A quiet time every day with God is important. It starts me off with worship and thanksgiving instead of worrying about myself and others. As I read His Word and talk to Him in prayer, He moves me to think about His will for me. This settles the focus and direction of my day.
My quiet time with God is also occasion to confess sin and be renewed, and a time to cast my cares on Him. My daily load is weighty enough without carrying burdens that do not belong to me.
The readings of these past few days have focused on false teachers. While I know that I must be alert to negative outside influences, I need to remember the positive of being true to God’s Word also. I can be wary of others, but must not neglect my own obligation to be true.
Jesus said the way to tell a false teacher is by their life. He said, “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:18).
One line in my reading today says that a fruit tree may be beautiful and decorative and offer refreshing shade, but its main purpose is to bear fruit. If I claim to be speaking truth from God, my words will be judged by how I live that truth in my own life. Plainly, I must ‘walk the talk.’
Because false prophets can deceive even genuine Christians, then even genuine Christians can become careless about the Word of God and indifferent toward prayer and His Word. Prayer is hard work, not a few quick “God bless so-and-so . . .” words. Spending time in the Bible is just that, spending time. Everyone is busy and it can be easy to skip devotions now and then, easy to step onto that slippery slope of not bothering with these spiritual disciplines.
Some days I am tempted. The to-do list is exceptionally long, or we are on holidays, or I need to be some place early in the morning, or the phone rings, or the doorbell. The list of interruptions and sources of temptation is long and varied. Would the world end if I missed my quiet time with God? Would my spiritual life shrivel up and die?
Jesus’ example of a fruit tree is good. To produce, trees need the right care. They need good soil, water, sunshine and fertilizer. We have a tree in the back that is supposed to produce small berries that are good for pies. It flowers. It looks good and smells nice, but the berries are few and far between. I don’t know what is missing in the life of that tree, but I do know that if I do not spend time with God each day, my life would be just as fruitless as that tree.
There are hundreds of commands in the Word of God and a fruitful person should be obeying them as far as possible. There are not enough hours in the day for one person to evangelize the world, teach other believers, feed the poor, take care of widows and orphans, pastor and shepherd God’s people, give time and money to those in need, counsel the hurting, and so on, but each person has to pay attention to the part God wants them to do. If I am not listening, I will miss my part. Daily devotions are one way to get into the habit of listening.
Yet even a well-fed tree can be fruitless. Listening is good; obedience must follow. When I listen, I stop planning what I want to do and discover God leading me into areas that I do not expect, even producing fruit that is a surprise. Yesterday He asked me to comfort someone who is hurting. I didn’t expect that. Today He has already asked me to speak to someone who has been deceived by false teaching. While I’ve prayed about what to do with her, I didn’t expect that either. When I plan my own days, I miss out on such things.
Life with Jesus Christ is an adventure, even a treasure hunt, but each day must begin with my Map and words with my Leader. Otherwise I might miss the wonderful things that He has planned for me. Besides that, daily reading and thinking about what I have read is the best protection against the dangers of false teachers, and the danger of becoming one.
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