Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Enthusiasm”
Our Bible verse for today: “I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NASB)
Our thought for today: “Busyness distracts us from Christ.”
In previous devotional messages this month I’ve attempted to make the case for simplicity and solitude being key elements to cultivating a deep relationship with the Lord. I’ve argued that the more of God we experience, the more of Him we will want. That then will greatly increase our enthusiasm for Him, as well as our enthusiasm for joining in His kingdom-building work.
Busyness is an enemy of godly enthusiasm because it distracts us and takes our focus off of Jesus. Also, when we have too many things going on at once we end up being superficial – giving a little bit of attention to lots of things, but no deep and focused attention to anything.
In his book “Intimacy with the Almighty”, Pastor Chuck Swindoll offers a great quote from the author A.W. Tozer: “May not the inadequacy of much of our spiritual experience be traced back to our habit of skipping through the corridors of the Kingdom like children in the market place, chattering about everything, but pausing to learn the true value of nothing?”
Children are often energetic and enthusiastic, but in a mindless and superficial way; so too many Christians.
Pastor Chuck writes, “Let’s face it, you and I know of few places more susceptible to empty and endless chatter than religious circles. How easy to fall prey to meaningless talk, cliché-ridden responses, and mindless activities!”
If we’re going to be enthusiastic for the cause of Christ in a way that really matters, we’re going to have to go deep. And that will require time. It will require focus. It will mean pruning from our lives the non-essential things that distract us and keep us endlessly busy, but which are really fairly meaningless and insignificant.
What we discover when we finally do the pruning and cut-out the non-essential things that were draining away so much of our time and energy, is that we haven’t lost anything. We have gained. Suddenly our lives are better, fuller, deeper, and more satisfying.
Less truly can be more.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 