Thursday, February 13, 2014
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A self-respecting hummingbird would never have been caught where we used to live, because there were just way too many people. But now we are in a quieter area where we get to see those little guys. They're the original helicopters you know. They hover; they dart around with their wings moving so fast you can hardly see them. If you want to have them visit your place, your best bet (My wife tells me) is to hang a hummingbird feeder outside. You fill it with this sweet sugar nectar, (It's delicious. I tried some) and before long they zoom up to that feeder, they insert their long straw, I mean beak, and then they start loading up on the sweet stuff.
I saw a documentary that said those little guys need constant sugar to keep going at that speed. They consume up to half their weight in sugar. There's just one problem: they only live about two years. No wonder!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hummingbird Believers."
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew chapter 13. Jesus is describing how different people finish what God starts in their life as He sows the seed of His Word. Verse 5, "Some of the seed fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no roots."
Verse 20 explains that. He says, "The one that received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the Word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly falls away. Now, obviously here's the kind of Christian no one intends to be; the kind that doesn't make it. It's like people getting married. No one goes to the altar saying, "I think we might get divorced someday, but we'll give it a shot." No, no! Many do end up that way, but they don't intend to.
In that wonderful moment when a person makes a commitment to Jesus Christ, he or she wants this relationship to be the one that they've been looking for all their life. And it is. But some believers "wither" and "fall away" in Jesus' words. Why? Because too many become hummingbird believers. They live on spiritual sugar. They have no root and they don't last long. They fly around in a great spiritual burst and then they're suddenly gone.
Spiritual sugar! The concerts, the special services, "When's the next retreat?", "Let's go to camp!", "When's the next conference?", "Let's get to another special spiritual event!", "Oh, there's a spiritual celebrity coming to town." You can even live on a weekly high at church. And like most sugar highs, these spiritual shots will get you going, they really will. But they won't keep you going. Eventually you're going to crash.
No, Jesus suggested a better idea in Luke 6:47-48. "I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. And when a flood came the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built." Unshakable Christians, unsinkable Christians - a rock Christian. He's the one who goes for the protein, not just for the sugar. That means regular, disciplined, personal time in God's Word, looking for a word for you today so you can hear God saying, "I am Jesus, and I want to have A Word With You today about (and He'll talk to you)." He wants to have A Word With You every day. It takes a disciplined commitment to be an eagle that keeps on soaring; a commitment to being in God's Book every day. No one can have this time - non-negotiable.
Maybe you're tired of great spiritual rushes followed by long stretches of spiritual nothing. Pretty soon you're going to burn out on Christian sugar. It's time to step up to the diet of champions.
Hummingbirds live on sugar, and they don't live long. Neither do Christians who live on sugar. So start showing up every day at the other feeder - the one marked Bible, God's Word - and you'll be flying for a long, long time.