Where is this week going? I ended up taking my Sabbath on Sunday (trying to put the Bible into action) which has thrown my week into a chaos, ironically. Let me explain; The last two weeks I have been writing my blog on Sunday afternoon, but since I decided to take my Sabbath on Sunday I turned off my phone and electronics that I am glued too for 95% of the week. This meant that I could not get online to type up a response to the sermon. I told myself I would do it Monday, but work was crazy and I had an emergency date night, so I pushed the write up till Tuesday. Tuesday got crazier at work, and then I was privileged enough to go to dinner with Theresa’s family which delayed the blog even further into Wednesday. Now we are halfway through our week and still no blog… so before another day goes by here is my 15 minute run down.
As I stated up above I took my Sabbath on Sunday. It was harder than expected. I decided to turn off all electronics (phone, computer, TV, etc). This threw my day into a spin because I had planned to watch a soccer game in the morning with some friends, and then possibly get a group of my young life guys together to watch a movie in the evening. Whelp, without my phone these plans went out the window. I thought about driving over to Curtis’ house, but then I realized that driving was something that I do every day….so I decided that if I was going to drive it had to be for an emergency. I resorted to breaking out my bike, but the tire had a hole in it. My last resort was walking…but it was 100 degrees so I decided I would read and pray (it’s amazing how wide open your day becomes when you strip the daily routine, work, and chores out of the mix-in addition I am no tree hugger by any means but if everyone could cut out one day of driving we could make a statement to the oil companies and help out the enviroment).
After some reading I kept asking myself…well what can I do on Sabbath. I have been so trained to go, go, go that when I have to slow down I feel like I still need to be doing something…or I am wasting time. Therefore, I wanted rules for what I could and couldn’t do (in order to maximize my day) As humans we always want parameters, and I found it ironic that Sabbath what was built into the fabric of creation for freedom, enjoyment, rest, and worship and I (like the Jews) was ready to turn my first Sabbath into a legalistic day of restraints(possibly missing the point of Sabbath?).
So I sat on the couch asking myself how can I make the Sabbath not about me. I remembered something I read a couple weeks ago. It has to do with us (God’s people) practicing for the arrival of the kingdom (basically practicing for what we are going to be doing for eternity). The idea is that when God comes back He will restore creation to the way He intended it to be, we will return to our intended purpose which involves the practice of Sabbath. When we look at Sabbath with an eschatological purpose, we are doing a couple things. One, we are agents of God’s Kingdom showing the world (through action) what the natural grain of the universe looks like. In essence, Sabbath is a form of ministry (as displayed by Chic Filet, BYU, etc) as we live our beliefs through action. Secondly, there is a reminder that there is more to come. This practice is preparing us for the day when Christ returns when we sit around rest and enjoy God. Until then we wait and hope in anticipation. Lastly, we are reminded that we were made for a purpose, a perpetual state of becoming fully human the way we were intended to be. A reminder that we have not yet arrived, that we still very much need Christ. In order to do this we displace our own wants and desires. If anything, it is another practice of denial, like fasting, lent, ect, where we learn to control our desires…showing that they will not control us.
I am getting a little off track, but my point is that instead of looking at Sabbath as something we have to do, or making rules about what we can and cannot do (nice question about sex…whoever texted Curtis) we can see it in a positive light. The example last week of “having” to go to church is all about perspective. We have been formed by the world and we need a renewing of our minds so to speak as we change our perspective and outlook on the world (well I need to at least).
I am hoping some more people share about how Sabbath kicked their butt…or what they did for Sabbath. Sorry this is so rushed and all over the place didn’t want to wait any longer.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Jane's Response to Sabbath
I decided today that for my Sabbath, I am not going to go shopping. Believing that buying things will make me happy, I can sometimes go to Target WAY too many times in a week. I'm learning to go much less (there is always something not on my list I realize I need when I am there!), but am also making it a Sabbath "rule" for myself to stay away from the stores. I actually pulled into the parking lot of Target today and then told myself NO! and pulled right back out. :)
Sabbath is hard...hard to carve out time...hard to make the time I carve out intentional...but today was a good day. I even got a nap in, as well as a little bit of time with friends. I'd say it was a gift.
-Jane
Sabbath is hard...hard to carve out time...hard to make the time I carve out intentional...but today was a good day. I even got a nap in, as well as a little bit of time with friends. I'd say it was a gift.
-Jane
On Your Mark, Get Set, SABBATH!
In less than 24 hours, I see how the Israelites could so easily get caught up in a legalistic observance of the Sabbath... The 4th Word offers zero in the "how" department. If our "hows" become the only "hows" I think we've begun to drift away from Sabbath as gift.
2 Quick Observations:
2 Quick Observations:
- I love that our Sat Night Community is clearly interested in more than just hearing God's words. All of the questions about "how" to practice Sabbath mean we are a part of a community truly interested in doing God's Word!
- Answering the "how" questions about practicing Sabbath is truly a community exercise. We discern together what it means to keep Sabbath holy.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Third Word: What's In a Name?
Here are a couple links to this last Saturday's Sermon:
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/
Web: http://saturdaynightchurch.
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/
Web: http://saturdaynightchurch.
The Third Commandment
To be completely honest, I came to the service on Saturday not really expecting to get too much out of it. Out of the Ten Commandments, I have always looked at the third Commandment as, in a way, the least important of the Commandments. It never really seemed like a big deal to me, and maybe that is because I never really looked into it. It was just another verse that I read over and moved on to the next. It is very interesting to look at these Commandments that God has given us as exercised or practices. As we continually work on these exercises, we gain “muscle memory and these things that seemed so difficult before, seem a little bit we easier.
That was a really important thing for me to learn in my own life. I get so frustrated with myself at times because I constantly find myself doing or saying things that I KNOW I should not. Afterwards I am so disappointed in myself because I know better and I feel at this point in my life I should not struggle in certain ways anymore. But I need to take a step back and really look at each of these Commandments that God has given to me and practice, practice, practice. As long as I am working on these exercises, I will be constantly coming closer to the life that God has intended for me to live! That is very exciting!
The wakeboarding analogy was an interesting one for me. I tend to be one of those people that settle for just getting up and following behind the boat till I am done, then I just let go of the rope; or I just don’t wakeboard at all. I have no desire to experience wakeboarding to the extent it is meant to be experienced. When my family got our first boat wakeboarding wasn’t as big as it is now, so we went water skiing. It was my first time and I got up right away. After a little while I started to cross over the wake and even do tiny little jumps over it. I fell many times but this one time that I fell, one of my skies came off of my foot and hit my smack in the face and broke me nose. Since that incident I have decided that I am perfectly content living my water sport life on the safe side. In my mind, crossing the wake and trying to experience water sports at the fullest means taking the risk that I will get hurt. I am just not willing to take the risk. Taking that analogy into my real life I am realizing that without taking risks, we will never experience life at it’s fullest.
Back to the third Commandment, I guess I never saw this one as important because I never really looked at the words “in vain” and really thought about what they meant in context to the name of God. We are to speak well of God, not misuse his name, not use his name carelessly, not make his name worthless or meaningless. To me this always just meant not saying things like “oh my ___” causally. It did not seem like that big of a deal to me. But it is true that our names are meaningful to us. It always sort of hurts if someone doesn’t remember your name or calls you by the wrong name, and on the flip side it feels good when someone does remember our names! God is not an ordinary person like Bob downs the street and when we use his name carelessly it is like we are acting as if he is just another person. If people hear us using God’s name casually of course it is showing them that he is just another person to us, not the most important person in our life. We make sure to talk about the people in our life in a positive light so why would we not do that with God? I don’t think I necessarily talk about God as a burden often but, I think I just don’t talk about him as much as I should. Not talking about him at all is really just as bad as talking badly about him or treating him as a burden. I find myself only speaking of God around my Christian family and friends, but around others I just don’t say anything about my beliefs, as if I am ashamed of him for some reason. I don’t know why I would do this but this weeks service has really opened my eyes to the way life should be lived.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Last Name
For those of you who listen to country music, you may have heard of a song called "My Last Name." (Not the Carrie Underwood song, but the song by Dierks Bently.) As Curtis spoke about taking the Lord's name in vein/making God's name worthless/or failing to lift the Lord's name up when we speak of Him, I thought of Dierks song. Here is a quick quote:
"Daddy always told me, far back as I recall
Son you're part of something, you represent us all
So keep it how you got it, as solid as it came
It's my last name"
This song reminded me of the name that is bestowed upon us when we enter in God's family. We become little Christ’s as we enter into something bigger than ourselves, representing God to the world, entering into a rich heritage, while finding a new vocation in guarding the holiness of God's name as we strive to keep it holy (hallowing it). I was convicted because I often fail to do this. I am the person who, most of the time not even consciously, that puts that negative spin on God. The example Curtis used was saying "I have to go to church," which relays a negative portrait of God/or casting him as a spouse you are stuck with. Instead of enthusiastically sharing the excitement and anticipation of coming to engage in community while worshiping our Lord and Savior/a relationship that you cannot get enough of, wanting everyone to know it (think Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch). I wish I was the latter but I have been formed by this world and it is taking extra long to reshape my worldview and habits. (It's hard to seek God with everything while the entire world is trying to pull you in a different direction)
The sermon also made me think back to Curtis’ example he used during his sermon (and YL) where he identified God as another patch on his letterman's jacket (something he added to his life). I have a hard time relating to this sermon because I am the complete opposite. I am the kind of person who doesn't commit, doesn't wear brands, doesn’t represent (insert anything here) unless I truly believe in it, and I try to disassociate my name with anything that can put a label on me. (Even Christianity at times, scared to tell people I am in seminary). I hate being labeled and confined...simply saying "Matt you can't do that..." makes me want to do it more. When it comes to Christ/Christianity my fear is that I am going to misrepresent Christ but people will see me tied to Him, representing Him. I think that our generation sees so much hypocrisy, lying, and misrepresentation that we want, more than anything, to be true. My fear is that I am going to fail, and due to my failure I will be a hindrance to the Christ's name.
Moving backwards to the first part of the sermon...
Curtis talked about the hours of work that go into learning how to wakeboard (in its fullest intention). There is something I feel he missed, but is equally important...the desire to want to experience wakeboarding at the level it was intended to be experienced at. The muscle memory comes by becoming one with the board (eating, sleeping, and drinking wakeboarding). However, the great wake boarders set their eyes on the ultimate goal, desiring wakeboarding above everything else. Everything falls to the side as the desire to experience wakeboarding as it was intended becomes the ultimate desire. Pain/suffering/soreness is all part of becoming a great wake boarder and without the hardships no one will become a great wake boarder. (You really have to desire to experience wakeboarding at the fullest, just an FYI I am getting old and do not desire the soreness that comes with experiencing wakeboarding at the level I once did) I think of people who are not satisfied with cruzing behind the boat, saying there has to be more.
When I transfer the these images to Christianity (the ultimate desire to experience the Christian life(God/His Kingdom) it takes time, effort, pain, suffering,...all things that are not very enjoying, but it is striving to finish the race saying "There must be more!) I struggle with saying that I want the life that is promised. I think I settle a lot of the time instead of embracing the pain, suffering, and dedication that the commitment Christ requires. I think we all need to ask ourselves where are we settling for less than what God wants for us... (This is the part in wakeboarding where soreness, pain, fear, ect start holding you back). Let's take a plunge together.
In closing, I will add an image of the power of a name: there is a scene in the Lion King where the Hyenas are hanging around saying how when they say Mufasa's name they tremble, it demands respect...I just liked the example and it could have been added if Curtis need a visual image.
"Daddy always told me, far back as I recall
Son you're part of something, you represent us all
So keep it how you got it, as solid as it came
It's my last name"
This song reminded me of the name that is bestowed upon us when we enter in God's family. We become little Christ’s as we enter into something bigger than ourselves, representing God to the world, entering into a rich heritage, while finding a new vocation in guarding the holiness of God's name as we strive to keep it holy (hallowing it). I was convicted because I often fail to do this. I am the person who, most of the time not even consciously, that puts that negative spin on God. The example Curtis used was saying "I have to go to church," which relays a negative portrait of God/or casting him as a spouse you are stuck with. Instead of enthusiastically sharing the excitement and anticipation of coming to engage in community while worshiping our Lord and Savior/a relationship that you cannot get enough of, wanting everyone to know it (think Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch). I wish I was the latter but I have been formed by this world and it is taking extra long to reshape my worldview and habits. (It's hard to seek God with everything while the entire world is trying to pull you in a different direction)
The sermon also made me think back to Curtis’ example he used during his sermon (and YL) where he identified God as another patch on his letterman's jacket (something he added to his life). I have a hard time relating to this sermon because I am the complete opposite. I am the kind of person who doesn't commit, doesn't wear brands, doesn’t represent (insert anything here) unless I truly believe in it, and I try to disassociate my name with anything that can put a label on me. (Even Christianity at times, scared to tell people I am in seminary). I hate being labeled and confined...simply saying "Matt you can't do that..." makes me want to do it more. When it comes to Christ/Christianity my fear is that I am going to misrepresent Christ but people will see me tied to Him, representing Him. I think that our generation sees so much hypocrisy, lying, and misrepresentation that we want, more than anything, to be true. My fear is that I am going to fail, and due to my failure I will be a hindrance to the Christ's name.
Moving backwards to the first part of the sermon...
Curtis talked about the hours of work that go into learning how to wakeboard (in its fullest intention). There is something I feel he missed, but is equally important...the desire to want to experience wakeboarding at the level it was intended to be experienced at. The muscle memory comes by becoming one with the board (eating, sleeping, and drinking wakeboarding). However, the great wake boarders set their eyes on the ultimate goal, desiring wakeboarding above everything else. Everything falls to the side as the desire to experience wakeboarding as it was intended becomes the ultimate desire. Pain/suffering/soreness is all part of becoming a great wake boarder and without the hardships no one will become a great wake boarder. (You really have to desire to experience wakeboarding at the fullest, just an FYI I am getting old and do not desire the soreness that comes with experiencing wakeboarding at the level I once did) I think of people who are not satisfied with cruzing behind the boat, saying there has to be more.
When I transfer the these images to Christianity (the ultimate desire to experience the Christian life(God/His Kingdom) it takes time, effort, pain, suffering,...all things that are not very enjoying, but it is striving to finish the race saying "There must be more!) I struggle with saying that I want the life that is promised. I think I settle a lot of the time instead of embracing the pain, suffering, and dedication that the commitment Christ requires. I think we all need to ask ourselves where are we settling for less than what God wants for us... (This is the part in wakeboarding where soreness, pain, fear, ect start holding you back). Let's take a plunge together.
In closing, I will add an image of the power of a name: there is a scene in the Lion King where the Hyenas are hanging around saying how when they say Mufasa's name they tremble, it demands respect...I just liked the example and it could have been added if Curtis need a visual image.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
well....i am trying....
When Curtis and I discussed starting a blog I did not intend to be posting anything (except maybe comments), but Curtis has been emailing me non-stop to post something since I came up with the idea. My excuses have been long; I haven’t had time, date night, and someone took my notes from the sermon and threw them away (my notes were really thrown away by a tear down crew member). Regardless, here it goes…
If you know Curtis, and are involved in his daily life, you start to see his sermon form over the week as he prepares for Saturday night. Even more, if you happen to be reading a book he is reading or know what class he is currently taking, then you can pretty much predict what his sermon is going to be about(or where he will take it). However, no one knows for sure what is going on inside his “Lillie Pad” (the name of their blog/home, but I will use as a reference to Curtis’ head). This week’s sermon response will come out of a book that I have been reading and how it interacted with the sermon.
Last week Curtis gave me a book (Desiring the Kingdom) for CT (Cave Time a.k.a. book club for men, our name gives the manly spin to book club). After, the introduction I thought Curtis had assigned CT a book that he had to read for class. The book is heavy in philosophy, theology, and sociology which come together to make a critique on Christian education, worship, worldview, and personal/social formation (it’s not a light read). The author address how people create their vision of what the good life is like (everyone’s personal kingdom/life flourishing) by the practices that embody their day (the carnal, non-cognitive essence of their being). The author’s premise is that everything that humanity encounters forms the personal being, in one way or another (this comes first and foremost through the senses). As people are formed(through encounters with the senses), habits are created, all directed towards a telos (humans are intentional creatures with an end goal in mind i.e the good life). The telos that people form through all their encounters often run contrary to the kingdom God (often not even cognitively). A person’s telos(based on what they love/desire) forms him or her into the person that they are.
I am starting to get off track, but I am trying to build a foundation to share how the sermon impacted me. The author of the book identifies how things like the market, mall, school, government, and sports are designed to gather our allegiance (what a person gives to the kingdom they belong too) These allegiances pull at our desire and eventually become who we are. (Ex: think of the pledge of allegiance that children say every morning grounding the children into allegiance for their country and the hope is that they become good loyal law abiding citizens). These things are not in and of themselves bad, but can wear us down by forming our telos (often subconsciously; think of how some of the world cup commercials speak to soccer as a religion as people associate and give everything for their team). However, our (Christians) allegiance is supposed to be to God, but all too often created things (even idols) get in the way.
{A test to help identify our allegiances is by looking at the practices and habits that we do every day without thought, with our time, money, etc. When our life is looked at closely our actions usually speak to a different kingdom than God’s...aka...idols}
Using Curtis’ example of his VBA (Valentines, Birthday, and Anniversary) relationship, he exemplifies what his ultimate goal or desire is. His daughter Becca is able to identify what Curtis’ ultimate love is. When Curtis transferred this example to the Church and our failure to reflect how important our faith is to our children, it points to an allegiance that does not put God #1. In addition it shows that our ultimate love and desire is not directed at God.
I started to think about all aspects of my life and the things that I put in front of God (creating my own idols). I often do not claim allegiance to God or seek his Kingdom. All too often what I truly desire and love are things in this world. The sermon helped me identify some of the false idols and kingdoms I have built by acknowledging all things are from God. Curtis’ statement about how we often feed our stomachs and genitals but are too busy to give God, the creator and giver of these gifts, really struck home.
I just finished another book by Shane Claiborne, Irresistible Revelation, and he has blown some of my false Gods and kingdoms out of the water. He has helped reorient my some of my views that have been formed by the world. The question, I keep asking myself, is do I want to change? Can I really seek God with all my heart and strength? Will I love and desire God over the false promises and idols that our world creates? It is often the leap of faith to fully trust God and that his way is better. I struggle with trusting God and believing that his way is better than the world. I have been formed by the world and in order to change I feel like there is a lot of work to be done as I try to deconstruct 26 years of molding (and it keeps beating at my door).
I have come to the conclusion that we are carnal creatures and our practices form us. If I cannot implement practices towards God’s kingdom I will continually be shaped by the world (which leads to my false idols). Therefore, I have started asking myself what practices can I implement into my life to reorient my direction, recreating my worldview, redirecting my love and desire? I have been thinking about the Mormons and how they send their children to Sunday school every day before school. They believe that if their children are going to be schooled by the world, then they need to have just as much if not more schooling in the church. I often feel like to be that committed is beyond me (or crazy). But then I ask myself aren’t we called to give everything?
My goal for this week is to try to identify idols in my everyday life, tear them down, and find new Kingdom oriented practices that can form me into a new Creation.
Wow this turned out longer than expected...not even sure if I make sense or if I tied it enough to the sermon...respond...you tell me
If you know Curtis, and are involved in his daily life, you start to see his sermon form over the week as he prepares for Saturday night. Even more, if you happen to be reading a book he is reading or know what class he is currently taking, then you can pretty much predict what his sermon is going to be about(or where he will take it). However, no one knows for sure what is going on inside his “Lillie Pad” (the name of their blog/home, but I will use as a reference to Curtis’ head). This week’s sermon response will come out of a book that I have been reading and how it interacted with the sermon.
Last week Curtis gave me a book (Desiring the Kingdom) for CT (Cave Time a.k.a. book club for men, our name gives the manly spin to book club). After, the introduction I thought Curtis had assigned CT a book that he had to read for class. The book is heavy in philosophy, theology, and sociology which come together to make a critique on Christian education, worship, worldview, and personal/social formation (it’s not a light read). The author address how people create their vision of what the good life is like (everyone’s personal kingdom/life flourishing) by the practices that embody their day (the carnal, non-cognitive essence of their being). The author’s premise is that everything that humanity encounters forms the personal being, in one way or another (this comes first and foremost through the senses). As people are formed(through encounters with the senses), habits are created, all directed towards a telos (humans are intentional creatures with an end goal in mind i.e the good life). The telos that people form through all their encounters often run contrary to the kingdom God (often not even cognitively). A person’s telos(based on what they love/desire) forms him or her into the person that they are.
I am starting to get off track, but I am trying to build a foundation to share how the sermon impacted me. The author of the book identifies how things like the market, mall, school, government, and sports are designed to gather our allegiance (what a person gives to the kingdom they belong too) These allegiances pull at our desire and eventually become who we are. (Ex: think of the pledge of allegiance that children say every morning grounding the children into allegiance for their country and the hope is that they become good loyal law abiding citizens). These things are not in and of themselves bad, but can wear us down by forming our telos (often subconsciously; think of how some of the world cup commercials speak to soccer as a religion as people associate and give everything for their team). However, our (Christians) allegiance is supposed to be to God, but all too often created things (even idols) get in the way.
{A test to help identify our allegiances is by looking at the practices and habits that we do every day without thought, with our time, money, etc. When our life is looked at closely our actions usually speak to a different kingdom than God’s...aka...idols}
Using Curtis’ example of his VBA (Valentines, Birthday, and Anniversary) relationship, he exemplifies what his ultimate goal or desire is. His daughter Becca is able to identify what Curtis’ ultimate love is. When Curtis transferred this example to the Church and our failure to reflect how important our faith is to our children, it points to an allegiance that does not put God #1. In addition it shows that our ultimate love and desire is not directed at God.
I started to think about all aspects of my life and the things that I put in front of God (creating my own idols). I often do not claim allegiance to God or seek his Kingdom. All too often what I truly desire and love are things in this world. The sermon helped me identify some of the false idols and kingdoms I have built by acknowledging all things are from God. Curtis’ statement about how we often feed our stomachs and genitals but are too busy to give God, the creator and giver of these gifts, really struck home.
I just finished another book by Shane Claiborne, Irresistible Revelation, and he has blown some of my false Gods and kingdoms out of the water. He has helped reorient my some of my views that have been formed by the world. The question, I keep asking myself, is do I want to change? Can I really seek God with all my heart and strength? Will I love and desire God over the false promises and idols that our world creates? It is often the leap of faith to fully trust God and that his way is better. I struggle with trusting God and believing that his way is better than the world. I have been formed by the world and in order to change I feel like there is a lot of work to be done as I try to deconstruct 26 years of molding (and it keeps beating at my door).
I have come to the conclusion that we are carnal creatures and our practices form us. If I cannot implement practices towards God’s kingdom I will continually be shaped by the world (which leads to my false idols). Therefore, I have started asking myself what practices can I implement into my life to reorient my direction, recreating my worldview, redirecting my love and desire? I have been thinking about the Mormons and how they send their children to Sunday school every day before school. They believe that if their children are going to be schooled by the world, then they need to have just as much if not more schooling in the church. I often feel like to be that committed is beyond me (or crazy). But then I ask myself aren’t we called to give everything?
My goal for this week is to try to identify idols in my everyday life, tear them down, and find new Kingdom oriented practices that can form me into a new Creation.
Wow this turned out longer than expected...not even sure if I make sense or if I tied it enough to the sermon...respond...you tell me
Sermon Reflection - Kara Childress
I got a lot out of the service on Saturday & then more out of the same service on Sunday morning. Saturday night when I first heard it I took notes (NOT because i was bored;), which I never do, but it helped. The line that really stuck in my head was that God has more reason then anyone in the world to ask us to do something. It really made me think. Like, we ask God for so much, from little things like helping with homework or getting through a fight with our friends to big things like dealing with death or moving. And then when God asks us to only worship him, to not cheat on him, we ignore it. Why? We like our stuff. We like the play gods. We like having a lot of things to choose from so if one fails we can just go to another. Different people, different reasons. But any way you look at it, we're rejecting God, choosing other things before him.
Then also on Saturday night, and more on Sunday too, I really got to thinking about what my play god or idol was. It took me a while but only because I didn't want to think i was wrong in any way. I kept saying it wasn't really an idol or it didn't really take the place of God. And that's part of idols. They don't look like they're replacing God until you really take a step back and look. So I found a lot of things that were working their way into becoming idols, but the main one I found was people's opinions. It doesn't really sound like an idol or a "play god" but it is. I pretty much worship people's views on me or my family or anything else. When I'm doing something I always think what people would like, not what God would like. I know lots of teens have a problem with self-image and peer pressure and whatever but for me I know it's a major problem. It's pushing God out of the picture. Sometimes it's because I don't want people to get mad if I don't text them back so I text them instead of reading my Bible. Sometimes it's listening to what other people want me to listen to when I know songs about sex and drugs are not something I should really be listening to. Sometimes it's watching movies I know go against my parent's rules because other people are watching it and I don't want them to think I'm weird or a goody goody. Those three aren't really life or death issues, but what happens when people around me think it's cool to smoke or drink? Will I do it to keep my image? Or will I do what I know God wants me to do? People's opinions are a major problem. They push in front of God & block him out. I'm still having problems with not caring so much what other people think, but I'm praying about it & trying to spend more time reading my Bible & really just talking to God. I'm working on thinking "what would GOD want me to do?" instead of "what would PEOPLE want me to do?" I know I'll never be perfect, but I'm trying hard to get the biggest idol in my life out of the way so I can have the relationship with God that he wants me to have.
kara :)
Then also on Saturday night, and more on Sunday too, I really got to thinking about what my play god or idol was. It took me a while but only because I didn't want to think i was wrong in any way. I kept saying it wasn't really an idol or it didn't really take the place of God. And that's part of idols. They don't look like they're replacing God until you really take a step back and look. So I found a lot of things that were working their way into becoming idols, but the main one I found was people's opinions. It doesn't really sound like an idol or a "play god" but it is. I pretty much worship people's views on me or my family or anything else. When I'm doing something I always think what people would like, not what God would like. I know lots of teens have a problem with self-image and peer pressure and whatever but for me I know it's a major problem. It's pushing God out of the picture. Sometimes it's because I don't want people to get mad if I don't text them back so I text them instead of reading my Bible. Sometimes it's listening to what other people want me to listen to when I know songs about sex and drugs are not something I should really be listening to. Sometimes it's watching movies I know go against my parent's rules because other people are watching it and I don't want them to think I'm weird or a goody goody. Those three aren't really life or death issues, but what happens when people around me think it's cool to smoke or drink? Will I do it to keep my image? Or will I do what I know God wants me to do? People's opinions are a major problem. They push in front of God & block him out. I'm still having problems with not caring so much what other people think, but I'm praying about it & trying to spend more time reading my Bible & really just talking to God. I'm working on thinking "what would GOD want me to do?" instead of "what would PEOPLE want me to do?" I know I'll never be perfect, but I'm trying hard to get the biggest idol in my life out of the way so I can have the relationship with God that he wants me to have.
kara :)
Monday, June 14, 2010
New Blog Use!
It's been a while since I actively used this blog, but it's now up and running to be used as a forum to engage, reflect on, further develop Saturday Night's message throughout the following week.
By Monday or Tuesday one to two people will post response/reflections on the message. The Comment section will then be wide open to ask further questions, add insights, or further contribute.
The goal of all of this is that we might become better "Doers" of the word, rather than just "hearers."
By Monday or Tuesday one to two people will post response/reflections on the message. The Comment section will then be wide open to ask further questions, add insights, or further contribute.
The goal of all of this is that we might become better "Doers" of the word, rather than just "hearers."
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