Spiritual Springboard

This Our Daily Bread says nothing about springboards, diving, or anything aquatic. But it did serve as a springboard for my own thought process.

Through all the preaching I've heard--the informative, the convicting, and the comical preaching--the best and most productive is that which launches me into God's word on my own ... like a springboard, if you will. Any preacher worth listening to preaches with no intention of filling his audience's brains with all they need to live as Christ to their world. Instead, he or she preaches as God's mouthpiece, allowing His Holy Spirit to convince and convict those with ears to hear, of voids, needs, and sin in their lives.

Therein enters the Spiritual Springboard, launching seekers into God's word on a holy quest for His customized, tailor-made Truth. There we will find the true filet mignon of God's word, fork-tender and palatable to our yearning heart.

The same truth, however, delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer on cold steel, can harden the listeners' hearts against conviction. This should alert preachers to their need for intensive prayer right along with their in-depth study, because a good word delivered out of turn can do great damage.