Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

Turbo vs. Puny

Several years ago I received a professional turbo hair dryer as a gift. The performance of this dryer was impressive! It was loud, powerful, and quickly got the job done in seconds. Recently, I picked up the hair dryer and, for some reason,  examined it and noticed that the air-intake desperately needed to be cleaned. So I took it apart to remove the dust and lint that had accumulated. The next time I used it, I was blown away (pun intended) by how powerful it worked! Slowly, over time, I hadn’t noticed the decline in the performance of the hair dryer. It was still working, but not as efficiently as it did when it was new. Instead of the original five-star rating, it had plummeted to a puny, pitiful three-star and I hadn’t even noticed. After a thorough cleaning, the hair dryer was restored to its original turbo power and performance.

Believers need to be careful not to lose our power, fervor, and love for God and His kingdom. We must be watchful not to slip into becoming part of the large masses who either don’t know Christ or are just casually acquainted with Him. A.W. Tozer hit the nail on the head when he said, “Take nothing for granted. Go back to the grass roots. Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross, follow your Lord and pay no heed to the passing religious vogue. The masses are always wrong. In every generation, the number of righteous is small. Be sure you are among them.”

When it comes to being a Christ follower, our spiritual life is serious business. We simply can’t be asleep at the wheel because when we’re asleep we aren’t aware of what’s happening. I had no idea my hair dryer was not very powerful any more. I hadn’t noticed its gradual decline due to the simple fact I hadn’t routinely maintained it. If we don’t maintain our walk with Christ every day, then one thing after another will begin to break down. Try operating your lawn mower without ever changing the oil and see how that works out. Try boiling a pot of beans and not checking on it every few minutes and see how that turns out. Try never brushing your teeth and see how you like dentures.

Try not giving God a minute of your time to pray and thank Him for His goodness and see how ungrateful you become. Try not reading/studying God’s Word and see how ignorant and powerless you become. One of the strong points in selling my late husband’s Suzuki Boulevard was the fact that it had been well-maintained for 18 years. When the buyer checked the oil, it was a light yellow color — and he was impressed. Maintaining our relationship with God is of utmost importance. If we want to be powerful instead of puny, we most certainly can — but the ball is in our court. How bad do we want it?

Apostle Paul writes to the Church in Ephesus: “I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Ephesians 3:16,17,19 NLT).

The Key: If your spiritual power has turned puny, just clean out your air-intake by spending time with God every day.