.”

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “You've Got Mail.”

Actually, you've got mail every day - mail from Almighty God Himself! God's messages are, of course, communicated in His Book, the Bible. You may say, “Yeah, but that's not new information.” Well, on the one hand, God's messages in the Bible are timeless information - always there, as true today as they were the day He authored them. But, on the other hand, God's messages are always breaking news, too, because your situation is different today.

God's Holy Spirit, who knows all about the Bible and who knows all about you, will miraculously use one of God's messages to change how you see your situation, and it may even change the situation! Timeless information that is breaking news for your situation.

Yes, you've got mail from God. But, like any message you might receive through e-mail, you'll never get the message if you don't check in to see what God has to say today. So many days have been so unnecessarily confusing, so unnecessarily messed up because you didn't pick up your mail from God.

There's a great picture of how God sends His messages to us in our word for today from the Word of God in Exodus 16:14. God's ancient people were traveling through the wilderness in need of food. And God supplied their need by sending this miracle food called manna - which interestingly enough in Hebrew means, “What is it?” Well, the Bible says, “When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, 'What is it?'“

“Moses said to them, 'This is what the Lord has commanded: Each one is to gather as much as he needs ... No one is to keep any of it until morning.’ However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots,” the Bible says, “and began to smell.” Now, in the New Testament, manna is used to symbolize spiritual food from God. And the “collection” principle is still the same - pick up a fresh batch each new day. Yesterday's messages from God won't do for today. He's got fresh manna, fresh messages, for the needs of this fresh new day.

Some days your mail from God will give you perspective on what's going on in your life. Other days it will give you a corrective to steer you back on course from a detour. But it's daily bread! You'll have to want God's messages enough to turn off some other messages for a little while - your television, the Internet, the newspaper, your music - all of which can end up stealing all or most of your time with God.

If you'll open God's Word with the eagerness and anticipation of someone who is checking their e-mail, I can guarantee you will always have mail - holy mail, life-changing mail - messages from the God of the universe to your heart.

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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"

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A man who is like a spiritual father to me began what he called a “family altar” with his wife before they were married and has faithfully continued the practice through the arrival of children and grandchildren for more than 50 years.

Sadly, it seems that few men among even the best evangelical churches today could speak of daily family worship in their home. In the minds of some, active church involvement eliminates the need for family worship. For others, Bible reading, prayer and singing praises to God together as a family have been crowded out by television, the Internet and a non-stop schedule that makes even meals together a rarity.

But the father (and in his absence, the mother) of the family has the responsibility from God to provide spiritual leadership for his household. As He did with Abraham, the Lord wants every father to “command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord” (Genesis 18:19). Each one should raise his children “in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Every husband should love his wife as Christ loves His bride -- the church -- and follow Christ's example of washing his wife with “the washing of water by the word” of God (Ephesians 5:26).

While it isn't the only way, the simplest method of applying all these texts in a steady, practical way is through daily family worship. This is how generations of Christians have understood them.

For instance, both Baptists and Presbyterians in the 1600s saw this biblical teaching and incorporated identical language about the expectation of family worship into the most influential confessional statements in their respective histories. To this day, many churches still maintain (at least officially) that, “God is to be worshipped everywhere in spirit and truth; as in private families daily.”

Somehow, though, many men have gotten the idea that family worship is complicated, or that it requires time-consuming preparation. But it need not require any more preparation than your personal worship of God. And the entire experience can be reduced to three simple elements: read, pray, sing.

• Read. The centerpiece of family worship is the Bible. Read a passage of appropriate length for your family, making any impromptu comments that come to mind. Those with younger children should emphasize the narrative portions of Scripture, and possibly the Proverbs. Eventually, most seem to work up to about a chapter a day, reading consecutively through a particular book of the Bible. I recommend that you ask a few questions to determine comprehension, or just ask the children to repeat what they remember.

• Pray. Let the words of the passage you read suggest items for prayer. The husband/father should pray, and perhaps one or all the rest of the family members. Most days this will be brief.

• Sing. Use a hymnal and sing a cappella, or sing along to a recording, or let a family musician lead the way. Sing as little as one verse, or for as long as the family enjoys it.

Any order of “read, pray, sing” is fine. It doesn't have to be long to be effective. Be patient with the interest and attention span of the younger ones. Remember that you're not only fulfilling a responsibility to God by leading family worship, you're also introducing your children to Him. In these moments together, your children can see your love for God and for His Word, and some of the most teachable moments of their childhood will occur.

So start family worship in your home today. It doesn't matter when you have worship. For some, early morning is best. For others, it's mealtime, and for still others, it's bedtime.

Just start. Whether you've been married 50 years or are newly engaged, just start. Keep it simple and keep it up.

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Tomorrow morning, I don't have to decide if I'm going to read God's Word and spend time in prayer with Him.

Meeting with the Lord is a discipline long-rooted in my morning routines, and my commitment to it simplifies my spirituality. It's one less decision I have to make, one more spiritual priority well woven into the fabric of my daily life.

The Apostle Paul instructs us, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7, NASB).

The practical ways of fleshing out obedience to this command are called the Christian spiritual disciplines, the God-given means by which we are to bring ourselves before the Lord. And as we enjoy a growing relationship with Him through them, He changes us “for the purpose of godliness,” that is, He makes us more like Jesus. And so, as we practice these disciplines, our lives conform more to biblical -- and simpler -- rhythms and patterns.

In one way, when you enjoy a simpler spiritual life than you have now, it will still be -- and should be -- busy. If you obediently pursue both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission of Jesus (see Mark 12:28-31; 28:18-20), as well as “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness,” you won't grow idle. But even though the personal and congregational spiritual disciplines lead to a full life, they can also simplify it.

For example, the Christian spiritual disciplines help us focus on the right things, including the most important of all: knowing and glorifying God. Conversely, practicing the disciplines also helps prevent some bad habits, such as spending time in non-productive, unwise or even sinful ways. Personally, I have the clearest vision, both of what I should bring into and carve from my life, while engaged in spiritual disciplines like meditating on Scripture, praying through Scripture or worshiping the Lord with His people.

The disciplines simplify our spiritual lives further by simplifying our communion with God. He hasn't left us to find our own ways to Him. We don't have to wonder how to meet with the Lord and experience Him. God Himself established paths -- such as Bible intake, prayer, worship, service, evangelism, fasting, silence and solitude, journaling and fellowship -- which make our spiritual walk with Him simpler and more satisfying.

No one coasts into Christlikeness. Any progress in godliness requires Spirit- filled effort and purpose. But the Christian spiritual disciplines, rightly practiced, can bring some simplicity and order to the process of becoming more like Jesus. Where do you need to “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness”?

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Don Whitney is associate professor of spiritual formation at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. This article and many others can be downloaded as free bulletin inserts at his website, www.BiblicalSpirituality.org.

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Prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you. — 1 Samuel 7:3.

In the present day the demand in the religious world seems to be for activity, not adoration; booster bands, not Bible study; committees, not communion; machinery, not meditation; “pep,” not prayer; service, not solitude; utility, not unction; work, not worship. Occupation with Christ is considered by some an actual waste of time and energy. What would be thought of the carpenter who was too busy building to sharpen his tools, or the farmer who would not waste his time in whetting his scythe, or the motorist who was in too great a rush to stop for gas and oil? Is the Christian less foolish who can find no time to sharpen his spiritual tools by prayer, Bible study, communion and ‘worship? — G. M. Landis

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;

Abide in Him alway and feed on His Word.

Then, led by His Spirit, to fountains of love,

Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above. — Wm D. Longstaff