Lessons from Nature, Part 2

A couple days ago I was at a local metro park again, walking, praying, thinking, and feeding the chickadees. Had a number of "hits" today, more than in recent days, which was nice. It got me to thinking again about the matter of trust (see previous post) and feeding.

Sometimes the chickadees fly to a nearby tree branch, then sit there eying you and the food in your hand. They may flit about a bit while trying to decide whether to come in for a landing and get a treat. Others fly swiftly over and almost bounce off your hand, grabbing a seed in the brief moment their feet are touching it. Others fly to a nearby branch, then with only a slight pause, come for a seed. Once in a while a chickadee will sit on your hand, either just looking around or after taking a seed or while sorting through the seeds to get just the right one. A couple of times I've had one actually eat the seed while sitting on my hand! (Got a little worried there about my hand being pecked.) Some personal applications came to mind as I stood there watching the birds coming.

As believers there is a "feast" of truth and of blessing available to us every day. God has given us His truth in the Bible, and also "blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3) He invites us to feast on the truth in His Word and enjoy the blessings He has given us. How do we respond to that invitation?

Do we eagerly get our Bibles and study them? How much time do we actually spend studying the Bible any given day? Can we say, Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and they were to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart?

Or, do we rush in, grab a morsel, and take off with it, maybe or maybe not meditating on it the rest of the day? Remember the man looking in the mirror in the book of James? He looked, went away, and forgot what he'd seen.

Or, do we rush in, pass our eyes over the words ("read" them), feel like we've met our obligation to God for the day, and rush back out to our daily activities? Or maybe we check "devotions" off our list.

Another temptation is to think that because we've been in church (maybe for years) or because we own a Bible (and Christian books) that we have the knowledge. Not so; we have to work at it to make the knowledge our own--not just head knowledge of the facts, but heart knowledge that applies it to our lives.

Do I trust God to help me study His Word? Do I earnestly pray and ask for His help? Do I ask for clarity, understanding, wisdom, and help in applying what I read in His Word? Do I really believe this feast exists, and that it is available to me?

Preaching to myself, here, folks. May the Holy Spirit do His convicting work in my heart and give me the power to obey, against my natural (fleshly) inclinations.