Should The Bible Become The Forbidden Fruit?

MAN! There have been many occasions in my life where i have been the recipient of some truly extreme judgment with the Bible being used as the justification for it. And you know, as much as i hate to admit it, there have been many times where i've done the same to others. Obviously, i'm NOT proud of that fact.

Taking that knowledge about myself and coupling it with the message Pastor Keith gave this past weekend REALLY set my mind in motion about it. You see, in his message, he reminded us of the cornerstone (my words) of all our sin in the story of Adam and Eve and the ever important Forbidden Fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As we all know, prior to their eating it, they didn't know of an evil. They only knew of good. God's good.

Pastor Keith also reminded us of how we can live either a life based in judgment or one based in love. That we can't do both. When thinking about various events and people i've come across, i can't express just how convicting this message was for me. I was downright blown away by it. That's where i started wondering about whether or not the Bible should have been THE forbidden fruit because of the way so many "good-hearted" Christians have come to use it. But i really think, "No, it shouldn't have." It's not what's IN the Bible that's the problem, it's what we get OUT of it. Think about it. If we just crack it open every once in a while, it seems we're more prone to misuse what we THINK we've read. A closed Bible leads to a closed mind leading to a closed heart.

Now, i would love to say that i've always been a person that acted lovingly to all those i come in contact with but in all honesty, i KNOW i haven't. So obviously, i have a LONG, LONG way to go, but what an amazing God we have that is so patient with me and constantly, and gently, leads me in the direction He knows i need to go to get there. Is that awesome or what?

It looks like i just REALLY need to remember the love that God feels towards me, and the amazing heart He showed for all of us through His Son. And, if i work to return that love to God and to others in that same way, then i should do okay, right? While it's easier said than done, it's NOT impossible. Opening myself to God and what He has done and planned for me, then i'd think it would only lead to an open heart. At least, i'm thinking it can't hurt to try.

Just a thought. (My apologies to Pastor Keith if i misunderstood the context of his message in any way)

laters!

Running in my Faith

Anyone with any appreciable amount of knowledge about running knows what it takes to have a good run, or to place high in an organized event.  It takes a perfect balance of training, hydration, diet and motivation.  When all that is clicking right, it seems like there isn't anything you can do wrong.  Even the weather plays very little into the results of your run because by being properly balanced, you will have accounted for that before you even take the first step.

Well, with the lack of training....and uh....motivation....and well, diet, i haven't done as well as i would have liked in the last several organized events.  While my times were a tad bit better than the last times i had in those same events in previous years, i had a really difficult time completing them.  And with my being the last male finisher of the most recent one, it has really rocked something deep down inside me like a little mental "kick in the pants"  that i've needed.  i'm working on a training plan for the next set of events i want to do.  i'm making sure i get the proper hydration i need on a daily basis.  i've been altering my diet to what it should be.  Okay, maybe not so much on that last one.  LOL

Anyway, this week i was reminded of how much my disciplines in my faith have almost exactly mirrored those of my running.  i've lacked the motivation, the interest and desire to study it.  To learn it.  To live it.  While i was making myself crack open the Bible, i was really only reading it as i would any other book.  i wasn't really READING what it was that God was trying to teach me in those words.  Plus, It's been WAY TOO EASY for me to find excuses to avoid studying and even easier to blame others for my lack of motivation and discipline.  So, just like in running, my progress in my faith BONKED like you wouldn't believe.

Fortunately, in the last several months, i've recommitted myself to the disciplines i used to follow and just like in running, i'm gaining strength, and endurance and connecting back with the love i have for it.  And so it goes, that as my running improves, so does my faith and vice versa.  i'm not sure i like them being so connected but that's how it is.  But then again, how interesting is it that there are several references, in the New Testament, about athletes and how they don't win the prize unless they are well disciplined and trained, etc....  It obviously fits.

So, there you go, i've got my disciplines that i need to do for running and those that i need to do in my faith.  What's great is that so many of those disciplines are so similar in their very nature.   I'm off to a good start, at a good pace and am working to keep my eye on the finish and the prize.  And even if i'm last, "To Finish Is To Win", right?  In EITHER case.


Thanks and God Bless.


Oh, and what page is my Bible turned to in the photo above?  Why it's my favorite one, of course.  The end of the watch strap is pointing to Isaiah 40:31  (NLT)  "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."  (emphasis added to express my point)

Laters!