The Dan Bennett Family

When I was growing up, a popular phrase was, “killing two birds with one stone.”  This was not referring to the actual death of two birds, but it meant getting two things done at the same time.  I’ve not heard that expression in a long time. 

In today’s fast-paced world, no one is satisfied with only doing two things at once because everyone is just too busy.  In the twenty-first century, people pride themselves of being able to “multi-task.”  I jokingly tell my adult kids that, when I have fifty tabs open on the browser of my laptop, I am multi-tasking.  In some cases, multi-tasking may be alright, but if someone is talking to you, and you’re scrolling on Facebook, it’s rude to not give that person your full attention. 

Sadly, it seems that “full attention” is a thing of the past.  Even Christians don’t give full attention to God when they pretend to have their devotions.  People have told me that they pray while driving to work, or they listen to the Bible being read as they race off to an appointment.  The purpose of the “prayer closet” is to have an uninterrupted and undistracted time alone with God.  Doesn’t God deserve your undivided attention?  Of course, He does!  There’s nothing wrong with praying while driving, and with the crazy drivers wherever you go, you need to pray while you’re driving.  I’m not against listening to the Bible in your car, or on your smartphone while you’re taking a walk.  That’s fine and good.  My concern is that so many Christians are multi-tasking when God doesn’t want you to multitask, but He wants you to give Him your full attention. 

Many Christians don’t even have a “quiet time” with the Lord anymore because their lives are too “noisy.”  Many are getting up before the sun does, and going to bed a little before midnight.  The problem is that you have not given God hardly any of your time, your love, devotion, worship, and praise.  Other than a sporadic prayer at the red lights, or having an audio Bible playing in the background as “white noise,” your time with the Lord is basically meaningless.  When you are just “going through the motions” with your relationship with the Lord, you’re missing out on the greatest relationship you could ever have.

I’m not against multi-tasking, but let me encourage you to start multi-tasking only AFTER you’ve given the Lord your full attention for more than five or ten minutes.  God has never neglected or forsaken you, so don’t take it for granted that you have the privilege of being able to spend time with God. 

If Christians would get back to the prayer closet and have a daily quiet time with the Lord, giving God their full attention, there’s a good probability that your day would be less chaotic and stressful since He will be at your side.

A popular Christian song was released in 1984 by Steve Green entitled, “People Need The Lord.”  As a Christian, there is no denial that people need the Lord.  However, that is not the gist of this article.  What I want to emphasize is something that is greatly needed in Christians today.  Please take the time to thoughtfully consider the following text.

People need people. Don’t tell me that you don’t need anyone. I don’t believe it. You may not want other people around because you’ve been hurt by someone, or maybe you just want to play your game or watch your movie uninterrupted, but the touch and fellowship of another person is necessary to the human spirit. Don’t be a loner or a hermit.  You’re special, and you’re valuable, and you have experience that can help someone else. If you’ve been hurt, I really am sorry, but it’s time to forgive and let it go. Don’t miss out on the rest of your life because something happened a long time ago that hurt you. Yes, people can do and say hurtful things, but other people can make you laugh and bring you joy.  Besides all that, you can make people laugh and bring them joy.

Don’t give the lame excuse by saying you’re an introvert.  You can discard that nonsense right now.  Most people who say they’re introverts are introverts by choice, because they’re afraid, or lazy, or selfish. Turn off the TV, get off your backside, and go out and have some fun with other people. Go bowling, or play mini-golf, or go have an ice cream or a cup of coffee with someone. Even if you don’t have any money, even a slow walk around a park with a friend would do you good. You need it, and they need it. Life was not meant to spend alone.

Friend, God has given you life, and He wants you to have an abundant life.  The abundant life is not for just a select few, but it’s for every child of God.  Don’t miss out on the life that God intended for you to have. Whether you believe it or not, there are people who need you.  Someone is waiting for you to call them. Muster up the courage, give them a call, and go out and enjoy life with someone else. Don’t believe the lie that no one would want to spend time with you. That’s just not true. Call a friend, or someone from your church. There’s a parent or grandparent who would absolutely love to sit and chat face to face with you. You can add joy and make special memories with someone else that may be alone. You don’t have to be alone, and you don’t need to be alone. Just decide that you’re going to be a friend and a blessing to someone today.  Now, make that call!

As I read in the Old Testament, it was work to build an altar.  It was not necessarily hard work, but it wasn’t easy, either.  It took time.  It took dedication.  There was a purpose in building an altar.  It was an integral and important part of worship.

Offering sacrifices was what came next after building an altar.  But the offering was not just ANY offering.  It had to be a pure, spotless, and perfect lamb.  It was separated from the rest of the flock to prepare it for the sacrifice.  It was the best, so it’s value was greater. 

At the appointed time, the perfect, spotless lamb was taken and killed.  It was bloody.  It was not pretty, but it was necessary. 

Thankfully, we don’t have to build altars and offer lambs as a sacrificial offering.  However, to many Christians, being a Christian requires very little, or even nothing.  Christians don’t have to work or spend time to build an altar.  In today’s Christianity, there’s little purpose, delinquent dedication, and waning worship.  Although a lamb is not required anymore, there just aren’t that many Christians that are making sacrifices for the sake of eternity. 

Instead of Christians giving their best, they give their leftovers.  There’s not much “preparation” in giving, nor is there very much “separation” from the world.  In fact, in many “Christian” homes, there’s not that big of a difference from the average non-Christian home.  That’s a shame and a disgrace in the eyes of God!

The Christian home needs to return to the days of the “altar” and “sacrifices.”  There needs to be a revival of the “family altar.”  The altar at the church needs to be re-visited, and often. 

When was the last time you really “sacrificed” to give to God?

May the days of altars and sacrifices come back again, and may it be soon!

There are many people who “believe in God,” but that doesn’t mean that they are all going to Heaven.  The Bible says in James chapter two, in verse nineteen, that demons believe in God, and they even tremble at the thought of God.  The demons were once angels that were made by the all-powerful God.  The demons once worshipped and served God.  They know where He sits on His throne, and they know of His power, His authority, His wisdom, His majesty, and that He controls everything. 

It’s possible that Satan deceived the angels into following him by asking them, “Aren’t you tired of God controlling you and telling you what to do?”  Obviously, we don’t know how the devil coerced them into following him.  Even though Satan now controls the demons and tells them what to do, they still believe in God, and they still tremble at the thought of standing before God and being cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity.

A belief in God that does not change the way that you live is useless.  (Even small children who believe in Santa Claus will change the way they live for a month.)  In fact, if your belief in God does not change the way that you live, then you’re living like an atheist.  Or a demon.

The real question is not about “if” you believe in God, but have you accepted His Son, Jesus Christ, as your personal Savior and Lord?  Jesus will change your life when you confess your sin and ask Him to forgive you of your sin. 

If you believe in God, you will not only live like Jesus, but you will live for Jesus.

The front porch was the “chat room” of years gone by. The front porch usually had a porch swing and a couple of rocking chairs. The front porch was where family and friends gathered to chat in person. They would play the guitar and sing on the front porch. 

When I was a child, not every family had air conditioning in their house. In the summer, it was cooler outside on the front porch than it was inside the house.

On the front porch, people would wave and greet those who passed by.  Folks would sit and talk, snap beans, shuck corn, peel potatoes, crochet, and darn socks. Young people would court on the front porch. Haircuts were given on the front porch. Deals were made with a handshake on the front porch. The preacher would visit on the front porch. People gossiped on the front porch. Great ideas and plans for the future were made on the front porch. You name it, it probably happened on the front porch.

Sometimes, the front porch was a place you could go to be alone, or a place to go to be with friends. It was a place of talking, laughing, singing, praying, crying, and smooching.  It was a peaceful place where many memories were made.

People don’t sit on the front porch much anymore.  Most of the houses now have air conditioning, televisions, computers, and game systems. I don’t care too much for the TV or game systems. I would rather sit on the front porch.

As a man in my sixties, I still like to sit on the porch swing and read and think and pray.  I enjoy sitting with my wife on the front porch as we discuss the past, plan for the future, and maybe even smooch a bit.  It’s a quiet place of solitude to get away from the noise of the 21st century.

I imagine that front porches will be a thing of the past in the not-too-distant future.  Most people today don’t want to sit where there’s no air conditioning or heat 24/7.  They want their electronic toys/smartphones 24/7.

I want to encourage you to not allow the front porch of your house to be just an entrance to your house.  Stop awhile. Read, drink a cup of coffee, pray, meditate, and slow down a bit.  I know that you have a lot to do, and that you have a busy life.  But your aging parents and grandparents are wishing and praying that you would stop and chat awhile with them on the front porch.

Pull up a rocking chair, grab a tall glass of cold, sweet tea, and sit a spell.  I’ll be glad you did, and I hope you will, too.

My in-law’s house has four raised garden boxes in their back yard.  When they moved in a few months ago, they decided to plant some vegetables in those garden boxes.  My mother-in-law planted tomatoes, okra, and watermelon.  Later, we saw what looked to be two small corn stalks by the back patio, so I dug them up and planted them in the garden.  Not everything came up, and so there were some bare spaces in the garden.

This past Wednesday, my in-laws needed to go to Georgia for a two-day meeting, so Becky and I decided to go and buy a few more plants to put in the garden.  We bought some squash, lettuce, yellow pepper, sweet potato, and a packet of corn seeds since there were two small, lone stalks. 

As my wife was planting the corn seeds, I noticed on the seed packet that it read, “Days to Harvest 88.”  I thought, “Really?  Eighty-eight days?  I won’t even be here.”  I leave for Brazil in 46 days for our fifth term of missionary service, so someone else will be eating and enjoying those sweet, tender, hot-buttered, succulent corn-on-the-cob, and WE planted them!

And then it hit me: that’s the way it is sometimes regarding the spiritual harvest.  As Christians, we should be sowing the Seed of the Gospel, because you never know who will come after you to be able to “reap the harvest.”  It’s not important who reaps the harvest, but the one who plants the Seed is crucial.  If no Seed is planted, no fruit will be harvested.  If you sow little, a small crop will be harvested.  But if much Seed is planted, the crop will be greater.

Although I said that it’s not important “who” reaps the harvest, it is important that someone reaps it!  The sower may not even know the reaper, but both are necessary for the harvest to be gathered.  If there’s no sowing, there will be no harvest.  If there are no harvesters, the fruit will fall to destruction.

Jesus told His disciples some 2,000 years ago that the fields are white already to harvest (v. 35).  I won’t be here in 88 days to harvest corn, but it would be sad if no one went to harvest and eat the corn.

Christian friend, be faithful to plant the Seed, and keep your eyes open for “fruit” that is ready to be harvested.

If you went to your school or job and had a problem with a classmate or co-worker, would you give up on your education or quit your job, or would you try to resolve the problem and do what is necessary to make things right?

I hope that you would be mature enough to try and resolve the conflicts that you are having with another person, and not quit your education or employment.

The same thing goes for church.  Too many Christians will overlook the faults of a lost person at school or work, but refuse to try and resolve interpersonal conflicts with another believer.  Look in the mirror and you will see a Christian that isn’t perfect.

If you are having a problem with a fellow church member, don’t quit going to church over it.  Instead, pray for that person, and keep going to church to do everything possible to restore fellowship with that person.

Christians make up the family of God, and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.  We’re in the same family, and we’re on the same team.  We should all be striving for the same goal, not striving against members of our own family.

Fellow believer, I don’t know everything that is going on in your life, but I do know that God wants you to be faithful to church.  I also know that the devil does NOT want you to go to church, and he is working hard to keep you out of church.

Are you doing what God wants you to do, or are you doing what the devil wants?