So life has been busy around our household and I haven't been able to blog as much as I would like.
But, after reading a very interesting article by Jon Acuff about blogging, I'm going to try a schedule. Here are the following days and topics I'm going to do my very best to blog about.
Monday - Since I weigh in on this day, I'll blog about weight loss - "Melioration Monday"
Tuesday - Free topic
Wednesday - "Weight Loss Wednesday" - a blog about my weight loss stuff, recipes and so forth
Thursday - "Theology Thursday" - I can almost hear someone rolling their eyes...
Friday - "5 for Friday" - top five lists I find about topics or that I make up on the spot
So since today is Melioration Monday I'll talk about my weigh in. Last week I weighed in at 331 lbs. Today, I was up to 338. My wife is convinced something is wrong with the scale... Time will tell.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Time flies, even when you aren't having fun
Last night, I posted a Bible verse on Facebook. I don't normally do that, because I'm one of those people. You know, those people. I like to talk about the verse and pick it apart and ask questions about it. Here it is:
Proverbs 23:17
Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.
What really stuck me wasn't the second part. We can read about fearing the LORD all over the Bible. What really caught me, and got me thinking was the first part. Do I envy sinners? I realized that I have in the past. Not recently. But I have. And if you're honest, so have you.
"I wish I wasn't a Christian, just for one night, so I could go get drunk right now and forget about this mess."
"I wish I could just tell ____ off, let him/her know what I really think about them."
"I wish I could..."
Proverbs 23:17
Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.
What really stuck me wasn't the second part. We can read about fearing the LORD all over the Bible. What really caught me, and got me thinking was the first part. Do I envy sinners? I realized that I have in the past. Not recently. But I have. And if you're honest, so have you.
"I wish I wasn't a Christian, just for one night, so I could go get drunk right now and forget about this mess."
"I wish I could just tell ____ off, let him/her know what I really think about them."
"I wish I could..."
Be honest. You've said that stuff. Maybe not what I wrote, or maybe not even out loud. But we've all envied sinners. That's why God's word says not to do it. What should we do instead? “Continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.” What does that mean? Let's see:
Psalm 111:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His
praise endures forever!
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 14:26
In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
Deuteronomy 10:12
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Luke 12:5
But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!
Just some food for thought...
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Think
Since I recommended some new music last time, I thought I would recommend a book.
If you go to Christianaudio.com now you can get a ton of free stuff. I recommend John Piper's audiobook, Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God.
I know, I know. Most people wouldn't want to read this book, especially evangelical Christians. We want everything spelled out, with clever rhyming schemes and pretty pictures. But, still, Piper presents an excellent case for using your melon for more than holding your glasses or a place to store your finger when you think no one is looking.
We should do more than read the Bible - we should study it! I know that's scary; it was for me for a long time. But think about it this way. If you knew the amount of information related to your job that you know about the Bible, would you still have your job? I probably wouldn't. But isn't our relationship to God more important than our job? YES! So why aren't we studying our Bibles more often?
This might seem like an attack on the current state of the church - and in some ways, I guess it is. We have been taught to retain information, not think about it. I'm retraining my brain right now and it's hard work. But when I sit and ponder where my faith may be in a year, 5 years, 10 years... I can only thank God that He saw fit to provide me the grace to work on it.
If you go to Christianaudio.com now you can get a ton of free stuff. I recommend John Piper's audiobook, Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God.
I know, I know. Most people wouldn't want to read this book, especially evangelical Christians. We want everything spelled out, with clever rhyming schemes and pretty pictures. But, still, Piper presents an excellent case for using your melon for more than holding your glasses or a place to store your finger when you think no one is looking.
We should do more than read the Bible - we should study it! I know that's scary; it was for me for a long time. But think about it this way. If you knew the amount of information related to your job that you know about the Bible, would you still have your job? I probably wouldn't. But isn't our relationship to God more important than our job? YES! So why aren't we studying our Bibles more often?
This might seem like an attack on the current state of the church - and in some ways, I guess it is. We have been taught to retain information, not think about it. I'm retraining my brain right now and it's hard work. But when I sit and ponder where my faith may be in a year, 5 years, 10 years... I can only thank God that He saw fit to provide me the grace to work on it.
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