Daily Devotional For Thursday, December 28, 2023

In my younger years in high school, I had a calculus teacher who would "teach" us calculus. He would put this formula up on the chalkboard -- yes chalkboard -- not a smartboard as today -- and then he would draw how it should look. We would ask him, "How did you get that drawing?" He always had the same answer, "From the formula." That is true, but he never taught us how he got that drawing. That was easy for a person who had been doing this skill or task for years, but for a newbie, it wasn't. I have always been a hands-on approach guy because of that experience. You will hear preachers tell you, "You need to have a daily quiet time" without ever really giving you any help on how to do that. I don't want to do that.

Years ago on my college wall I had a poster with a ship out in rough seas. The caption said, "Ships are safe in the harbor, but that is not what ships are built for in life." Yet, I know many people here at the coast who buy a boat and rarely ever take it out. It it is more of a status symbol to them.  Boats are not built to be status symbols, but they are built to take voyages on and in water. Sometimes that water can be dangersous. We live in the "Sea of Life" and navigating through these treacherous waters can be difficult at times. That is why we need a Captain at our helm who knows how to do that safely.

Having a daily quiet time has several purposes. First, it cultivates a growing relatinship with Jesu Christ. Second, it keeps you navigating through these waters of life. Here is another picture. Think of a daily quiet time like an old grandfather clock. As long as the pendulum is swinging, the clock it ticking and working. Once the pendulum stops, so does the clock. Having a daily quiet time keeps you "spiritual pendulum" swinging. But more many Christians, once they give they life to Christ, they never leave the harbor of life. Why? They want to be "safe."

But when storms come, especially hurricanes, boat owners either pull their boats out of the harbor or dock or in the case of larger boats and ships, they take them out to sea.  Why? The harbor is the most unsafe place for a boat to be in a massive storm. For many Christians, they "accept" Christ into their lives because they want to go to heaven and not hell. They want what I call "fire insurance." That is not the main reason we accept Jesus Christ into our lives. The main reason we accept Jesus Christ into our live is twofold:

1. Look at John 6:44, Jesus says this,  "For no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them to Me" (NLT). Accepting Jesus Christ into your life is not like accepting a raise or a reward. God the Father has to draw you to Jesus. You can't just on your own accept Jesus Christ.
2. Second, after the Father draws us to Jesus, we accept Him into our lives is so we can restore our broken relationship to Him and so for as long as we live, we become more like Christ. The goal is to make Christ's character our character.

God expects us to leave the harbor of conversion and venture out into the seas of life with Jesus Christ as our helmsman. Think about this: Jesus had a quiet time every single morning. Look at Mark 1:35,  "Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray" (NLT). The Greek New Testament of this is written in a tense that means this was Jesus' regular routine. Before He did anything else in any day, He first got up early and spent some time with God the Father. And if Jesus needed to do that, how much more do we? Even King David had a morning quiet time with God. Read Psalm 5:3, "Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly" (NLT). I think one of the reasons David wrote so many Psalms is due to his daily quiet time with God.

So, here are suggestions to follow in order to establish a daily quiet time with God:

1. Set a time that is best for you. I suggest the morning. Start the day off with God first.
2. Have a quiet place where you cannot be interrupted. 
3. Develop a plan. I will give you more on this in later posts.
4. Go to bed early. Good rest means good communication.
5. When that time comes, do it. Do not procrastinate. Think of it this way. Diabetics must given themselves insulin every day so they do not go into a diabetic shock and die. Every day. Think of a daily quiet time as your "daily spiritual insulin injection." Procrastination is a dangerous torpedo. It will sink you every time.
6. Be honest with God. Jesus condemned the religious leaders of His day for "faking" their love for God. Look at Matthew 23:5-7, Jesus said, “Everything they (i.e., the religious leaders) do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. (6) And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. (7) They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi'" (NLT). Jesus said this in Matthew 6:5, "When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get" (NLT). Meaning -- come honestly to God because He alreayd knows you and why you really are doing this. Do not make it a show to impress God because you can't.

Tomorrow, I will give you more help on how to do this. But for now, will you commit today -- now -- to having a daily quiet time with God? Your spiritual enemy the devil will do everything he can to get you to put it off, to procrastinate doing it and finally trying to prove to you that you are a failure. Please, do not let him have that victory. Take to heart Romans 8:37,  "Despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us" (NLT). Make the commitment to grow closer to God each day.

Scripture To Meditate On: Revelation 3:20, Jesus said, “Look! I have been standing at the door, and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears Me calling him and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with Me" (TLB).

Prayer To Pray: "Dear Jesus, I want to commit myself to having a daily quiet time with You. Lord, I need You in my life. I cannot navigate these treacherous waters alone. I don't want to just know things about You: I want to know You. I want fellowship with You. I don't want to just go through the motions. I want to experience the emotions of drawing close to You. Convict me to do this. Help me do this. I want to live for You and not myself. I trust Your Word in Philippians 4:13, "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength" (NLT). In Jesus' name, Amen!"