June 27, 2016

“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, but the boat was already far from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.…”  Matthew 14:22-24

We have become so dependent upon our electronic devices that we always need to have a charger at hand, because we cannot survive if they happen to lose battery power. It is a fact that once a week, in my home, someone is looking for a phone charger that they have either lost or someone has borrowed. It is a constant search. The truth of the matter is that we have lost so many chargers that we will find the cheapest one to buy because we are always buying a new one. And so, I was thrilled to spy a cheap phone charger in the Dollar Spot section the other day. The real hidden truth that really bugs me, is the fact that the manufacturers of these devices keep changing them, in small annoying ways, requiring us to constantly buy new chargers. In fact I have two baskets full of chargers at home that no longer have a device to go with them.

So, our children often ask “What did people do in the “olden days” when they didn’t have the electronic devices we have for entertainment?” Well, they found other ways to entertain themselves. They played board games, they played card games, they watched movies, and they actually talked to one another. Did you know that there is now an “APP” you can put on your phone to remind you to talk or play with your kids every so often? That is a sad commentary on our lives, yes?

So, what did Jesus do to recharge his batteries, so to speak? He usually found a quiet place to pray. He went up the mountain, or in the garden and started texting with G-d – that is texting the old-fashioned way – prayer. Just like our devices always need recharging, well my friends, so do we. We need time to recharge our faith batteries by going to G-d in quiet, thoughtful and un-interrupted prayer. Try it some time.

Pastor Dave