FROM THE PASTOR
December 10, 2017
I possess a 5500W Briggs and Stratton generator. It’s a beauty. I’ve had it for 3 or 4 years and only needed it a couple of times. That’s where the trouble began. I realize that what I’m about to share could be identified by a lot of names… lazy… silly… foolish… busyness… the list can go on. But it is what it is… whatever you want to call it.
My garage is wall to wall with STUFF. All good stuff though mind you. We’ve been in our house for 16 years now and we have NEVER had a vehicle in it. I say that to explain that the generator has a home tucked clear in the back under other stuff that has their home on top of the generator. After all, a good garage uses all its space… both horizontal and vertical. Now, before you say anything you need to know… I do need all that stuff. Not sure when I’ll need it or how I’ll use it but, I am confident without it, I would just have to replace it whenever that need arises. And no, I’m not a hoarder… I just call it good common sense.
Regardless, after sitting almost a year I hauled the generator out, changed the gas and tried to start it… nothing. Did this several times over the course of a week or so… nothing. So, I set a reminder on my phone calendar that I needed to take it into the shop and have it serviced. The date finally arrived… the reminder came up and… do you know how easy it is to change the date reminder on a calendar? If you have an I-phone like me you can do it with one button. So, I did… several times. And the generator still sits where I left it ready to do its job, if I would only be attentive and get it serviced.
I wonder how often we do the same thing with our Bibles? We know we need to be attentive to it. We know that for it to do as God intended, we need to read it, study it, learn from it and apply it to our lives. Many of us have great intentions. We may even mark our calendars or set the alarm a few minutes early to make it happen. But in one easy motion we change the date or hit the snooze button. And life goes on and a morning turns into a week and a week into a month and before you know it a year or more has passed and there the Bible sets… with other STUFF’s home on top of it.
One day I’ll need that generator. But until then, because I chose to not be attentive to it, when I need it, it won’t work. For God’s Word to be effective we need to be attentive to it if we want it to work in our lives. This will become clearest when we need it most.
Oh, by the way… Monday… yah. I think Monday I’ll get it fixed. How about you? Is Monday good for you too?
Thank You for your faithfulness!
Pastor Larry
