Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

-Johann von Goethe

I think this is important to apply to our Christian lives.
2 Notes

Walking with Closed Eyes. 5:7: Isn't it Strange...

Isn’t it strange how a 20 dollar bill seems like such a large amount when you donate it to church, but such a small amount when you go shopping? 
Isn’t it strange how endless an hour seems when we are serving God, but how short it is when we watch a basketball game for 60 minutes? 
Isn’t it strange how 2 hours seem so long when you’re at church, and how short they seem when you’re watching a good movie? 
Isn’t it strange that you can’t find a word to say when you’re praying, but you have no trouble thinking what to talk about with a friend?
Isn’t it strange how difficult and boring it is to read one chapter of the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a popular novel? 
Isn’t it strange how everyone wants front-row-tickets to concerts or games, but they do whatever is possible to sit at the last row in Church? 
Isn’t it strange how we need to know about an event for Church 2-3 weeks before the day so we can include it in our agenda, but we can adjust it for other events in the last minute? 
Isn’t it strange how difficult it is to learn a fact about God to share it with others, but how easy it is to learn, understand, extend and repeat gossip? 

Just as important today as it was 2000 years ago.

Yes I know it’s from The Message…GASP!!!… but I love the way it words a lot of the stuff in there. While The Message may definitely not be great to study from on a regular basis, sometimes it words something in a way you never really thought about it before. Some of the stuff in this translation of the sermon on the mount is definitely way off from the original meaning, but it still contains a lot of really good points that make you think. It’s so simple, yet it gives you so much to think about…

“His dying breath has brought me life. I know that it is finished.”

Words can be so powerful!

The book that has everything.

I have always loved to read since I was little. I read anything I could get my hands on. I especially loved the Harry Potter books. (not gonna lie, I still think they are awesome!) But I would sit down and read them for hours on end only stopping when I absolutely had to. I could not get enough and I would read them all over and over.

What is it that people look for in books these days? Action? Adventure? Mystery? Romance? Love? (vampires and werewolves for some strange reason?) People flock to stores for the latest major book release to get these fictional books that they will read in a couple days or less and be done with. Well there’s one book that has anything a person would ever look for in a book, except maybe the vampires and werewolves (although Esau was apparently very hairy). Most of us have a copy, yet we don’t read it like we do these other books. It sits on our shelves until Sundays and Wednesdays if finds it’s way in our hands that much. 

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m talking about the Bible. God has blessed us with His word. It’s how He talks to us today and He has SO much to tell us! So why do we ignore it so much? I know I’m just as guilty of this as anyone else when it comes to reading my Bible. Recently I read through Psalm 119 in preparation for a devo I did with the youth group tonight. I highly suggest that you read it. It is an incredible chapter of the Bible about the blessings that the word of God gives us. To see how much emotion David put into this psalm describing how powerful the word of God is helped me to realize how important it is. It gives us wisdom and peace and hope and joy. It keeps us from sin and it shows us how to live our Christian lives.

You never realize how much reading your Bible helps you grow closer to God until you do it. God has so much to teach us about everything and all we have to do is listen… to His word… to our Bibles.

From snow to ice…

This weekend we got more snow at Freed-Hardeman than I have seen in Tennessee in YEARS! Friday was incredible. Everyone on campus was excited and outside playing together in the snow. It was definitely a rare occurrence to see everyone on campus so united. The most Christian snowball fight I have ever seen happened. People were getting slammed in the face with snowballs and I never saw a single person get mad, they just laughed! It was amazing to see something so seemingly simple bring everyone together like that.

But then, with the transformation from snow to sleet, the white blanket of snow became a solid sheet of ice. Where everyone was once excited about the white weather, today we saw a lot of people retreating to their dorms for the entire day not wanting to go outside because of the cold and the ice. It was a complete transformation from the day before.

I believe that the same thing often happens with our faith. We are all excited about our faith and we are all one in the body of Christ. We talk to each other, we support one another… we are there for each other. And it is all because of something so seemingly simple… Jesus Christ. His death, burial, and resurrection. While we may never fully comprehend that kind of love, the concept and the story is so beautiful and simple.

But over time that pureness of our faith starts to fade and is covered over by an icy layer of apathy and indifference. We completely forget about that original zeal we had for God. We shy away from talking about our faith and our problems with others. And we lose sight of what gave us that excitement in the first place.

Tomorrow, I fully plan on walking down to the store to get a couple things, then coming back, breaking through the huge layer of ice to get to some snow, then making the incredible creation known as snow cream with some of my friends. In the same way, I think it is important for all of us to realize that we may have lost our excitement for God, and break through the layer of apathy, and find the creator that gave us life through His son.

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