| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Hearing from God” Our Bible verse for today: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Our thought for today: “Free-range Christians” Are you familiar with the concept of “free-range chickens”? Free-range chickens are chickens that are not raised in a cage. Instead, they are allowed to roam free. The idea is that it is inhumane to keep a chicken in a cage its entire life and in fact, a free chicken is a better and tastier chicken. How about “free-range kids,” have you heard about them? The actual name of this concept is “free-range parenting” and it results in “free-range kids.” The idea is essentially the same as with chickens, but with a little less freedom and a lot more care. In this case, the parents avoid the syndrome that is so common in our day of being a helicopter parent. Helicopter parents are constantly hovering over their children watching, guiding, directing, and intervening. Free-range parents encourage their kids to explore and to try new things – and while there are boundaries and safety precautions, for the most part the free-range parent just lets the free-range kid be a kid, without a lot of interference. That is essentially what Proverbs 3:5-6 teaches. God is a free-range parent and He is raising us to be free-range Christians. He has given us boundaries to stay within, and although He does pay attention and He does intervene as needed, for the most part He just lets us be kids. He encourages us to explore, to try new things, and to not be afraid of failure. Now, as we go through our days there will be plenty of times when we need to check-in with Him and consult Him. There are times in life when we do need guidance and we do need to hear from God. For those situations He has given us the five basic ways in which He communicates with us (the Bible, prayer, circumstances, counsel, and the church.) But most of life consists of regular old humdrum life-stuff. It is just choosing between the sandbox or the swing set (see yesterday’s devotional). So, most of the time we just need to know the rules, stay within the boundaries, and enjoy life as you trust God to guide you just enough to keep you in His will. I don’t know about you, but I love being a free-range Christian. It’s so much better and so much more fun than marching in formation to the barked-out cadence of a God who is a lot like a Marine Corps drill sergeant. As we conclude this month of devotionals about hearing from God, I urge you to remember that God wants to be heard and He wants to be understood by His children. Therefore, He does speak to us as necessary and we are able to hear Him – it just takes practice and you will get better at it over time. Learning to hear God is a learned skill and it is a lifelong learning process – and that is where we will pick this up tomorrow. Our theme for the new month with be “Lifelong Learning.” God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville) |
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