Monthly Archives: March 2007
My hope is built on nothing less
Sometimes life as a Christian can become a real drudgery. I feel a lot like I am besieged on all sides, and I struggle with “the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11). Sometimes, I even envy unbelievers for being able to live life however they want to. All these thoughts come about when I lose sight of the reason why I believe:
1 Timothy 4:7-10
7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
Each day, thousands of students head down to the Co-Rec to work out so that they can be healthy and look good. However, once their bodies wear out and die, this exercise will have been useless. But if we train for godliness, it will help us immensely not only now, but through all eternity. There is so much promise, so much potential, in the pursuit of God.
Ultimately, it has to be the pursuit of God that drives us. My faith tends to devolve into rote actions and behavior — endless tasks with no goal in sight. It’s a recipe for depression. I need to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus — to set my hope on God. I need to remember that regardless of my training toward godliness, it is God who is my Savior, not me. God is alive and active in saving me each day, and there is a goal which I will reach at the end of my life — it is to be in the presence of “the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God” (1 Timothy 1:17).
I’ve been promoted!
Check it out!
Now, you may say, “They’re just kids, Dave. They don’t know any better.” They may be kids, but they are the future! And they’ve already pledged their loyalty to me. Furthermore, I think the third card is from a son of one of our deacons.
Perhaps a coup d’etat is in the air….
Prayer and self-indulgence
Prayer is usually a real chore for me. It’s very frustrating to stay focused on talking to someone whom I can’t see. I often do it only because I know I’m supposed to.
While Paul is talking about the behavior of widows in the following passage, I believe that what he says can apply to the rest of us as well:
1 Timothy 5:5-6
5 She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, 6 but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives.
This contrast is something I hadn’t considered before. Prayer directly opposes self-indulgence because it is an act of love toward God and toward those we pray for. The reason I struggle with it so much is because there are a million other “fun” things I could be doing instead — I would rather indulge myself in the things that provide temporary satisfaction (but ultimately kill). The godly widows that Paul knew would set their hope on God despite the fact that they were alone (v. 5).
I want to remember as I pray that I’m not doing it for my own sake but because I love the Lord. “…We make it our aim to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9).
Soda Pop Music
It’s time for a song, kids!
I was inspired to write this ditty by a “Worst Analogies Ever Written in a High School Essay” contest by the Washington Post. The signature line is from that contest.
Soda Pop Music
Verse 1
So your situation’s dire
’Cause your faith is going flat,
And your comfort turns desire
For its sugar into fat.
You can go to church on Sunday
To refill your 8-oz. cup,
But our God wants more than one day,
So live all 7 Up.
You have read it in His Holy Book
That God can change your self,
So take your store-brand outlook
And roll it off the shelf.
For life is but a vapor,
And so fleeting is its span;
It’s like the period after “Dr”
On the Dr Pepper can.Verse 2
So your life is now in danger
And its flavor’s at its worst
’Cause you’ve made our God a stranger
And you won’t Obey Your Thirst.
For a greedy Doubting Thomas
Changed the Classic for the New
When you swapped the gospel promise
For a diet cola brew.
Yet His blessing’s not a maybe
If you turn your life about,
And You’ve Got the Right One, Baby,
When you pour your service out.
For life is but a vapor,
And so fleeting is its span;
It’s like the period after “Dr”
On the Dr Pepper can.Verse 3
So your joy will overflow,
And it will bubble to the brink
When you lose the world you know
For a refreshing fountain drink.
Your spirit will awaken
When you pour the liquid down;
You will never be forsaken
’Til you take the Royal Crown.
For the gospel—every letter—
Is Mount Zion’s revenue,
And The World will not Taste Better
Once you drink that Mountain Dew.
For life is but a vapor,
And so fleeting is its span;
It’s like the period after “Dr”
On the Dr Pepper can.
I wonder if I can enter it in a “Worst Songs Ever Written by a Church Employee” contest. Though who knows, if I brand it as Christian music, I can make it immune from criticism…after all, someone might get saved through this song!
Sleepwalking
This morning, I got up and found a framed picture leaning neatly against the chair next to my bed. Since this picture is usually hanging on the wall above my bed, I naturally was confused by how it got there. It hadn’t been there when I went to bed the night before (unless I was super tired and didn’t notice it). And my room is locked, so I don’t think anyone (i.e. prankster roommates) broke in.
I must have been sleepwalking. Apparently, I got up, took the picture off the wall, placed it next to the chair, and went back to bed. I think this is the first time I know for sure that I’ve been sleepwalking.
It’s a little disconcerting.
