Protect your time with the Lord

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Selfcare”

Our Bible verse for today: “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Psalm 5:3 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Protect your time with the Lord”

Pastor Chuck Swindoll once wrote, “How busy we can become … and as a result, how empty.” The great author, preacher, and teacher from an earlier generation, A.W. Tozer, had a similar and more expansive take on the same subject when he wrote, “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?”

What both Swindoll and Tozer were referring to is the tendency to allow ourselves to get so busy that we just rush right past our spiritual opportunities, or neglect them altogether, or, as Tozer illustrated, we are so distracted by less important things that what spiritual experience we do have is superficial and treated lightly rather than seriously.

Tozer’s illustration reminds me of how sometimes we allow our small-group Bible studies to become more of a talkfest than a Bible study. Participants start with prayer requests, but then get caught up telling stories and chasing rabbits and soon the talk is about things that have nothing to do with the topic at hand (the study of Scripture). Times of casual fellowship and idle chitchat are needed and time should be made for them – in other forums. But if we allow our times designated for serious study to devolve into storytelling and chitchat, then we have become the children Tozer refers to, skipping through the corridors of the Kingdom like children in the market place chattering about everything but learning nothing.

In terms of selfcare, the most important step we can take to be healthy at the deepest part of our being (our spirit) is to protect our time with the Lord – both our individual time and our group times. Towards that end, in the days to come we will consider some ways to establish and maintain the appropriate boundaries so we can be sure our time with the Lord is not intruded upon or wasted.

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

Share this:

Related

Leave a comment Cancel reply