Falling into a Routine

I've been seriously struggling with the bible now for probably around 5 years now and am still woefully lacking in this elusive "routine" that everyone seems to be scared of.  Some might call it a "rut" or some just say "I'm not growing" but its basically that their life has hit a plateau, neither moving up or moving down.

I've heard it said in countless sermons, sunday schools, and bible studies that we need to avoid falling into the same old routine of reading the bible just to finish it or just praying at dinner time without thinking much of it. But this never made sense to me. After all, aren't we all called to regularly read God's word and to pray?  Aren't we supposed to fall into a routine of spending time with God?

This is what I'm thinking: If we actually have a routine of reading God's word, we would not fall into this fake, made-up trap of feeling like we are on a plateau.  If you are spending time in prayer and in the Word, then how are you not moved by Holy Spirit? How are you staying still?  Are there not enough verbs in your translation of the bible?

Honestly though, I have only ever heard of a routine in the hypothetical.  It is as if saying that it were possible to read God's Word and not be moved or transformed in one way or another, atheist or not. Whether or not someone has ever experienced this type of routine is still a mystery to me and I would love to talk to this person.  After all, I have a hard enough time trying to develop a routine of spending time with God.

Which brings me to the reason why I wanted to put this particular topic out there.  I think a lot of us struggle already with being consistent with our time with God.  Lately, I have heard people telling me that they are not growing or feel lost in their "daily routine" of devotions.  Then the question becomes, "well, when do you do your devotions?"..."umm...three or four times a week."...."(-_-)".

Anyway, onward toward that routine of growth!

By Death Given Life

Well, I figure now that I'm out of college and have even less time on my hands now, I might as well pick up writing on this blog again.  After a long hiatus and *several years to think about what else I might want to share, I've been longing to really delve into exactly what I really believe. To say the least, most of what I write is not meant to pass on insight to others but to help me affirm what I have gleaned from what little experience of life I have.  

With that cryptic introduction aside, I will say that most of what I write and will write in the future is more or less geared mainly toward serious believers in Christ Jesus.  I will hold back on using the word "Christian" for now until I have defined it for myself and have a baseline for which that word actually becomes meaningful to me.  Reason I make this harsh assessment of the word is not to ridicule the common "Christian" but it comes from my hesitancy to use this word without a good deal of context around it, especially since it has made its way into our vernacular and carries with it two different connotations depending on the audience it is spoken to.

The main topic for my brooding though is this: Christ's death was necessary on my part BUT was not complete until His resurrection. Like Paul says, if Christ did not rise from the grave, we are (basically) screwed. No resurrection, no faith, no joy, no glory. What a sad life. 1 Corinthians 15:14.

It is only through the death on the cross and the resurrection that we can have peace.  If Christ was not crucified, we would still be drowning in our debt if sin. There would have been no redemption. However, the death on the cross is not enough. It would have been just another sacrificial lamb, not a fulfillment of the prophesies or the gospel.

If death was the end of the gospel story, we would still be facing the result of our sin. Death. If Christ was not resurrected, we are still subject to death. And honestly, isn't death the one thing we are actually scared of? The one thing that gives us angst? At the end of our Christian story, isn't death what we ultimately try to avoid? Aren't we looking to the hope of eternal life? Realize that none of this gospel would make sense if Christ had stayed dead.

But Christ didn't stay dead. He was resurrected. And not resurrected in the Egyptian sense where resurrection is simply a spiritual moving but resurrection in the physical Christian sense. That Christ walked with his disciples, had proof that he was indeed pierced for our sins, and said, "peace be with you." It is a complete and utter demolish meant of death. Christ defeated death and therein lies our peace. Christ, our savior, has defeated death and therefore, by our faith in our savior, we can have peace in knowing that death is no longer a worry, an enemy.

Birds of a Feather

Just so I can state the obvious, today is Friday and every Friday, I go to Friday Night Fellowship with Harvest Berkeley (check them out, they're really great people). Tonight we focused on Hebrews 10:24-25 :

"and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking ourown assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

In case you can't speak bible too well, it is basically saying that we should love another in our groups and fellowships and to spur each other on in love and in action. We should be getting to know one another and how we can help them in their daily live.

Doesn't this seem like an easy passage to follow? A big thing for me is application. HOW do we go about spurring one another on. I think today's speaker brought a good point in pointing out that this passage doesn't provide anything like a checklist or 'to-do' list for anybody to follow. Instead it just says to do these things as though it were inherent in our lives. You can see how these subtle yet simple abstract ideas become a problem when translated into an action.

So here's my take: You get to know someone first. I doubt you can generalize an entire group into a single personality (even if they're twins and live and breathe together). If you can just get to know how someone is doing you can formulate a plan to help. In the process, you yourself can share and you get something back. If you think about it this way, the passage isn't just saying that you have to get others to help, it also implies that you probably need or want help as well.

Generalizing this even further, I think it doesn't even have to apply to just biblical believers. This idea isn't for the general purpose of salvation but rather of society (and thus salvation). Don't get me wrong, just doing this isn't going to get you saved and for those of you who don't care about God or Jesus, you could care less then. But just think about this, you can do this even in your own groups. Don't go against this ideal just to be rebellious to some religious repulsion. This idea, I think, could do "community" in general a lot of good.