These Shoes Were Made For Walking...er...Running

As a birthday/Christmas present, my sister and brother-in-law bought me these great running shoes. While I've started up my running again, I wanted to wait to get in a little better shape before breaking these shoes in.

Last night (Saturday) I decided to go on a long walk to start the breaking in process. They proved to be quite comfortable. After going to a local bookstore to inquire as to their exchange and credit policy (for my DVD's and book collection), I decided to continue with my walk.

I ended up near the Logan Temple, and after walking around it a couple of times and doing some praying, I headed back towards my apartment. As I walked, I glanced at the houses and buildings that I passed by. It was dark out, aside from the streetlights, and so many of the windows were illuminated by the flickering glow of TV screens.

My thoughts began to consider the time that is spent in front of the TV set. Oh the hours invested in mindless lethargy, sitting on the couch will time slips by! The TV in an average American home is on 8 hours and 14 minutes every day! I recently heard of a little girl that is frequently over at one of the family's houses in our church, because her dad comes home from work and just sits down in front of the TV, instead of spending time with his daughter.

I do not find this particularly shocking in a non-Christian environment, though it is extremely sad. Yet, what about in Christian homes? How many hours are spent in front of the TV? How much time is invested in mindless entertainment? This was the pressing thought on my heart. How much time do we fritter away in such activities?

Of course we could discuss the influences and examples that are constantly bombarding the Christian who watches TV. On that topic I will remain silent for now. But, regardless of content at this point, what do we do with our time?

I was recently over at some friend's place after church, and we sat around the table and had a bite to eat. Do you know what one of the major points of conversation was? It was centered around the latest movies. Have you seen this one...have you seen that one? I don't believe one mention of what God had spoken to us about during the services that day entered our conversation.

Let me repeat myself once more...why do we have such a little appetite for God? Where is our hunger and our passion for Him? It is those who hunger and thirst after righteousness that will be filled. God promised to pour water on him that is thirsty. Where is our spiritual appetite?

To borrow a line from MLK Jr., "I have a dream..." My dream is this...that one day we would sit around after church, or get together in a home, and we would talk about the Lord and what He is doing, what He has been speaking about, what He is teaching us. This would not be forced or trumped up, but rather the natural outflow of a people with a passion for Christ.

Why is it so natural to invite a friend over to watch a movie, and so completely foreign to invite a friend over to listen to a sermon or message that God has spoken to you with recently? Why is it more common to get together and talk about politics or the latest happenings than to do an impromptu Bible study?

This week we are having a set of meetings at church. Today were the "kickoff services" if you will. Brother Gilmore mentioned tonight the call to lay aside (or dispose of) every weight. These weights he described as "good things" (like hobbies, interests, amusements) that we allow to get in the way of God's "best". That was exactly what I was thinking in regards to TV.

Is God speaking to me personally about TV? I don't believe so, because I rarely watch any TV, but I believe He is speaking to me personally about the use of time. As many of you know, this last year saw the cessation of my passion for aviation. For some 25+ years I have been fascinated with anything that flew, especially aircraft. Last year, it was like the Lord flipped a switch, and almost overnight the passion was gone.

Does this mean that interest was bad? Not at all. Does that mean that I invested too much time doing that instead of being in church or reading God's word? I don't believe so. No, I believe for me personally, the message is that of a call to a single focus, a single passion, a single desire...and that is to know Christ.

I hope that this does not come across in a discouraging manner. It seems that God reveals something to a person as the first step, and then begins to lead and guide that person where He wants him to go.

I hope that this is an encouragement to each of you, who would perhaps take this little thought to heart and see if the Lord would speak anything in particular to you personally. Oh that we as believers would grow in our knowledge of Him, personally and corporately. Let us press on to know Him better! Let us make that our ambition! And let us see what the Lord will do in a people that are willing to be used by Him!