RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2020-08-12	How Do I Make Time For The Bible? (Lk.10:38-42)
		Most of us have seasons of time when we are so busy and overall very tired. So we find that we are not spending much time in God's Word. The typical activities of cooking, cleaning, exercising, shopping, running errands, appointments, etc. all take plenty of our day. By the time we get home, we feel worn out. We read our Bible and find we are half asleep. So what can we do practically to place God and His Word first on our schedules? Sometimes we feel stuck. And we do not know how to get unstuck. We should observe that if we continue to do the same thing over and over it is part of the problem. Sometimes to get unstuck we have to stop and reevaluate the priorities of our schedule. Luk 10:38  Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. Luk 10:39  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. Luk 10:40  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." Luk 10:41  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. Luk 10:42  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." This is the classic passage of Mary and Martha. They approach life very differently. Martha was distracted with much serving. She told Jesus that her sister Mary has left her to do all the serving on her own. She wants Jesus to tell Mary to get to work. What if Jesus came to your home. Would He find some things you are doing that could be eliminated or perhaps not take as much time as you currently give to it? Some things on our schedules could be adjusted to allot more time for the things that really matter as Jesus said. Notice what Jesus said to Martha, “one thing is needed” (v.42). Jesus is saying to Martha that one thing is more necessary than all the activities on her schedule. It is more needful than your pattern of cooking, cleaning, exercising, etc. You get the idea. Luk 8:14  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. Notice that Jesus is concerned that the Word is choked by ordinary things of life. So the busyness of life is overruling the things of God. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Lk.4:4). So maybe we need to sit down and write out a list of all the things on our schedule. See what details of your life are robbing you of the “needful things” for your spiritual life. Pray to God about each item on your list. Ask God, is the way I am doing it the best way, and is it more important than spending time with God and His Word? You want to readjust the time you spend on these things to make time for the Word. Another idea is to set your alarm maybe 45 minutes earlier than you normally get up. Take your usual shower, get dressed, put the Word of God before any busyness. Do not use the Word of God to fill the cracks of your time. Make it first in your life. Force other things into the cracks of your time. You will be amazed, but they will get done. If you get tired reading your Bible, stand up and walk around the room as you read it. You may find you walk in circles as you read. But at least you are taking in God's Word. It is much harder to fall asleep while you are standing. Remind yourself that the Word is more desired than gold or honey (Ps.19:10). Psa 19:10  More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

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