Don't apply the "cheap and easy" mentality of consumerism to relationships with God and each other.

Have you ever noticed how long it takes to make microwave popcorn? "Delicious popcorn in only three minutes!" Well, that's what it says on the bag, but standing there waiting for it to get done seems like an eternity.

We live in a microwave society. We've come to expect that everything in life will take only three minutes. But the best things, the most important things in life, cannot be microwaved. Our relationship with God and our fellowship with one another are two of the greatest things in life, yet we have scarcely understood how these relationships grow. It troubles me to see things like The One-Minute Study Bible. Do we really expect to have a meaningful relationship with God if all we can give him is one minute of our time? In the same way, we fill our schedules with so many "good" things, that we don't have time for true fellowship with other believers in Jesus.

When I first came ...