In an article written by J.D. Tant, in the Firm Foundation, on March 23, 1909, a complement was paid to Carroll Kendrick, a fellow Texas gospel preacher. Brother Tant wrote, “Kendrick was the most incessant worker and most thorough Bible teacher I ever worked with. Seven hours a day was his limit to work in a protracted meeting, and no day fell below that.” Can you imagine seven hours a day of Bible study for many days or ever weeks? The further explanation of the meeting was listed as one hour of Bible reading followed by one hour of preaching explaining the passage, twice a day, then thirty minutes in song, thirty minutes of reading and prayer, and one hour of preaching explaining the reading. Brother Tant then went on to explain how people of that day had started to reject what had once been the norm. He wrote, “But brethren have grown so busy of late years, and have so much to care about that none have time to camp at a meeting, and at few places do they have time to have a service in the day time. So the preacher, instead of getting in seven hours a day in his meeting, is compelled to waste his time and put only thirty minutes each night, as few can stand to hear a preacher longer than that.”
Brother Tant, and preachers of that day, would weep over the condition of the gospel meeting and worship services in our day. Today we have cars to carry us quickly from work or home to a meeting location. We sit in air conditioned buildings on cushioned pews while in that day they might walk, ride in a buckboard, or ride a horse 20 miles or more to hear the preaching of the gospel and to stand up during the time, or sit on hard pews if they were lucky. There were no cold water fountains or indoor plumbed bathrooms. It was not a comfortable environment but they came not because they “had to” or because they felt an obligation. They came because they wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ and His church.
What is our attitude about gospel meetings, worship services, Bible classes, and other opportunities for study? Do we make every effort to attend and participate in the studies? Will we drive to far away places to hear the gospel being preached? Or have we become so much like the world and denominational patterns that we expect to come and be entertained with words of human wisdom, pep rally type atmosphere, and programs such as drama, singing groups, dance, etc.? Have our jobs, our activities, our possessions and our hobbies become our “gods”? I am mindful of the words of 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” Our love for the world is standing in the way of spiritual growth.
What about our home study and prayer? Do you make it a point each day to study from your Bible? Do you read each day? Do you pray each day? Do you sing songs of praise each day? Do you honestly seek to be closer to God each and every day of your life?
In all honesty, how do you use our time? If you wrote down how much time you spent on the internet, watching TV, exchanging email, texting, talking on the phone, visiting at the coffee shop, watching sporting events, going out to eat, reading books, magazines or newspapers, listening to music, or just visiting with friends and family, how much time would you have spent on these items in a weeks time. Now if we wrote down the time we spent in Bible reading, study, prayer and singing (excluding time at the church building), how would they compare? My guess is most of us would be embarrassed to show our results publicly. Change that today: get back to the Bible!
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