It was Jesus’ very first day of public ministry. He entered the synagogue in Capernaum and taught - “and they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). There in the synagogue, He forced an unclean spirit to leave a man. The crowds were shocked at His power! Later that same day, Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever. Fame of Him spread so quickly that “that evening at sundown they brought to Him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons” (Mark 1:32-34). What a busy day! After such a full day, Jesus was very likely exhausted. However, the next day, Jesus rose very early, “while it was still dark,” and “departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed” (Mark 1:35). Even though Jesus had just finished a full day of serving God by teaching and healing, Jesus didn’t ‘take it easy’ the next day. He didn’t sleep in or start out late. No, he rose before everyone else and spent time with God.
It’s easy for Bible reading to be crowded out of our schedules. My family and I are reading the Bible chronologically this year (see link on the sidebar to the right!), and it’s easy to fall behind in the reading plan. If you’re like me, when you have an unexpectedly busy day, or when you just have a lot to do, Bible reading quickly gets moved aside. It’s easy for a day to pass without spending time reading the Bible.
Hudson Taylor said, "Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” I love that image! Taylor likens our daily life to a concert, and he encourages us to “tune our instrument” before the concert. No musician plays in a concert without making sure that their instruments play every note like they should. To tune an instrument, musicians play a correct note on another instrument or a tuner, then play the corresponding note on their instruments to make sure that they match. When the notes on the tuner match the notes on the instrument, the instrument is successfully tuned, and can play any song without sounding out of place. Likewise, we should spend time with God each day - and align our wills with His - before striving to live for Him throughout our daily routine.
The dictionary defines a “priority” as “something given or meriting attention before competing alternatives”. In other words, priorities are things that we give ‘first place’ to; priorities have our true devotion. Since we are Christians, communication with our Savior and Lord should be “top priority” for us. No matter what else is going on or how much we have to do, reading the Bible and prayer should be at the top of our list.
I’m still a little behind in my Bible reading plan, but I’m catching up (I’m closer than I was last week). Tomorrow I plan on rising early to tune my instrument. I’m looking forward to the concert.
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