It's laziness really. I am still fasting from watching Conan, I feel like that habit has been completely broken already. If I was healthier I would like to go on an actual fast from food (since that habits a bit harder to break). I have really been questioning my integrity lately, both in the big and little details of life. A lot of nights I stay awake thinking there must be something more that I could do to grow closer to God. A lot of times I turn on my laptop and open up Google Chrome and just stare at the login page to Facebook. I always think "this is the internet right, there must be somewhere i could go or something that I could do that would just make a difference". It's not like I'm looking to change the would or anything (although that sounds pretty cool) I just wanna change myself. Some days I feel like I've gotten as close to God as possible without actually touching him, like standing on the brim of a volcano. It's all right there in front of my face and I can even feel it from where I'm standing but I'm just not in it.
Today I started to read Crazy Love, well technically I only read the preface but that was enough to inspire me to sit down and write. It seems like it should be a good book and I know a lot of people who recommend it. I have high expectations for this book and I hope that it will help me to grow but I always find that I have to be careful around Christian book, not that there has ever been anything wrong with the ones that I've read, but just that sometimes when they're really good I start to let them interfere with my quiet time. As far as quiet time goes I have yet to decide on a new chapter to read so I decided to pick up one of the couple of devotional books I have in my room. I actually decided to really pray about which book I should start to read because, since I really do feel that my quiet time has a big impact on my day, I really think that choosing what to read is important.
I think it's time for a change in my life (that has absolutely nothing to do with new years). The essence of this change is God himself. So many times before I have tried to give God bigger and bigger parts of my life. Now I really feel like i just want to give him the whole thing and see what he does with it. If you read this pray for me because I need it.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Technically Day 18
Today is Day 18 in of my Conan Fast and I have succeeded and failed in a lot of ways. Christmas and all of it's business has distracted me so much that within the past 2 weeks I have only had about 2 or 3 quiet times. I was also at my Grandmothers house for the past week which left me without internet. I wish I had done better but Its not a big deal I will continue on. Christmas is a simple yet complicated Holiday. It is simply the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, but we've changed it into much more. We decided to make it about shopping and receiving gifts and having big family get together's, and a lot of the time it gets crazy, I know it did in my family. Leading up to Christmas our family time at my Grandmothers house was hectic, theres was tons of fighting and arguing mostly among my immediate family and it started to get crazy. When I start to pay more attention to these little arguments I start to realize just how they come about and it mostly has to do with us being self centered. being to quick to get angry, and too quick to get into conflict. A lot of times I try and make peace in my family specifically between my brother and sister but to be honest I think I'm horrible at it. Most of the times in trying to negotiate through arguments I end up taking a side which leads to putting down one of my siblings and honestly I really hate it. I wish there was some other way that I could get them to stop. I really wish there could be some peace in my family all the time. My wish was momentarily granted on Christmas eve. We all got into the car and drove to my Grandmas church which is small, rundown and predominantly Spanish speaking and listened to a couple of songs and a short sermon (or at least I did, my brother and sister don't really know Spanish). When it was over we all went back to my Grandmas house and did a small gift exchange, then got some gifts from my parents, and then some gifts from my uncle. When that was over we sat around and played bingo for a while, and then we all sat down and watched TV. That was it. There was nothing that was awesome, nothing so amazing and surprising that had never happened before, it was just peace, and I loved it. I wish every day could be peaceful but I don't know what to do. I feel as the oldest child there has to be something that I could do but I just don't know. Pray for me. I'm about to finish up 2 Corinthians but I don't know which chapter to do next. If you have any ideas go ahead and comment below, thanks.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Day 7 (Officially Marking 1 Week)
Just thought I'd post something else today besides my quiet time (which i did and will post tomorrow). I've been feeling the conviction of what I have been reading little by little lately. The last two chapters have been about tithing which is nearly impossible for me to do without a job. All my money comes from my parents and I need it just to put enough gas in my car to make it to school. I feel like the only way that I could hold down a serious consistent tithe would be to get a job, but I'm not sure that that's what God wants me to be doing right now. I know that it sounds weird and almost like a cop out to say that I don't have a job because God doesn't want me to have one but a lot of times I really think its true. I apply for jobs all the time, and recently I even got a couple of interviews but things just never seem to pan out. And besides the fact that no jobs seem readily available for me I am also busy with other things. I have school which(I won't lie) I devote the minimum amount of time possible to, BSM activities which probably take up the majority of my time, then theres Less Than Three Mission which I've been working on which Sergio, and last but especially not least I've been writing songs (weird I know). Anyway I by no means think that any one of these things is more important than supporting my family but like I said I've tried before to get a job and nothing really panned out, and to be honest I really don't want a job that badly. Is all of this selfish of me? Should I be trying harder to get a job? I really don't know what to do at this point and prayer would be appreciated. If anyone has any ideas feel free to comment.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Day 6
2 Corinthians 10
God- This passage much like the others says very little specifically about God.
Us- We should avoid arguments. I know that there are a lot of people who don't agree with this, in fact the whole idea of apologetics seems to be based around arguing the case for Christ, but we should not be quick to argue. Matthew 5: 9 says "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God". We should not be doormats and we should never back down from defending the gospel but we should be slow to conflict and quick to make peace. We should boast in Christ and in Christ only. Boasting is not something that is never really encouraged but there is no reason that we should not boast in Christ. As it says in verses 17 and 18 "Let the one who boasts boast in the lord," For it is not the one who commends himself that is approved, but the one who the Lord commends".
Like- Verse 4 "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.".
Summery- Paul makes his appeal at the beginning of this passage because people had been speaking against him. Those in the church who opposed him had been talking about Paul and about how he was all talk, speaking boldly when he wrote letters to the church but in person being as timid as anyone else. Paul knew exactly what he was doing and reminds the church of this. Paul knew that gentleness is required in order to effectively rebuke someone. He points out to them that his goal is to avoid conflict and keep the peace. In verses 7-11 he continues to explain the point of his letters and how they are meant for rebuking with tact and not for conflict or frightening the members of the church
Application- I think the main application you should get out of this passage is that we should be peacemakers and not argument starters.
FYI: I actually really wanted to watch Conan today but i didn't I know it seems funny but it's true. I'm still going strong.
God- This passage much like the others says very little specifically about God.
Us- We should avoid arguments. I know that there are a lot of people who don't agree with this, in fact the whole idea of apologetics seems to be based around arguing the case for Christ, but we should not be quick to argue. Matthew 5: 9 says "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God". We should not be doormats and we should never back down from defending the gospel but we should be slow to conflict and quick to make peace. We should boast in Christ and in Christ only. Boasting is not something that is never really encouraged but there is no reason that we should not boast in Christ. As it says in verses 17 and 18 "Let the one who boasts boast in the lord," For it is not the one who commends himself that is approved, but the one who the Lord commends".
Like- Verse 4 "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.".
Summery- Paul makes his appeal at the beginning of this passage because people had been speaking against him. Those in the church who opposed him had been talking about Paul and about how he was all talk, speaking boldly when he wrote letters to the church but in person being as timid as anyone else. Paul knew exactly what he was doing and reminds the church of this. Paul knew that gentleness is required in order to effectively rebuke someone. He points out to them that his goal is to avoid conflict and keep the peace. In verses 7-11 he continues to explain the point of his letters and how they are meant for rebuking with tact and not for conflict or frightening the members of the church
Application- I think the main application you should get out of this passage is that we should be peacemakers and not argument starters.
FYI: I actually really wanted to watch Conan today but i didn't I know it seems funny but it's true. I'm still going strong.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Day 5 (Part 2)
God- God will bless those who give generously, not necessarily with money, objects, or anything in this world, but with righteousness. God also blesses us so that we can bless others, nothing that we have was given to us without reason. "God loves a cheerful give", that is straight out of the bible and 100% true. God doesn't want anyone to give out of obligation, God doesn't want anyone to give when they would rather not be giving. God wants you to give because thats what you want to do. Verse 15 is a reminder of God's incredible gift, the gift that we were given because of his son!
Us- In order to gain from God we need to be able to willingly give up the things of this world. We should all give whatever we are willing to give. This does not in any way mean that we shouldn't give if we don't want to or that we should not give in large amounts. It only means that all of our giving should be done both willingly and cheerfully. And again "God loves a cheerful give". In verse 9 something is mentioned that is constantly showing up in the bible, giving to the poor. Few actions are mentioned more than giving to the poor in the bible, so it is obvious that giving is really something God wants us to do as believers. Paul finishes the chapter by reminding us of several things. The first is that God is the one that has given us everything that we have, we should be thankful for that and eager to give back a small portion of what God has given us. He also reminds us that God will bless us when we give and again not always with things of this world. And last but especially not least he reminds us that giving to the church is also a great blessing to all those that the church serves and spreads the gospel too.
Like- "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly," If we want more God in our lives we have to give up more of ourselves.
Summery- Paul starts off by continuing to talk about the church in Macedonia and how he has been telling them about what the church in Corinth said they would do and how they would give. He reminds them of what they said and also that they're on their way to pick up their offering. His goal in telling them all this was that they would prepare their hearts for the giving that was soon to come.
Application- We must give but not only monetarily, if we wish to fill ourselves with with God we must first empty ourselves of our own desires and of the things of this world.
Us- In order to gain from God we need to be able to willingly give up the things of this world. We should all give whatever we are willing to give. This does not in any way mean that we shouldn't give if we don't want to or that we should not give in large amounts. It only means that all of our giving should be done both willingly and cheerfully. And again "God loves a cheerful give". In verse 9 something is mentioned that is constantly showing up in the bible, giving to the poor. Few actions are mentioned more than giving to the poor in the bible, so it is obvious that giving is really something God wants us to do as believers. Paul finishes the chapter by reminding us of several things. The first is that God is the one that has given us everything that we have, we should be thankful for that and eager to give back a small portion of what God has given us. He also reminds us that God will bless us when we give and again not always with things of this world. And last but especially not least he reminds us that giving to the church is also a great blessing to all those that the church serves and spreads the gospel too.
Like- "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly," If we want more God in our lives we have to give up more of ourselves.
Summery- Paul starts off by continuing to talk about the church in Macedonia and how he has been telling them about what the church in Corinth said they would do and how they would give. He reminds them of what they said and also that they're on their way to pick up their offering. His goal in telling them all this was that they would prepare their hearts for the giving that was soon to come.
Application- We must give but not only monetarily, if we wish to fill ourselves with with God we must first empty ourselves of our own desires and of the things of this world.
Day 5
Ok so heres what's happening. I'm going to go ahead and post two different things today. One will be my devotional on 2 Corinthians 8 which is the one i did on Friday but did not have time to post due to a Christmas party. And the second will be my devotional on 2 Corinthians 9 which i did today. Sadly on Saturday which was only day 4 of my fast I missed my first quiet time. But I will continue on and try to make it up by posting twice in the upcoming days that I have off now that school is finally over. So here it is.
2 Corinthians 8
God- This passage just like a lot of the chapters in 1st and 2nd Corinthians doesn't really talk a lot specifically about God. Both of these chapters are letters from Paul to the church at Corinth so as letters tend to do they mostly deal with information to and or about people.
Us- So in this chapter Paul explains how we should all "excel in the grace of giving", and reminds us how sometimes the amount that we give can symbolize the amount that we trust God. He does a great job of explaining how we not supposed to give so that others can see us give, and how we should give because we want to give. He also emphasizes how we should give according to our means, which should be a tithe, which means a tenth of your gross income. Paul also reminds us how the ability to tithe is a privilege. God will be able to accomplish his goals with or without you, the question is do you want to be a part of it.
Like- I like how Paul openly admits that he was surprised at how generous the church in Macedonia was in verse 5. I like the idea that we should be joyfully tithing, and glad to be a part of the ministry that what serve.
Summery- Paul starts off by talking about the great generosity of the church at Macedonia and goes on to tell the church at Corinth how Titus is on his way to go see them. He also mentions that two other men will be traveling with Titus, both of whom are praised as being great ministers. He ends reminding them of all of their credentials basically, by reminding them of the suffering that they have endured for the Lords name.
Application- I think the application here is pretty clear. We should give and do so with joy in our hearts because it is our privilege to serve both the Lord and the ministries that we are a part of. (something nice to remember right before Christmas =) )
2 Corinthians 8
God- This passage just like a lot of the chapters in 1st and 2nd Corinthians doesn't really talk a lot specifically about God. Both of these chapters are letters from Paul to the church at Corinth so as letters tend to do they mostly deal with information to and or about people.
Us- So in this chapter Paul explains how we should all "excel in the grace of giving", and reminds us how sometimes the amount that we give can symbolize the amount that we trust God. He does a great job of explaining how we not supposed to give so that others can see us give, and how we should give because we want to give. He also emphasizes how we should give according to our means, which should be a tithe, which means a tenth of your gross income. Paul also reminds us how the ability to tithe is a privilege. God will be able to accomplish his goals with or without you, the question is do you want to be a part of it.
Like- I like how Paul openly admits that he was surprised at how generous the church in Macedonia was in verse 5. I like the idea that we should be joyfully tithing, and glad to be a part of the ministry that what serve.
Summery- Paul starts off by talking about the great generosity of the church at Macedonia and goes on to tell the church at Corinth how Titus is on his way to go see them. He also mentions that two other men will be traveling with Titus, both of whom are praised as being great ministers. He ends reminding them of all of their credentials basically, by reminding them of the suffering that they have endured for the Lords name.
Application- I think the application here is pretty clear. We should give and do so with joy in our hearts because it is our privilege to serve both the Lord and the ministries that we are a part of. (something nice to remember right before Christmas =) )
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Day 2
2 Corinthians Chapter 7
God- Theres hardly anything in this passage that specifically talks about God.
Us- We should be perfecting our holiness out of reverence for God. This seemingly small statement means so much. The idea of "[purifying] ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit" is huge and harder than when could ever imagine, to accomplish. It takes serious drive and determination to start a pursuit of holiness, but as believers it should be what we all strive for. We have the right to rebuke our family in Christ when they start to stray from the path of God, but it should be done with love and understanding, with tact and compassion, and never convey any feeling of anger. In the long run it is always going to be better for the person who we rebuke. Kind of like re-breaking an bone when its not healing properly, it's going to start of with a lot of pain but in the long run it's whats best for your body.
Like- I believe that this passage speaks volumes about never giving up on your friends that are beginning to backslide (aka not being as "into God" as they used to be). Obviously since Paul had to write 2 whole books about them, the church at Corinth was getting into a lot of stuff that they shouldn't have been getting into. But no matter what they did Paul never gave up on them. He never said to himself, "you know what, there's just no hope for that church in Corinth we should focus on other things". All they really needed was someone to guide them and correct them, and Paul was steadfast in keeping them honest.
Summery- Verses 2-16 are Paul's appeal to the church to not be upset with him because of what he has said, or because of the rebuking that he has done. Both 1st and 2nd Corinthians are letters to the church at Corinth where Paul tells them what he thinks they are doing wrong, and how they can do a better job of living out what God wants in their lives, and as you can imagine this isn't always easy. It isn't often that we tell people that they're doing things wrong and then walk away feeling great. Rebuking your family in Christ is often hard and it is sometimes difficult to explain how we are saying things out of love and concern for people, Paul uses this passage to do just exactly that.
Application- Thats for you to do. But if i had to pick something it would be to never give up on your backsliding friends.
FYI: I'm staying away from Conan just as planned.
God- Theres hardly anything in this passage that specifically talks about God.
Us- We should be perfecting our holiness out of reverence for God. This seemingly small statement means so much. The idea of "[purifying] ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit" is huge and harder than when could ever imagine, to accomplish. It takes serious drive and determination to start a pursuit of holiness, but as believers it should be what we all strive for. We have the right to rebuke our family in Christ when they start to stray from the path of God, but it should be done with love and understanding, with tact and compassion, and never convey any feeling of anger. In the long run it is always going to be better for the person who we rebuke. Kind of like re-breaking an bone when its not healing properly, it's going to start of with a lot of pain but in the long run it's whats best for your body.
Like- I believe that this passage speaks volumes about never giving up on your friends that are beginning to backslide (aka not being as "into God" as they used to be). Obviously since Paul had to write 2 whole books about them, the church at Corinth was getting into a lot of stuff that they shouldn't have been getting into. But no matter what they did Paul never gave up on them. He never said to himself, "you know what, there's just no hope for that church in Corinth we should focus on other things". All they really needed was someone to guide them and correct them, and Paul was steadfast in keeping them honest.
Summery- Verses 2-16 are Paul's appeal to the church to not be upset with him because of what he has said, or because of the rebuking that he has done. Both 1st and 2nd Corinthians are letters to the church at Corinth where Paul tells them what he thinks they are doing wrong, and how they can do a better job of living out what God wants in their lives, and as you can imagine this isn't always easy. It isn't often that we tell people that they're doing things wrong and then walk away feeling great. Rebuking your family in Christ is often hard and it is sometimes difficult to explain how we are saying things out of love and concern for people, Paul uses this passage to do just exactly that.
Application- Thats for you to do. But if i had to pick something it would be to never give up on your backsliding friends.
FYI: I'm staying away from Conan just as planned.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Day 1
I think I might have said in my introduction that yesterday was Day 1 but i changed my mind and decided that today December 8th is day 1. I also decided that since I believe that teaching is one of the best ways to learn, I will be explaining what I read in my quiet time in order to better understand it myself.
Today I am reading 2 Corinthians 6. Fyi i believe in using the GULSA method of quiet time which is a kind of self explanatory way of organizing the ideas that are presented in the chapter.
The G stands for God and under that section you would explain all the things that the passage says about God.
G- This passage really doesn't say that much about God besides reminding us of His grace and salvation. But it does say a lot about what He want's us to do.
The U stands for Us and under it you would write down what the passage says about Us.
U- "We put no stumbling bocks in anyone's path," This was put in the passage to explain to us that we should never do anything that would lead anyone else to sin whether they be a believer or a non believer. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says "whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" . This was written to explain to us the weight of our actions, and how every single thing that we do is much more important than we even know. In this passage we are reminded of how our actions affect others.Verses 4-10 go onto explain how we as Christians should commit ourselves to lives of servitude, putting God before ourselves. In verse 14 it talks about not being yoked together unbelievers, this is commonly mistaken as God telling us to not associate with people who are not Christians but thats not what it's saying. It is actually telling us that we shouldn't do the same things that people who are not believers do, because if we have really been saved our actions should not be the same as those who have not been saved. As 16-18 explains Paul was actually writing to discourage people from separate themselves from idolatry which was a common practice in those days and was probably an issue with the church in Corinth
The L stands for Like and this is where you would write what you liked most about this chapter
L- At the risk of being extremely vague my favorite part of this passage is verses 4-10 where Paul gives a great description of all the things that happen when a believer really lives out what they believe in. The majority of what is written here is based of things that Paul himself went through while trying to spread the gospel and I think it really gives you something to think about. If you yourself haven't been through any of the things of this list for the sake of the gospel then are you actually doing what God has called you to do?
The S stands for Summery here is where you write a summery of the entire chapter just for the sake of letting the information soak in.
S- In summery this passage is about putting our beliefs into action. It talks about how we should not be holding people back but in fact lifting people up. He gives many examples of what it means to be a believer and how it rarely deals with personal gain and will in many ways bring hardship. He reminds us that our ways should be different than the ways of the world. It is a passage about putting our words into action
The A stands for apply and under it you would write all the ways that you can apply what you read to your life.
A- I am going to go ahead and leave this part blank because the application of what God has written is really the most personal part of your quiet time. So I'll leave it up to you to decide how this passage can be applied in real world situations specifically to your life.
And thus completes the official Day 1 of my Conan fast. (although this will technically be posted on the 9th)
Today I am reading 2 Corinthians 6. Fyi i believe in using the GULSA method of quiet time which is a kind of self explanatory way of organizing the ideas that are presented in the chapter.
The G stands for God and under that section you would explain all the things that the passage says about God.
G- This passage really doesn't say that much about God besides reminding us of His grace and salvation. But it does say a lot about what He want's us to do.
The U stands for Us and under it you would write down what the passage says about Us.
U- "We put no stumbling bocks in anyone's path," This was put in the passage to explain to us that we should never do anything that would lead anyone else to sin whether they be a believer or a non believer. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says "whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" . This was written to explain to us the weight of our actions, and how every single thing that we do is much more important than we even know. In this passage we are reminded of how our actions affect others.Verses 4-10 go onto explain how we as Christians should commit ourselves to lives of servitude, putting God before ourselves. In verse 14 it talks about not being yoked together unbelievers, this is commonly mistaken as God telling us to not associate with people who are not Christians but thats not what it's saying. It is actually telling us that we shouldn't do the same things that people who are not believers do, because if we have really been saved our actions should not be the same as those who have not been saved. As 16-18 explains Paul was actually writing to discourage people from separate themselves from idolatry which was a common practice in those days and was probably an issue with the church in Corinth
The L stands for Like and this is where you would write what you liked most about this chapter
L- At the risk of being extremely vague my favorite part of this passage is verses 4-10 where Paul gives a great description of all the things that happen when a believer really lives out what they believe in. The majority of what is written here is based of things that Paul himself went through while trying to spread the gospel and I think it really gives you something to think about. If you yourself haven't been through any of the things of this list for the sake of the gospel then are you actually doing what God has called you to do?
The S stands for Summery here is where you write a summery of the entire chapter just for the sake of letting the information soak in.
S- In summery this passage is about putting our beliefs into action. It talks about how we should not be holding people back but in fact lifting people up. He gives many examples of what it means to be a believer and how it rarely deals with personal gain and will in many ways bring hardship. He reminds us that our ways should be different than the ways of the world. It is a passage about putting our words into action
The A stands for apply and under it you would write all the ways that you can apply what you read to your life.
A- I am going to go ahead and leave this part blank because the application of what God has written is really the most personal part of your quiet time. So I'll leave it up to you to decide how this passage can be applied in real world situations specifically to your life.
And thus completes the official Day 1 of my Conan fast. (although this will technically be posted on the 9th)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Introduction
Hi, my name is Jon and I am a Christian college student. Like many other Christian college students I feel that it is important to spend part of each and every day focusing on God, what many people call a "quiet time", where I can reflect on what God wants for my life and what exactly I should be doing to accomplish that.
So as I was driving home from school the other day i realized that within the last 5 weeks I had missed around 20 quite time which is, even by my own lax standards, horrible. My thoughts started to wander to other things, as they normally do, and then i realized that since the Conan on TBS had come out I had not missed watching a single episode! Of course I kinda cheat cause I have a dvr that I use to record Conan and I just watch it whenever I get home but still! Anyway after realizing this I decided that I should make a change and this is how The Conan Fast started. Starting today December 7th I will stop watching Conan everyday when I come home from school and I will take the time, that I would normally use to watch Conan, and use it to focus on God. I honestly believe that I am so into Conan that this will work. So this will be my record of how I'm doing, keeping me honest about the amount of quiet time that I get in. Oh and last but not least I'm gonna try to do this for a month so until January 7th. So yeah this should be fun.
So as I was driving home from school the other day i realized that within the last 5 weeks I had missed around 20 quite time which is, even by my own lax standards, horrible. My thoughts started to wander to other things, as they normally do, and then i realized that since the Conan on TBS had come out I had not missed watching a single episode! Of course I kinda cheat cause I have a dvr that I use to record Conan and I just watch it whenever I get home but still! Anyway after realizing this I decided that I should make a change and this is how The Conan Fast started. Starting today December 7th I will stop watching Conan everyday when I come home from school and I will take the time, that I would normally use to watch Conan, and use it to focus on God. I honestly believe that I am so into Conan that this will work. So this will be my record of how I'm doing, keeping me honest about the amount of quiet time that I get in. Oh and last but not least I'm gonna try to do this for a month so until January 7th. So yeah this should be fun.
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