The cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.
Mark 4:19, The Amplified Bible
Did you know that the seemingly innocent things in your everyday life can suffocate your spiritual life if you allow it?
A friend of mine said the Lord told her in prayer one day that this nation had become a nation of maintenance men. You have so many things to maintain, He told her. You maintain your house. You maintain your car, your yard, your machines, your hair….
It’s true. You can become a maintainer of so many natural things that you don’t have any time left to maintain your own spirit!
When you find yourself in that situation, it’s time to simplify your life. I’ve had to learn that myself. Now when I’m considering something I think I need, I don’t just count the cost in dollars and cents. I think about how much time it will take to maintain it. I check to see if I can spiritually afford it.
Second Timothy 2:4 tells us not to get entangled in the affairs of this life. One thing I’ve learned over the last 45 years: Nothing is as important as spending time in prayer and in the Word with the Father. Absolutely nothing in my life is as vital as that.
Mark 4:18-24
