Playing Catch Up

I can already tell that, although I love writing, this blog will not be like a weekly newspaper. I have ups and downs with writing. Some days I can sit and write, the words pouring from my mind to my hand to the paper with no effort or thought from myself. There are others where I cannot even attempt to form words. That being said, the past month has been sort of a dry spell as far as blogging goes. The last post was about family and what true family actually is.

          Since it has been a month from my last post, there are so many things I could write about. I only want to focus on one thing. This is a principle that is very common to the Christian faith but so many find it either too hard, too confusing, or too worrisome to attempt. I am talking about spending time in the Word. The idea is overdone, been overcomplicated, and severely understated. Time reading scripture cannot be replaced. There are some nights I don't want to, some nights I can't wait to, and some nights I just fall asleep. But when I do spend that time, I find that God reveals things new and fresh. Verses and passages I have read a thousand times before given a fresh perspective. 

          Recently, I have been spending my time going through the book of Mark, trying to track the life of Jesus and become reacquainted with the gospels. This has been a great time. I have really enjoyed reading each word, thinking on its meaning, and trying to understand more and more of who Jesus is, and what he did while he was here on Earth. 

          Most people are intimidated by the Bible. It's old, it's big, and it's got alot of words. My technique? I read a story, or read a passage, and then think about what it's saying. What does this mean? What were they actually doing? What was Jesus' intent? And then I write down my thoughts. I've laughed out loud before when I've gone back to old journals and read some of what I used to think. Please, don't be scared of reading the bible for yourself. If you are going to listen to authors, preachers, speakers, that's cool. I love to hear what they have to say as well. But you've gotta realize that they have the same Holy Spirit as you do (took this from my pastor's wife) and while they may creatively relate the truths of Scripture, if you are faithful to reading and studying, then those same truths can be revealed to you. 

          Enduring Understanding. The same Holy Spirit who reveals great truths to Billy Graham, Francis Chan, David Platt, Judah Smith, and John Stockstill (my pastor),will most certainly reveal those same things to you; if you will be consistent and concerned with the truth of the word.