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Mar 26th Monday’s Blog: “Facebook Devotions and Anemic Christians” by Lori Hatcher

I want to welcome this week’s guest blogger, Lori Hatcher, as she shares her inspiring message with us. Lori is a great writer with a sincere heart for the Lord. I just posted a review on her encouraging new devotional book: “Joy in the Journey ~ Encouragement for Homeschooling Moms.” If you are a homeschooling mother, this book is a must have!

I pray Lori’s message today encourages you to put God first. We have so many distractions today that pull our attention away from God. This message is a wonderful reminder to keep our priorities straight and put God first each day.

Facebook Devotions and Anemic Christians

By Lori Hatcher

It seems we are busier than ever. Finding time to read God’s word and pray seems to be more and more challenging. Oftentimes, after we’ve checked Facebook, our email, and our palm pilots in the morning, there just isn’t time for devotions.

But like skipping breakfast in the morning leaves us hungry and unprepared for the physical demands of our day, heading out the door with no spiritual “food” in our souls leaves us empty, malnourished, and unprepared for the spiritual demands of our day.

I believe our generation struggles even more with having a consistent quiet time because there are so many distractions in our lives.  Social media is a huge challenge.  Many of us wouldn’t think of walking out the door without checking email or Facebook, but don’t think twice about heading out without checking in with God.

Each of us face different competing distractions.  Pastor and speaker Chip Ingram gives a great example of making decisions in advance to help keep our priorities in order in his Bible study “Balancing Life’s Demands.” He shares how he set a goal to spend time in Bible reading and prayer every morning.  To help him be consistent, he decided in advance that because eating breakfast was very important to him, and he would never dream of leaving home in the morning without eating breakfast, that he would not allow himself to eat breakfast in the morning unless he had already read his Bible. His desire to eat breakfast helped motivate him to have his quiet time each day. It also put a priority on reading God’s word. By putting time in the Word ahead of anything else, it set the tone for his whole day.

My temptation has often been good literature. I will find myself spending an hour or two reading a book, but will reach the end of my day without having spent any time reading the most important book of all, the Bible. To help myself be consistent in having a quiet time, I decided that I will not read any other reading material until I have first read my Bible. This decision helps me keep first things first.

What competes with your time with God?

Is it television? Facebook? Surfing the internet? Talking with friends? Even good things can squeeze out the best thing of all. I challenge you to identify what is squeezing out your time with God, then reorder your priorities in order to put God first.

I know God will richly bless you for it.

“But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness,  and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Lori Hatcher is a transplanted Yankee living happily in the south with her husband, David, a youth minister, and faithful, four-footed friend, Winston. A 17-year homeschooling veteran with two young adult daughters, Lori has written a devotional book, Joy in the Journey — Encouragement for Homeschooling Moms, available soon from Lulu.com.  A Type-A personality who is learning to be still and sit at God’s feet, Lori writes from the overflow of her heart as God speaks to her.  Visit her blog, Be Not Weary, at http://www.lori-benotweary.blogspot.com.

*Thanks, Lori, for sharing your wonderful message with us and reminding us to put God first daily!

If this message blessed you, be sure to leave Lori an encouraging comment below. 🙂