We’ve been talking about writing down your God Hunt “Sightings” each day. So, you only have two or three entries a week. That’s two or three more times than what you were aware of before you started writing down such matters. And what if it stays at only two or three a week your whole first year? Do you realize that you will still have a written account of between 104 and 156 times you believe you sensed God touching your life in a unique way? And how many people do you know who can make such a claim?
I know I’ve written this to you already, but I want to make certain that you don’t miss my point. Key to everything I’m talking about is your having a notebook where these God Hunt “Sightings” are recorded. No personal notebook to write them in and before long the spiritual exercise, as simple and as delightful as it is, will be forgotten—a casualty of other matters crowding it out.
Get a notebook, however, and begin getting used to writing in it, and there’s a good chance the exercise will become a positive habit. And three months, six months, a year from now you’ll still be doing it.
You may even come up with categories I’ve not mentioned. My four include these ones you are now quite familiar with:
- Any obvious answer to prayer.
- Any unexpected evidence of God’s care.
- Any help to do God’s work in the world.
- Any evidence of unusual linkage and timing.
These four may well fail to cover every way God shows Himself in our lives, but they represent a very good beginning.
So, have I convinced you yet to join those of us who are God Hunters for life? I Spy God—A God Hunt Book for Kids spells it out this way:
God leaves more clues in the world for finding him than just the clues of answered prayer. But it often takes a really good detective to see them.
For instance, you may not have thought to pray that there would be a Christian teacher in your public school; but if you discover your new teacher is a Christian and is pleased to have you and your Christian ideas in her class, there’s a clue that God is caring for you.Write this evidence down. If you don’t, you will forget it. That’s Step 2 of the God Hunt Strategy: Keep a Record of Your Evidence.
Your grandparents may give you money for your birthday. It’s exactly the amount you needed to buy something you really wanted. What’s more, you hadn’t told anyone what you wanted.
That’s an “I spy.” An “I spy” is any time God works in your everyday life and you feel really thankful.
Write your “I spy” down. You are keeping a record of the evidence. It is part of the God HuntStrategy.
Maybe you fell on your bicycle, and a car behind you came to a screeching stop just a few inches from your head.
That’s an “I spy!” God protected you from death or injury. You feel shaken, but grateful. Write it down.
Maybe you were playing baseball, and the ump called “STRIKE!” but you knew the ball was way outside of home plate. Ordinarily, you would have screamed and hollered and acted most un-Christian. But, for some reason, you kept your cool and felt really good about yourself—though still a little mad about the ump’s lousy call.
“I spy!” Hurrah! God is giving you the strength to overcome a lousy, loud-mouth attitude. You are becoming a good sport. Write it down. You are collecting the evidence.
Maybe you have gone fishing. Suddenly you see the world around you. It is so beautiful, more beautiful than you had ever noticed. You decide that God must have made the world. It couldn’t just have happened.
“I spy!” You have seen a clue about God in his creation. Don’t forget this moment. Write it down.
After some time of looking for “I spy,” you will become a really good spiritual detective.
Can’t make it much more clear than that.
As usual, since tomorrow is a Wednesday, I’m going to focus my blog post on giving pastors a “Preaching Tip.” However, I invite you to come back on Thursday when I’ll continue talking about going on a God Hunt.
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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?
Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?
David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.
We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.
For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.
