Back to the Basics
"Blessed is the man [whose]… delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His
law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither."
(Psalm 1:1-3)
Beloved Friends in Christ,
The story is told of a man who said to his pastor, "I've been a member of this church all my life, and in that time, I've probably heard 3000 sermons. You know, pastor, I know many hymns by heart, but I cannot remember one sermon. Do you think that it is important to have a sermon every Sunday?"
To this the pastor responded, "I've been married for close to 25 years. I can remember many of the vacations my wife and I took, but I don't remember the meals that she made. Do you think we should continue eating meals regularly?"
Some things are obvious, aren't they? We need to eat to live. Food is a basic human need. Similarly, we need to be fed spiritually. God's Word is a basic need of every Christian.
As the verses from the Psalm above declare, the person who spends time in the Word of God is like a deeply rooted and well watered tree. That tree not only lives; it thrives; it produces fruit. So it is with every Christian. The Christian who is deeply rooted in the Word of God does more than just live. He thrives; his spiritual life is vibrant and full. It's so obvious, isn't it? If we wish to grow spiritually, we need to spend more time delighting in God's Word.
How about making that a goal with me as we enter the fall season? Let's find ways to root ourselves more deeply in God's indispensable Word. If it is your habit to worship sporadically, add a Sunday a month to your worship routine. Or add 5 minutes of prayer to your day. Or how about attending a Bible class this fall? Or how about…?
What ever we do, God will bless us. Like a tree planted by the water, abundant fruit will be borne!
In His service,
Pastor Richard A. Frey