Father, thank You for allowing me to be one of the blessed ones who get to interact with many of the children of our school district. Use me and my colleagues to touch those lives each day. Amen.

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I come from a very musically inclined family – my dad’s side in particular. For years my granddad most of his family traveled as evangelists. He preached and he and the family provided a wonderful ministry in music with singing and a variety of instruments. They even recorded a couple of albums, which included at least one song that my granddad wrote!

When I entered college, my goal was to find a position as a full-time minister of music. But the one big hurdle I had was, learning to play the piano well. I played a little, but I had it in my head that I needed to be a decent pianist if I was going to work with a choir. When I started school, I wasn’t even at a college level in proficiency. But after a semester of lessons, I got to that point. I worked and worked my entire college career but was eventually stymied by the inability to memorize all the music I needed for my senior recital.

I was blessed to marry a wonderfully talented pianist (she is still my pianist!) so I’ve never really needed to use the skills I had developed. I played some for my own enjoyment early on but as time moved forward, I played less and less. So, at this point, my proficiency is probably lower than when I went to college.

God’s Word is so important for our spiritual growth. And as Jesus said,

“So be careful how you listen; for whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a longing for truth], even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.” Luke 8:18 (AMP)

So basically it boils down to, “Use it or lose it!”

As all of us know, from many areas of our lives – playing an instrument, keeping up on new developments in your line of work, even how our bodies decline when we become inactive for longer and longer periods of time – that growth is of the utmost importance. Spiritually we are always growing. But the thing is, either we are growing stronger…or we are growing weaker. There is no standing still and just maintaining. How are you growing?

Lord Jesus, give us a hunger for Your Word. If we have little desire for it may we pray for a yearning within our hearts that pulls us to it, for only in time spent with You will we find the growth and development that we so desperately need to remain spiritually fit. Amen.

Mar 17th, 2020, Tues, 6:15 pm