Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Just a Wobble?

 


Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.
Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
 

[The believers] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  - Acts 2:42 (NIV)
 




As my husband, Jerry, and I headed out on an early-morning bike ride, I noticed a broken spoke in my front wheel. I stopped and snapped it off the rim. “Don’t you think we should get that fixed?” Jerry asked. “One missing spoke won’t make a difference,” I declared. At first, it didn’t. For some time, the barely-noticeable wobble in the wheel had no effect on how the bicycle performed. After a few days, though, the wobble grew much worse. My husband was right in his concern; eventually I had to stop riding the bike because doing so posed a risk to my safety.

So it is with our spiritual life. At first, neglecting one of the spokes of spiritual discipline in our lives — Bible study or prayer or worship or fellowship with other Christians — seems hardly to affect us. But over time, our lives may develop a decided wobble. And if we continue the neglect, our failure to pursue the things of God will have a profound impact on our relationship with God and others. The early church knew the value of spiritual disciplines. Scripture tells us they “devoted themselves” to the pursuit of holy living. May we attend to the spokes in our spiritual lives and commit ourselves to keeping each of them strong.

Thought for the Day

Be still and meditate on his law day and night

Prayer

O Lord, help us to be faithful in our daily walk with you. Amen.
Prayer focus  Cyclists