Early Shopping

Laryngitis is keeping me from posting a video today, so I’m writing my post instead.  Hopefully I’ll be back with a voice and a video next week!

Whether we want to admit it or not, the Christmas season is closing in on us.  I’ve seen Black Friday ads long before November even arrived!  I can remember the days of shopping on Black Friday.  One year my whole family was in Kentucky for Thanksgiving and we decided we were going to join the crazy shoppers and head out and get some bargains, too!  We mapped out:

• What time we would head out – I think it was 4 a.m.!
• What stores we would cover – A bunch!
• The items we were looking for – Toys, electronics and the best sales!
• How we would beat the long lines – Our dad went to stand in line as soon as we got to the store and we would all go shop.  When he got close to the front, he would call us and we’d join him in line (it’s a wonder we didn’t get black eyes for that one!)
• Where we would have breakfast and lunch – I brought homemade cinnamon rolls that we ate at the car, then we would go to Chick-fil-A with the other million shoppers and enjoy a “cozy” lunch!

If you’re not a shopper, that sounds really crazy.  If you’re old enough, that sounds really crazy.  You’ve got to want something really badly to go to all that trouble!  But in the end, we found it was worth it because of the treasures in our sacks.

We love to get earthly treasures – but what about the kind we get when we study God’s Word?  We can make lots of excuses about why we can’t really dig into the Bible regularly.  Have you ever said any of these things?

It’s boring.  Proverbs 8:6 I will speak of excellent things. The Word of God is ALIVE! It can speak to us, teach us, rebuke us, and guide us.  It is full of adventure, joy, sorrow, personalities, wisdom, understanding and Truth.  It’s full of thousands of people, yet it’s all about One.  Wow.  Just wow.  Anyone who thinks it’s boring hasn’t spent much time in its pages.

I just don’t have a desire. Proverbs 8:17 I love them that love me. Christ loved us first and before we ever loved Him, and a person whose love springs up in their hearts is responding to that initial love of our Savior.  If we’re truly saved, there will be at least a small desire for His Word.  The more you learn, the more you love!

I just can’t get up early.  Proverbs 8:17 says, They that seek me early shall find me. I need to be as willing to rise early to meet with the Lord and get the treasure of wisdom from His Word as I would be to go find a sale, or head to vacation or an event.

I just don’t get anything out of my Bible reading.  Proverbs 8:21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. If we ask God to teach us, He will fill our hearts with His Truth in ways we can understand.

The end result of our Black Friday shopping excursion was worth it in the end.  We got what we were looking for, but today I don’t even remember exactly what that was!  But oh, the wonder of the Truths we glean when we go “shopping” in God’s Word! Proverbs 8:34 – Blessed is the man that hears me; watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. We find treasure DAILY, not just once a year!  It’s also lasting and of more value than silver and gold (verse 19). I read a quote recently in Set Apart Girl Magazine that has really struck a chord in my heart, reminding me to invest more in the eternal than that which is temporal:

Splurge on the sacred, skimp on the secular, and starve the profane.

Let’s determine to be more prepared for the study of God’s Word than we are for Black Friday!  Let’s gather the treasures of God’s Word more than the rusting goods of this earth.  Determine when you’ll arise, what you’ll read, what you’ll look for and what you’ll do with that Truth.  Oh, and THERE’S NO LINE IN WHICH TO WAIT!

Take an honest look at your plan for being in God’s Word and make whatever changes are necessary so you can get all the blessings that come from time alone with God!