Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”
Our Bible verse for today: “To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to each other: We played the flute for you, but you did not dance; we sang a lament, but you didn’t mourn!” Matthew 11:16-17 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Superficiality kills enthusiasm”
In his book “The Spirit of Simplicity” Richard Foster writes, “Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.”
In the passage quoted above from Matthew chapter eleven this is the very thing Jesus was speaking of. The people were superficial, content with silly and meaningless things, and all the while they were missing what really mattered. He went on in verses 18-19:
“For John did not come eating or drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were so busy with their rules and regulations and traditions, and they were so content with them, that they completely missed what really mattered.
C.S. Lewis once compared superficial Christians to children who had been offered a vacation at the seashore but were content instead to stay at home and play in mud puddles because they had no concept of, or appreciation for, the joys and wonders of the ocean.
As was noted in yesterday’s devotional, when we take the time and make the effort to go deeper with God, we quickly discover that the more of God we experience, the more of Him we want, and then the deeper we go.
Going deeper fuels enthusiasm for God – superficiality kills it. Far too many Christians are content to play in spiritual mud puddles rather than diving into the deep waters of God’s being. And, their lives show it. They’re fascinated and preoccupied with the trinkets and gadgets of the world, all the while missing the spiritual riches that could be theirs if they would only take the time to go beyond the superficial.
Don’t be content with a superficial relationship with God. Invest the time and effort to go deep with Him. When you do you will discover that your enthusiasm for God, and for your involvement in His work, will grow by leaps and bounds.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 