Think About It—God’s word is the key to answered prayer.
Read About It—John 15:1-7
I love to play around on computers. My laptop, a beloved and monstrous Sony Vaio, has served me well. But before my Vaio, my personal computer wasn’t anything to rave about. It got the job done, but it was very basic. I was constantly having to delete files and programs in order to save valuable hard drive space and give my overworked CPU a rest.
One day, I got so frustrated with all of the problems I was having that I decided to “re-format” my hard drive. In case you’re not quite sure what that means, it’s deleting everything and starting over. The goal of course is to have a better organized, cleaner system when you’re done. It’s kind of like erasing that sentence 50 times and then finally chunking the thing and grabbing a new sheet of paper. So that’s what I did. I had no idea what I was doing.
When you erase your hard drive and try to start over, a funny thing happens. Unless you know how to re-format the thing, then you’ve got yourself a very large and expensive paper weight. Without the operating system (in my case, MS Windows), you can’t do anything! You’re computer doesn’t just have amnesia, it has no brain. Have you ever noticed how poorly people function without a brain? I did what any intelligent person would do—I panicked, complained and then took the doorstop to someone who could turn it back into a computer!
In a spiritual sense, you and I are like super-computers. Our souls are like the operating systems. If you’re soul is full of bugs or burdened down by excess programming and residual lines of code, you are in for a bumpy and frustrating ride. But then the Master Programmer comes along and gives you a new and improved operating system! It’s called the Word of God! Now everything runs smooth. And as long as you keep this operating system running at all times, obeying it’s code, the Programmer is happy! Every request that your system makes, He will gladly supply! Why? Because it’s part of your programming; programming that He designed!
Okay, go back and read John 15:1-7 one more time.
Now for the REAL stretch—Disciples of Christ…
Know God—In what way did God reveal Himself to you as you read His Word?
Live for God—What one lifestyle change is God calling you to make?
Love Others—In what way is God calling you to minister to someone in need?
Bear Fruit—In what ways will you set the example and the standard for others to follow?