Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Thought for the day

This is my bible. I love the way it looks, I love the way it feels, I love the way it sounds when I turn the pages, and a few other ridiculous things. ;) But more importantly, I LOVE what's inside. It's odd though, even though I love reading it, I can't seem to make myself sit down and  actually do it. Paster Russ once said that if anyone of us ever told him that we "didn't have time" to read our bibles that he would come kick us in the shins. haha! he was kidding of course, but the passion behind the statement was powerful. There is no excuse for why we as Gods children don't spend more time with him. As he continued he also said, "Every relationship is sustained by communication. This applies to all relationships. If you don't talk to a friend for a long time you grow distant, So what makes our relationship with God so different? "

 He's always there to listen and he'll never turn you away; so why is it so hard to keep up our end? I think one of the main reasons is laziness. That, and a serious lack of understanding and comprehension of the grace and love that Jesus gave us when he died on the cross. So what can we do when we feel lazy? How can we maintain our end of the relationship? Tell me what you think! :D 

7 comments:

Anna Kristine said...

Way to go Pastor Russ!
I think basically what we have to do is just fight laziness and apathy by turning right around and kicking it in the shins. Refuse to give into it. PRAY. Ask God to give you the strength to fight it. It's not easy but I don't think anything worth doing is all that easy. We have to JUST DO IT, even when we don't feel like it. It's not about comfort. But when we make ourselves uncomfortable we tend to need God more. I struggle with this too. One really good way to help you spend time with God daily is to have some one keep you accountable. Pick some one who is seriously going to keep you accountable and challenge you to grow, not some one who will pat you on the back and say "It's okay...we all struggle". I think Pastor Russ' attutude is one that is filled with a passionate love for God. Kick 'em in the shins because it's not that hard to sit down and spend time with God. We make it 100 times harder than it ought to be, and then we act like it's no big deal when we fail. Would they be saying that if we were like. "Umm...yeah...I just can't seem to find time to talk to my wife. I'm always distracted by fixing the car and mowing the lawn." I don't think we'd find that kind of behavior as acceptable. Why do we so easily act as though brushing God off is no big deal?
Okay...I'll get off my soap box for now. :) Beware though, I may have more thoughts later.
Good thinking though Becks. ;)
~Anna

Unknown said...

Sweet! I love it! Keep em coming!

SisterlyLove said...

Talk to Him each and every day, tell Him our thoughts, our displeasure's, our feelings, our everyday circumstances. Speak with Him of our joy's and passion's and know that He is watching and listening to every conversation, every situation, everything that goes on in our filthy lives!:) He is always watching, so look to Him in troubles, in pleasures, in craziness, in peace. And He will return all your questions, your problems, your thoughts with the right answer and solution. And sometimes the right way does not seem like the easiest or the best. But it is. And you will see it by and by. I know I don't know 1/800000000th of anything before I consult God. I come up with crazy answers when the right one is stairing me in the face all the time. but I was too headstrong and foolish to not see it in the first place. Seek GOD with EVERYTHING! xoxoxoxoxoxaimee
Love you Beck! Well said.

Unknown said...

awesome! I need to keep posting things like this. ;)

Anna Kristine said...

You should. :)

Unknown said...

I will.

haha. :D

Anonymous said...

You know, while praying and spending time in God's word are huge parts of our relationship with him, there's a lot of other things we can do to spend time with him too.
If you look at Corinthians 12 it talks a lot about spiritual "gifts" or manifestations. It's a hugely brushed-over and not very much taught on subject.
You can talk to God through prayer and God can communicate with your holy spirit (God in Christ in you) through manifestations. Most of them are situation specific (like word of knowledge and wisdom) but others you can control through your own free will at any time like Speaking in Tongues, Interpretation, and Prophecy. It seems confusing, but if you look at what the word says it's really pretty simple.
Speaking in tongues is made mostly for your private prayer life. It says in the first part of Corinthians chapter 14 verse 4 that speaking in tongues edifies you, which means it builds you up. It also says in Romans 8:26 and 27 that our holy spirit makes "intercession" for us. Meaning that in your prayer life, if you are speaking in tongues to yourself, your spirit is praying for what you don't know how to pray for.
Most importantly though, speaking in tongues builds you up and blesses you and your spirit.
Anyway, I'll tell you more later when I get the chance. Love you!!! <3