IBM once had a one word slogan: THINK! But todays glut of easily accessed brain ammo actually militates against thoughtful mental processing and discourse. By means of the Cyber World a great volume of information passes before our eyes. This does not necessarily make us 'thinkers.' The information too often merely passes like a blur through our brains.
The fact is the Internet all too often renders us rather helpless when it comes to really in-depth information analysis. We've forgotten how 'to ponder' in our race to suck in more tidbits of information. BE THAT AS IT MAY, we Christians are invited and instructed by our loving Heavenly Father to spend "day and night" intimacy with Him by meditating upon His love letter from heaven, the BIBLE! The old hymn said it so very well, TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY.
Right now take time to peruse this verse of Scripture given to a very busy man readying himself for an enormous undertaking. God says to him: "And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed" (Joshua 1:8 paraphrase The Message).
Someone once asked Sir Isaac Newton how he discovered the law of gravity. His answer? "By thinking about it all the time."
And just how may we DISCOVER those much needed essential God-given truths for life, AND, how will we imbibe those guiding principles for every day existence, AND, learn the very mind and heart of God, AND, get to know better our friend Jesus, who is "the way, the truth and the life," AND, just how can we entrench within our hearts those words of hope and comfort God means for our well-being? All such gain is so desperately needed while making our way through this rough and tumble journey called life?
Here's the answer: By spending much time in His Word, the Bible. But ah, there's the rub. This hectic world yanks us out of any possible moments of tranquility and shoves us into yet another whirlwind of endless and too often frustrating rounds of busyness.
Here's the needed directive: Only by a militaristic determination to set aside copious amounts of time with our loving God, both to enjoy Him and learn from Him with open and well-worn Bibles can we ever experience genuine and enriching Christian understanding and living. There are no shortcuts to really knowing our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The "blessed" man of Psalm 1 finds his delight "in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."
There are no shortcuts. Once a week or ten times a week church attendance, as right and fitting as it may be, never serves as a substitute for a personal walk with God. Pastors need to get this straight and unendingly urge a daily and personal walk with God instead of just another busy activity at church. The personal must supercede the corporate. Until we make this a firm and unbending rule for Christian practice, we'll remain an anemic, unimpacting presence on earth.
A personal abiding walk with God plus the God ordered but occasional vibrant experience of a Bible centered church, in this order, will make God's child "like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers" (Psalm 1).
No boredom here, Ziggy!
dick christen
