Priority Assessment

Many years ago I was watching a Christian parody about how a Christian should not witness. The “Christian” in the video started talking to an unbeliever and ended the conversation by telling the guy to “read your Bible!” and then whacks the guy with the Bible that was in his hand. The quote popped into my head last night as I was about to read the Bible before bed.

I had gone to bed at about 9:50 with every intention of spending a while in the Word, but somehow I kept getting sidetracked as my mind (i.e. flesh) kept finding me other things to read/think about until I glanced at the clock only to find that it was 10:40. Where had the time gone? Surely I hadn’t wasted that much time!?

And immediately (as if on cue) my mind started coming up with excuses as to why I shouldn’t read the Bible now because “it was too late”; “if you read it now you won’t be rested in the morning”; “you can always read it tomorrow, after all.”

But you know, I’ve gone along with it before, and it never works. It’s late at night so I convince myself that I’ll read the Bible “extra” the next day to “make up” for skipping it that night. The next day comes, I’m busy all day, and as I crawl into bed late, the reasonings immediately start again. “You don’t need to read the Bible tonight; it’s late.” And the more I listen to it and don’t read my Bible, the more persistent the attacks become. And they all sound so logical and worried about my well-being, don’t they?

The same is true about praying. You go to pray and your flesh immediately reminds you about a billion things you need to do/be thinking about. Anything to make you not focused on what you should be doing.

But we must resist.

Everyday we are part of a battle, a spiritual battle, and the devil would like nothing more than to take our ammunition away from us.

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.

1 Timothy 1:18-19

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 
2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Ephesians 6:11-13

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

Psalm 119:9

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5:8

We can not go a day without reading the Bible or praying. It’s like siphoning the air out of a room and slowly suffocating. We have to be replenished by God’s Word and spend time talking daily with Him. Because He is more important than anything else we have in our life.

When we start to neglect spending time reading His Word and seeking His will, we tend to start doing our own thing. “After all, you’ve already read the entire Bible, you should know it and God’s will well enough that you shouldn’t have to ask Him about it.”

However, the Bible isn’t like any other book; it was written by God.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

2 Timothy 3:16

The Being that created the earth, mankind, all of the animals and plants, and the seemingly endless universes. The One that created the giraffes heart to have a special system of valves in the main artery of the giraffe’s neck to close when the giraffe puts his long neck down to get a drink so that his brain doesn’t explode from the pressure from his heart working with gravity; the One that created the beaver to have clear eyelids so that he could see while swimming under-water along with valve-like ear and nose “plugs” to keep water out; the One that cared so much for His creations that he sent His Son to take away our sins so that he could be with us and displayed it all through the stars that He had put into motion 4,000 years prior to align with the current biblical events. (If you haven’t seen The Star of Bethlehem, I would highly recommend it!)

Yet, after all He’s done, we take it for granted. Jesus didn’t have to come die on the cross and take our sins, God could have easily left us after the fall in the garden to make us pay our own debt.

But He didn’t, and we owe Him more than we can ever pay.

Yet we are so busy living these wonderful lives that He has given us, that we don’t even spend enough time with Him. There should never be a day where I say I don’t have time to read the Bible or pray. He gave us time. He invented time! We should spend more time reading the Bible than any other book.

And I had an interesting thought about prayer; do you spend as much time talking to God, as you spend talking with your best friend? He has more wisdom than the human race combined, but we tend to go to our friends first when we have a problem (1 Kings 12). Go to God. He will answer, but you do have to be paying attention to hear Him. The relationship and bond we have with Him is more important than any we will ever have on earth. He wants to spend time with us and He desires us to spend time with Him. He created us to be in an intimate relationship with Him; we cannot function outside of Him. We should be desiring it above everything else because of what God has given us out of His overflowing mercy.

“God is not a belief to which you give your assent. God becomes a reality whom you know intimately, meet everyday, one whose strength becomes your strength, whose love, your love. Live this life of the presence of God long enough and when someone asks you, “Do you believe there is a God?” you may find yourself answering, “No, I do not believe there is a God. I know there is a God.” ~Ernest Boyer, Jr.