Just do it.

This week I finally did it.  I started running again.  I have not be running since the middle of January.  So as I was trying to breathe and not really enjoying my run.  I began thinking, one of the main reasons I really enjoy running.  I began thinking about how studying the Bible is a lot like running - at least for me.

Running is something I know I should do.  Reading and studying the Bible is something I know I should do.

I just need to do it. No hesitating, no procrastinating, no excuses, no fear.  I just need to press on and do it.

I think the same reasons that hold us back from things like exercising or doing other things that we know are good for us are some of the same things that hold us back from God's Word.  We make excuses, that we don't have the time, we don't know where to begin, we don't know the right way to do it.

Just like in running, you are never going to get better at it if you don't get out there and do it.  You are never going to get better at reading, studying, and applying the Bible to your life if you don't do it.

What holds you back from reading the Bible? 

There is not just one way to read the Bible.  Dive in and try something, if it doesn't work for you try something else.  Maybe you have always wanted to read the Bible straight through from beginning to end.  Try it.  Maybe this never worked for you.  Try a topical reading plan.  If those don't seem right, find a study guide that will walk you through.  Just keep trying things until you find the right way for you to keep reading your Bible.

What works for you?
Is there a reading plan you have wanted to try?

Reading With Friends

 We have come so far as a society.  We can play games like Words With Friends with people all around the country, even all over the world.  We can post pictures and party invites and even what we ate for lunch instantly on Twitter and Facebook for all our friends and family to see.  But, many people choose to read and study the Bible in solitude.

Is this how we are supposed to study the Bible?  How do we get the most out of God's Word and what it means for our life?

Prior to the invention of the printing press, it was rare for people to own books, including the Bible.  This meant that people read and studied the Bible as a community.  Once books became affordable, more and more people could own their own Bible. This also began to change the way we read and studied the Bible.  We began to read the Bible on our own in a quite corner of our home.  There were no other people their to discuss and share with as we read.

How does this change our understanding of the Bible?  How does this affect our accountability to continue studying God's Word?

As society has continued to change and we move more and more from printed material to digital, how do we use new technologies to become a more connected community of believers?  Can we once again read and study the Bible together, but with and even larger community?  Can this ever replace a face to face community?

Here are some thoughts from Bobby Gruenewald, the Innovation Leader for the YouVersion online Bible...

http://qideas.org/video/the-bible-in-a-technological-age.aspx

How do I use this book?!?!

While discussing what topics people wanted me to cover on this blog, one came up that really stuck with me.

I am going to begin a series on how we read and study the Bible and apply it to our lives in today's world.

When this topic came up, I really felt excited.  Every time I really dig into studying the Bible, I love the feeling I get when I realize how relevant and true it is still today.  However, sometimes, at first glance the Bible can be confusing and even intimidating.  It can even seem like it is no longer applicable to today's world.

I believe with everything within me that the Bible is God's Living Word and is just as relevant and just as important to our lives as it was to the people that are in the event recorded in the Bible.

When we study and pray and discuss the Bible, it becomes so much more than just words on paper.

How do you view the Bible?  Is it alive and relevant to your life?
How do you read and study the Bible? Do you read the Bible?
Do you feel disconnected from the stories?
Do you feel the Holy Spirit speaking to you through the pages of your Bible?
Is it just and old and outdated book?

No matter what your views, please follow this series and  join in the discussion.

With words like bullets...

This week I am just going to link to two post from my personal blog.  It has been dormant lately, but these posts seem very relavant this week.

With words like bullets...

The silent witness

The more talk, the less truth; 

the wise measure their words. 

The speech of a good person is worth waiting for; 

the blabber of the wicked is worthless. 

The talk of a good person is rich fare for many, 

but chatterboxes die of an empty heart. 

Proverbs 10:19-21

The Message

Life gets tough

Sometimes life gets tough.  We have had our share of detours recently it seems.
Water heaters, dryers, sick kids, loved ones lost... Life indeed gets tough sometimes.

This week I've really been searching and praying for what to write.

So I decided to write about hardships.  Jodi pointed me to this blog post on enduring the curves life throws at you. Listen to the song linked in the post, it will lift your spirits if you are struggling.

How do you get through the hard times in life?

Do you have a Bible verse, or a hymn, a song, a prayer that lifts you back up?

How do you remind yourself that God has not left you alone to make it through these trials?

Faith Like A Child

Wow...

How do we keep a child like faith?

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.  Luke 18:17

As we mature in our faith and in our life, sometimes we make things harder than they should be.  We over think, we second guess, we doubt.  Christ knew that we would do this and made a point of it (Mark 10:15, and Luke 18:17). How do we make sure to grow and mature in our faith, but not out grow that awe and wonder that we had as children?

I love seeing my kids discover and learn about Jesus Christ.  The amazement in their eyes as the hear how much Christ loves and care for them is inspiring.

Do I still have the look in my eyes?  Or have I lost it because I have made my faith too complicated.

How do you keep your faith fresh and uncomplicated?

Do you still say wow when you hear John 3:16?

The Three Little Matches

Once upon a time, there were three little matches.  One day the matches were talking about how they wanted to burn.  The first match said that he wanted to make sure not to burn too bright, or too fast.  He wanted to burn very slowly. So when he was ready to burn, he said he would stay very still and do his best to control his flame and keep it very small and dim.

The second match thought that didn't sound like a lot of fun.  He said I want to burn very bright.  I want to have the most beautiful and bright flame a match can have.

The third match thought for a while, then slowly began to speak.  He said that what he really wanted most of all was to burn bright and ignite other matches that would hopefully go on to light more matches until all of the matches were burning bright together in the biggest, hottest, and most beautiful flame the world has ever seen.

What kind of match will you be for Christ?

How can we be more like the third match?

He is alive!

How do we make sure that when we talk about Christ that we make him feel alive to those around us?

This is a very important point.  Christ is alive.  As Christians sometimes we talk about the Bible and God, along with Jesus as if they were just stories, or things from the past.  It's not that we consciously decide to do this.  It just happens.  Sometimes it's the way we tell Bible stories... just like we were told.  And sometimes they become just that... stories.  But the Bible is God's Living Word. And Christ is (not was) God's Word alive in man.

Why does this matter?

Why does it matter to you?

It matters because we are not worshiping a statue or some old dead guy.  We are living in a relationship with someone who loves us.  We are in a relationship with someone who hopes we will grow closer to them.  We are in a relationship with someone who loves us and knows all of our dirty secrets... and still loves us.  This is as real and alive as any relationship we have with our friends, our family, anyone.

Why does it matter to people you know?

If you believe this and want others to experience this living breathing awesome God you know.  If you want the people around you to grow in a relationship with Christ, then you don't want to talk about Christ as if he was dead, or out dated, or stale.  He is alive! And that is how we need to communicate when we talk about him.

How do you make God come alive in your life?
How was Christ talked about in your life when you were a kid? ...when you became an adult?

In His image...

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?   2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NIV

How do you smell this week?

How have you seen God exemplified by someone's actions this week?  How have you tried too exemplify Christ?

Are you stuck?

Do you ever feel stagnant?  Stuck in the mud?  In life... In you faith?
Sometimes life does get us down. We feel like we're not getting anywhere...  Sort of like we just keep doing the same things over and over again...

What if we get to a point where our relationship with Christ starts to feel this way?

The past few years have been pretty tough around here.  We have seen a lot of people go through job loss and the loss of about everything else you can imagine.  Personally, we have been very blessed.  I have a great job, and countless other things for which to thank God.  But, medical bills for the boys have slowly been piling up.  And, there have been close family members going through some difficult changes.  It has taken it's toll... (just look at my hair line and gray beard).

As I look back over the past year, I was becoming very stagnant.  Now, I am back.  On fire.  Alive.

What got me hear may not work for you.  There was one key ingredient though that must be there.
So what is it?  Prayer.  Not the kind where you say God take me out of this slump.  Those don't always work... sometimes you're in the slump for a reason.  I prayed for Christ to be alive in me once again.  I prayed for God to correct my ways of thinking and help me think more like Him. And I prayed over and over again.  And (fittingly for me and my love of music) God spoke to me through the lyrics of a band.

Now... I'm back.

We make our stand here between the angels and animals.

We fear nothing here, where we can beat any feat set to keep us crawling.

We’re calling you here to give leave to destruction of fear 

and stand tall against all who will dare to shake you. Don’t let them shake you.

"Stand strong, where I could not, please stand strong"

Oh please, this plea, dear God, let it not from my lips be conceived.

So grip your fist and swing until your knuckles bleed.

If you are the new breed scream, "I am immortal!" 

We can’t sit quietly because there’s more to life than we see.

So if you are the new breed scream, "I am Immortal in you!"

Excerpt from Oh, Sleeper's song The New Breed.

How do you get past the stagnant points in your life?  Is anything else stagnant in your life bleeding into your faith?  How do you keep your relationship with Christ alive?