In one day I watched this amazing video of Chinese Christians receiving Bibles. The look on each of their faces just took my breath away. My heart lurched in my chest. I have seen little as beautiful as the reaction of these Christians to a box of Bibles. It certainly puts to shame Bill Nye and all the others that want to trash the Bible as just some book that couldn't possibly be the Word of God. It ranks up there with watching a person give their heart to the Lord, a birth of a baby, a wedding of two God-loving souls in the covenant in marriage, or a baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Right after I watched that wonderful video, I caught sight of this article by Charisma magazine online:
Sadly, both the video and the article were on Facebook. The irony was not lost on me, but God wanted to reaffirm a lesson He's been whispering to my heart.
It got me thinking. Do I feel the same way about my Bible as those Chinese Christians? I doubt that the Chinese Christians that were hugging and crying over the privilege of having God's Word would put Facebook first in their lives.
And yet I am free...free to own Bibles, free to worship Jesus, free to speak His name openly...even though there are those that would like those freedoms eliminated here in America. I am free...but I often check my Facebook in the morning before I open my Bible.
This past Sunday my pastor stated, "We need more face time with the Lord and less Facebook time.". Little did he know that his words would be brought back to my memory with the viewing of a video and the reading of an article.
A few months ago I was reading about David Wilkerson in another article. It stated that he made a decision when he was young to not watch television, and spend that time in prayer instead. It was during those prayer times that he felt led to minister to gang members. I have to ask myself if that would have happened if he had made the decision to just veg in front of the TV for a couple hours instead.
George Mueller spent much time in prayer. He saved thousands of children with his orphanage. He never asked others for money. Instead he prayed and trusted the Lord to provide. The Lord did provide, often miraculously. Throughout his life, George Mueller read his Bible over 200 times through.
We want strength to handle the adversities in life. We want joy that isn't destroyed by our tough times and tragedies. We want family members and loved ones saved. We want God to show Himself in our lives, in our schools, in our towns, in our government, and in our country.
We hear stories of amazing miracles happening in other countries, even ones that punish or even kill Christians. We hear of underground churches held in secret in these places just exploding with growth. We hear of their hunger and thirst for the Lord and His Word. And we....
we...
We what? We turn on another sitcom? We hit that Facebook app button once again on our smartphone or tablet? We catch up with others lives, commiserate on the latest snowstorm, or pick a fight with someone we disagree with about some current political hot button issue?
I state this not as a condemnation, but as a confession. I know I am not alone, but that doesn't change how God convicted my heart.
I am in the Word often. Bible time with my daughters is my favorite time of my day. And yet, I don't always take personal time to dig deep into the Word on my own. After teaching, cooking, laundry, and running errands, I am easily swayed to veg in front of the TV and not do more. It's easy to put off prayer time with, "I'll do it later."
Sometimes I do, and sometimes exhaustion overtakes me and I fall asleep without focused time in prayer. I don't want my life to be one in which the Lord comes sometime after Facebook. I don't want Him as simply the start of my homeschool day. I don't want Him relegated to exhausted prayers by a worn out Mom as I fade out of consciousness. I want more.
I want to hold my Bible as those Chinese Christians did. I want to cling to my time with Him, guard it, make sure it isn't a duty but the deepest desire of my heart. If He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, it stands to reason that things that I allow to steal from the Way, the Truth, and the Life would hold opposite qualities.
Is Facebook the way? No. It's a tool and wonderful for allowing me to feel connected to my grown daughters and other loved ones, but often its way causes conflict and hurt. It's easy to stir up trouble, to vent without thinking things through, and to cause as more hurt than joy. I've been there.
Is television the truth? Well, if you watch it for any length of time, you will see much that conflicts with the truth of Scripture. In fact, I would venture to state that the prince of the air loves breeding all sorts of inequities on the airwaves of TV. Like Facebook, television is a tool. I like a good comedy or drama as much as anyone, but when I haven't prayed, but I have time for that rerun...or even that new episode, I wonder if my priorities are a little eschew.
Neither of these or any of my other pastimes (Words with Friends for me) are the life. They may not be negative or harmful, but they won't bring me the LIFE that is found only in Christ.
Those Chinese Christians knew the Life was revealed in the pages of the Bibles they cherished. I don't anticipate they will toss their cherished Bible on the coffee table while they spend hours on Facebook. I'm willing to bet that they spent hours devouring every word, perhaps copying it onto notebook pages for others that want the Word of God, even if it's just a portion, but have no access. I am willing to bet that they hid those Bibles from confiscation, willing to go to great lengths to protect the precious Word. They knew Life wasn't in their entertainment or their government, but in what had been deemed illegal for them.
If Christians around the world can risk their freedom and their very lives to serve Christ, finding the gift of His Word so life giving, then I am sure I can follow my convictions and truly treasure and relish in my relationship with my Savior and Lord.
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