I Suppose CliffsNotes Are Out

The title of chapter three in the study book Heart Wide Open is, I Suppose CliffsNotes are out.  That got me to thinking…”What are CliffsNotes anyway?”  I asked a few folks, and finally looked it up on Google.  The definition was, a series of student study guides….    It still didn’t make sense to me, so I looked up the Urban definition and here’s what it said:  

“I got the cliffnotes.” noun. Used to brush people off during a potentially long-winded story or explanation of current events.
When someone is talking or telling you a story and you don’t want to hear it, say “Thanks but I have the cliffnotes,” to shut them up. This works in many ways, like if someone asks if you’ve seen a movie, etc., you can say you have the cliffnotes (to the movie). You can experiment and enjoy (ticking) peopleoff.
by mike viviano June 13, 2007
 

In other words…

you use that phrase to let someone know you aren’t interested in hearing a long story.  I think the author was showing us that this is what we sometimes do to God when we “study” His Word.  We don’t want to take a lot of time…we just want to ‘get by’ with the bare minimum.  If we take notes on the sermon each Sunday, read a 2 minute devotional every morning…we think that’s enough.  We have done our reasonable service to God Almighty.  After all…we’re busy!  He shouldn’t expect any more from us…

 

It’s kind of like going to church on Sunday, and constantly looking at your watch.  I’ve seen some folks get up and walk out while the pastor was still preaching because it was 12:00 o’clock!  They figured they had ‘put their time in’ and done what ‘good little christian’s’ should do…it was Sunday…they went to church…that was all that was required of them…  WRONG!   My dad used to call those kinds of “christians”, Christionettes that only wanted to hear a sermonette.

 

You would not treat your husband in such a manner…or even your children.  Putting in the bare minimum is not what REAL love looks like!  And we, the Believer are likened unto the Bride of Christ!

 

God wants us to be honest with Him.  Like the author said, “I want to love Your Word, God, but I don’t! …. Help me hunger for Your truth!”  It’s kind of like going on a diet…and believe me…I AM AN AUTHORITY ON DIETS!  You may not have guessed that by looking at me…but I have been on every diet imaginable!  What I find is, when I first begin my diet, my body craves the sugar, the empty carbs, the junk, the fast food!  But the longer I stick to my decision, and keep my goal in site, the less my body craves the bad…it actually begins to crave the good food I have begun to feed it.  Shellie, the author said this, “We become hungry for what we feed on, and the more we feed on God and His Word, the more of Him we crave.”  So true!  

 

She also said, and I’m paraphrasing, if we truly want God to get a hold of us…we only need ask Him, and seek this fellowship in His Word.  If you seek Him…you WILL find Him.  He will grab hold of you and never let you go!

 

Reminds me of one of my favorite songs called, He Is Right Here, sung by Kaden Slay.  You should check it out on You Tube!   Part of the song says, He is right here to handle a world full of cares, to answer the calls of my prayers…He is right here.  He is right here to catch me as I’m letting go…to grab me as I lose control.  He is right here!  He’s big enough and I’m not too heavy…He’s big enough so I’m gonna let Him carry me…

Taking sermon notes is a good way to learn…but search the Scriptures for yourself!  God will reveal many wonderful things to you!

 

I leave you with this parting thought…”The point is not how much of the Bible you get through…but how much of the Bible gets through to you!” –Shellie Rushing Tomlinson