Digging In Or Getting Your Digs In

Digging In Or Getting Your Digs In

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…” 2 Timothy 3:16

5 simple words.  That’s all it takes to give a good dig at your church (or someone else’s for that matter) this week. People use them across America and around the world daily.   Say them with me, “I…am…not…getting…fed.”   They are the best words to use when you want to make a church transition or simply want to ruffle things up a bit.

Years ago, a pastor I know had a first time visitor come to his church in Southern California.  She seemed very positive about joining the church he led.  After a service, she shared how she had attended another local church but wasn’t being fed.  Turns out, the church was pastored by Chuck Swindoll, one of the foremost authors and speakers in America.  He told her, “If you weren’t getting fed there, it probably won’t happen here.”

I know hundred of pastors.  Hundreds of them.  And the “I am not being fed” mantra is the most transcendent assertion used to negate what God wants to do in churches across America whether the messages are topical, verse by verse, or exegetical.  However, there is an answer to reverse the trend.  The problem is not necessarily with the  “feeder” but our ”feeding.” In order to have a growing and vibrant relationship with God, it requires the personal ability to nurture your life with God’s Word.  Someone said, “Seven Days Without The Word Makes One Weak.”  It’s true with prayer and many other areas.  While pastors aren’t exempt from putting in their time, neither are we.

One of the best quotes I have ever heard in a quarter century of ministry is a woman who shared with me, “You know, Pastor, the more I read God’s Word, the better preacher you become.”  I still quote her ‘til this day.  A daily rationing of the Bible makes life deeper, our spirit’s stronger, and will even make your preacher better because you aren’t counting on him or her alone to be your only meal of the week.  You’ll be amazed how much improvement occurs in the pulpit next Sunday and the other days of the week for you.    

Question:

1)   On a scale from 1-10, how would you rank your daily devotional life?

2)   How can you take a step today to improve your love for God’s Word in 2014?

Copyright 2016- Terry Risser