BBD 07.24.08 Out of Gas
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
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07.24.08
Out of Gas
(Update of a devotional from 1998)
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the
devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was
hungry. Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of
God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It
is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God.'" - Matthew 4:1-4.
Just a day or two ago in Cookeville, Tennessee three thieves ran into a
problem while making their getaway. The three were in the process of
stealing a recliner from a Goodwill store. Now, they did succeed in loading
the recliner into their truck and they were able to begin to drive away but
that was when their problems started. Before leaving the parking lot of the
store the truck ran out of gas and by that time someone had called the
police about the break-in. They were all arrested and have been charged with
the attempted theft.
Some of you may never have run out of gasoline in your car. It has only
happened to me once and that was enough! I was 17 years old and a friend had
set up a double date for us. We were on our way to pick up the girls and I
was in a hurry. It was a complete shock when the car began to spit and
sputter and then die. Needless to say we were late for the date, and the
evening turned out badly which was probably for the best.
Spiritually we can run out of gas as well. We are busy people with jobs,
children, their activities, our activities, church, our responsibilities at
church, and church activities. We are preoccupied with the immediate. Then
it happens, a crisis comes into our lives and we find that the spiritual
tank is empty. We turn to the Lord and try to fill it back up but the crisis
is such that everything we take in immediately goes back out. We put on our
happy faces and pretend that everything is okay but really we are just
barely crawling, trying to make it through another day. Sound familiar?
The fact is we can't wait until that storm blows in to fill up the tank.
Just as we need physical food frequently in order to live we also need
spiritual food. We need that daily intake of reading, studying, and
meditating upon the Word of God. We also need to pray every day. Jesus says
to pray in the Lord's Prayer, the model prayer, "Give us this day our daily
bread (Matthew 6:11)." In Mark 1:35 we are told, "Now in the morning, having
risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary
place; and there He prayed." Jesus had a quiet time and we need one every
day too - preferably early in the morning before beginning our day.
Maybe it's time to fill up the tank? Don't let the devil catch you when you're,
out of gas!
Copyright © 2008. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
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been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
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