We live in an age of technology where almost everyone carries a cellular phone with them. We can do all sort of things with our cell phones that would have been impossible to think about 100 years ago, and our cell phones make a lot of things in our lives easier and more convenient. Of course, one of the first things we read in the instruction manual that comes with our cell phone, tells us to plug our phone into a source of electrical power so that it can be charged.
I’m sure we’ve all experienced those moments when we neglected to plug our phone in, and we get a message on the phone telling us our cell phone is running low on power. And the longer we keep it away from it’s source of power, the weaker the cell phone becomes, until it will eventually be nothing more than a paper weight made of metals and plastics. When it has been away from it’s source of power for too long, it doesn’t function well, and eventually cannot even function at all.
The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” And Jesus said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
We cannot live this Christian life in our own strength. If we buy a cell phone that has never been charged from the source of power it needs, it will not even turn on. It will be worthless to us. It requires power to operate correctly. And as a Christian, we require power to operate and live the way God intends us to live. That power is found ONLY in God.
Just like a cell phone that has to be plugged in frequently (daily really) to be recharged, we ALSO need to be plugged into Jesus Christ and God’s Word to be DAILY recharged and get the strength we need to function properly. The longer we go without reading God’s Word and spending time in prayer, the weaker we become, until soon we stop being able to function at all as a Christian.
Jesus said, “…APART from Me, you can do NOTHING!” Spending time with God isn’t just something we do to take up time, it is something that is CRITICAL. It is the SOURCE of our STRENGTH. It is THROUGH HIM and HIS POWER ALONE that we can live how He wants us to live and function as He commands us to.
Don’t neglect what is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to your life each day. Skip a meal if you have to. Don’t spend as much time watching television if needed. Don’t hang out with your friends as long as usual if necessary. BUT DON’T NEGLECT YOUR DAILY TIME WITH GOD! For without Him, WE CAN DO NOTHING!!