Pop it in the microwave!

We live in a society where faster is better. We don't have time for patience. We look for the short cut. Eat dinner in the car - on the go! We want immediate results. We want to buy it now and pay later! Instant gratification. Skip the diet - do lipo. "Overnight success" is the American dream! We want it, and we want it NOW. Does this affect our spiritual walk? Are we looking for shortcuts? Do we want instant gratification in our spiritual life too? Well, it's not called a spiritual walk for nothing. It's a journey. Not a race. It takes effort and it takes time. And the walk has been laid out before us...we just need to follow Jesus' footsteps. He has already made the journey. He's drawn out the map - and the road is narrow. So narrow that most people never find their way - we're used to looking for the easy route - the quickest way to get from here to there.

Even as christians, with good intentions, we find a new book - like "The Prayer of Jabez", "Purpose-Driven Life", or "Your Best Life Now" - and we dive in and praise the author for book well-written, meanwhile our Bibles still sit on our night stands collecting dust. Don't get me wrong - those books are great aids to add to our quiet time or Bible studies. But when we replace the Bible with these "quick fix" books, we are minimizing the power of the Scriptures and we are forgetting that Jesus can and will teach us everything we could ever want to know - more than any book written by MAN will ever teach us! Jesus IS the Word. "The Word became flesh."

What would happen if we stopped reaching for the latest best-selling book, we stopped listening for prophesies, we stopped chasing around the great evangelists...we just stopped? Jesus is our perfect example. He drew close to his Father through prayer, by often withdrawing from the hussle & bussle of "life" and seeking God in the silence. He did only what he saw his Father doing. His focus was always on God. Not on the miracles. Not on his mother, Mary. Not on prophets. He walked through life, in tune with God, his Father, and constantly aware of where God was at work around him - then he stepped in. That's when the miracles happened. That's when God's power was revealed through Jesus. Jesus was a man - like us. And through Jesus, WE have the same access to God's power! But the power is not in the access. We will experience his power, his miracles, his love, faithfulness and provision when we take steps of faith through the access! We seek Him. We spend time with Him, studying His Word. We love people the way Jesus did. Our hearts change. Our motives change. Our desires become His desires. There's no shortcut to time spent with God, our Father.

It's time to turn off the TV, put away the books, get off the internet, and stop chasing an "experience". God sent his Son, Jesus. We must get to know him. Study Him. Worship Him. Follow his footsteps. Seek Him. Draw near to our Father. Spend time in prayer & studying the scriptures. The Bible is the living Word of God. Pick it up, dust it off and simply read it. It's better and more powerful than magic. The Word is ALIVE. It will speak to you. It is in these moments, studying the scripture and on your knees in prayer, that you wil lencounter God Almighty. Our goal is to become more like Christ. That takes time. It takes effort. It will not be an "overnight success". However, His love is immediate! His faithfulness is immediate. His goodness is immediate. Walk in Him. Do life in Him. Experience Him. Take TIME to get to know Him. You can't pop Jesus in the microwave and expect a miracle! Go to Him...He's waiting...