Living The Word Today? (PG13)

...so I call this site "Living The Word Today..." what does that mean anyway? This week, Pastor Rick taught on bible study and quiet time, and the difference between them. And the importance in both. I have not been living the word that way... but more like, "a quick psalm will do". Maybe a "quick prayer". We said grace. Great message today. You know what I mean... The confessional booth is open now.
The world as we know is full of bad stuff, and the Bible tells us that as believers, we are in it, but not of it... Simply stated, wrong sex, wrong drugs, and wrong rock and roll is just bad news. No kidding. This week, Pastor Rick outlined a great tool that would kick this kind of life abuse out of the world, if only it were applied as "living the word, everyday!"

So, here's a method of doing so... getting our faces out of the TV and back to The Book.

• Pray First ~ "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law" Ps 119:18


• Picture it: the scene you are reading about, and put yourself there


• Pronounce it: (say the verse aloud, each time emphasizing a different word, and then


• Personalize it: God so loved (you), for God so loved (you), for God so loved (you)...


• Probe it: (try using Pastor Rick's "S.P.A.C.E. P.E.T.S." as a guide) when studying the Word, ask yourself... is there a SIN to confess? a PROMISE to keep? an ATTITUDE to change? a COMMAND to keep? an EXAMPLE to follow? a PRAYER to pray? an ERROR to avoid? a TRUTH to believe? or SOMETHING to thank God for?

I hope this helps us all, starting with me, live the Word everyday

Obedience is deep

Our pastors message this week* was on serving in obedience, and he made some outstanding points, some that caused me to cringe. He comedically referred to washing feet, but then challenged us to look for opportunities to serve. He talked about how some can complain that a message's content isn't "deep enough", then stated the truth that OBEDIENCE IS DEEP.

I could totally relate to his confessions of blaring imperfection, choosing convenience over service, and wanting the perks of the faith (eternal salvation, God's presence, forgiveness, fellowship, you know...) without really serving. You know, the stinky-foot-washing kind. (John 13:1-15)

YES, OBEDIENCE IS DEEP.

I looked at my own life, which can seem pretty "vanilla" from the outside, but when I really examine myself before God's light, I must ask myself...

"am I truly obedient" ? (Mark 9:33-35)

~

Do I pray for all my enemies, always look for opportunities to serve, and do my absolute best to keep a gentle spirit? No.

But, does my spirit grieve when I pass up thet heroic opportunity to be humble, to turn the other cheek, or hold back that tongue? You bet.

I pray that wherever you are right now in Christ,

comfy and salty or new and discovering... that you will examine your motives as God has led me to do myself, and ask yourself a question:

Do my lifestyle choices reveal that I serve from obedience?

As for me, it is time to take inventory, because I am sure there is more that I can do for the One who gave all. (Mark 10:45)

May God bless you with His power and presence as you keep Him first in all that you do.

"If you try to keep life for yourself, you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life".

~Jesus~

Mark 8:35 (NLT)

(*) Shoot me an email and I will email you the link to pastor Doug's sermon video.

Thorns

As I was trimming back this winter's Bougainvillea overgrowth in the backyard, the thorns got me.

I wondered if the crown of thorns were of this kind of plant, and the very thought of that pain was unimaginable, as I had only take a few spikes to the fingers thru the gloves. Serious nerve shots.

As I continued to snip back the branches, easily 10 ft. overgrown, a pattern of failure in my method began to surface: I was going for the big vines and ignoring the small ones, and pulling those out was extremely labouring, inefficient, and caused more pain. Literally. I got to thinking that sin is like that. Unchecked and unattended, if you will, disobedience can grow reckless and wild, while still showing the most beautiful flowers and leaves on the outside. So beautiful that you ignore the choice to tackle the problem and wait for another season...

So, as I am cutting away, I change my methodology. As the living parable continues to defeat me, I, instead, now go for the smaller outer branches, hundreds of them, small branches that must be cut away so that the main vines can then be then exposed and properly removed.

Like sin.

I began to make progress with this beast, and realized that this time of wrestling with ugly brown branches, cutting me here and there, was truly time well spent in the Lord. The message was clear to me: take care of the little things, going for the big fix out of season is impossible, without getting things in order and being obedient when the time calls for it, as a lifestyle, and not as a crisis plan.

Now the bush is still standing, but it's proper. Will I repeat this all over again next season? Only time will tell.

The King’s Business

I am a stranger here, within a foreign land;
My home is far away, upon a golden strand;
Ambassador to be of realms beyond the sea,
I’m here on business for my King.

This is the message that I bring,
A message angels fain would sing:
“Oh, be ye reconciled,
”Thus saith my Lord and King,
“Oh, be ye reconciled to God.”

This is the King’s command:
that all men, everywhere,
Repent and turn away from sin’s seductive snare;
That all who will obey, with Him shall reign for aye,
And that’s my business for my King.

My home is brighter far than Sharon’s rosy plain,
Eternal life and joy throughout its vast domain;
My Sovereign bids me tell how mortals there may dwell,
And that’s my business for my King.