24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷ No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.  (1 Cor 9:24-27 (NIV))

Well, the fast ended on Sunday.  Abby and I made it through without watching TV.  I didn’t really miss it much.  Sure, there were times when I was doing some mundane chore and wanted to throw the TV on for background noise. Instead, I would put on a podcast of a teaching from some churches, which was great!

The church podcasts that I started listening to are Mosaic Church (amazing stuff from Erwin McManus) and Mars Hill Church (so far I’ve listened to Marc Driscoll).  I don’t necessarily agree with some points from Mars Hill Church (see: women not allowed to be pastors or elders), but their podcast on “Good Sex, Bad Sex” is wonderful :). 

We still haven’t turned the TV on, I am happy to say.  We are still talking about limiting the use of TV or getting rid of it altogether.  Seriously, the only reason we watch TV is to “veg out” and have something to talk to other people about (to connect in some way).   Don’t get me wrong, I love talking about Jack Bauer.

But I would rather BE Jack Bauer.

No, I don’t think I’m cut out for random homicides and dealing with terrorists.  I do, however, desire to be a man who serves a greater purpose, who fights evil and injustice, and who is willing to sacrifice my life for Christ.  I need to grow and hone myself in order to do so.  I need to take any excess time that I have (outside of work and relationships) and use it to develop myself.  

Change is hard.  We all get comfortable in certain patterns and routines that become second nature to us.  I would feel like I wanted to turn the TV on at certain times when, in the past, I would normally turn the TV on.  I had to replace that habit with another one.  Another great scripture is, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb 12:11 (NIV)). 

Now this is talking about the Lords discipline to His children, but I think it can also be taken as representative of any discipline that enables us to become more like Christ.  Basically, I would paraphrase: “discipline is tough, it doesn’t really seem alot of fun in the present, as you do the same thing over and over.  We aren’t focused on the short term, however, we are focused on eternity.  Each time you discipline yourself to do something that grows you and enables you to become who God has made you to be, you are planting or watering a seed.  Eventually that seed will spring up and produce a harvest that makes all your work seem like nothing.  It’s definitely worth it.”

Anyone else have a view of discipline?

I was at church last night worshiping, and I had a really cool image that I wanted to share it. It seemed to be a cycle.

The impression that I had was of a person scared and walled off to the world and God, with God on the outside wanting to show his love to the person. Once the person sees God enough to trust Him, he opens up and God comes and takes the broken, hard place and changes it to soft clay. In that place of transformation a gratefulness and love for God springs forth. The love expressed back to God then expresses the reign and kingdom of God.

This expression of love back to God impacts those around us and opens them up to God…thus continuing the cycle.

Tags: cycle, love for God, reign and kingdom of God

I have a good friend that is portraying, well, posturing an image of himself that isn’t really him. He’s even done a few things recently that I don’t agree with. I’ve been a little angry inside at his actions, while being frustrated with him (and I’ll be telling him soon). The reason I’ve been angry and frustrated at him is because I know that he is a much greater person than he is showing. The image he is showing to the world is actually cheapening who he is as a person, and that makes me angry. “Don’t you know you are better than this?” “Why are you doing this?” I would ask.

Maybe God sees us the same way. Maybe God looks at us while we are sinning and gets angry. Maybe He says, “I’ve told him over and over not to do that, and there he goes, hurting himself and others again!”

But I don’t think it’s anger in the way that we think “angry.” I think it could be a frustration of knowing the greatness He created us to live in and seeing us cheapen ourselves by living a lie. He made us in His image, and I think his anger could be that He wants us to be all that we can be (but not necessarily in the Army . We just have to turn to Him and let Him help us get there.

Just a thought. Any thoughts from you?

God and sin

Tags: God and sin