Dec 29 2007
I should know better…
Julie and I used to live in Dallas. For one of her twenty-something birthday’s we went to a seafood restaurant. I must have gotten food poison from what I ate. I was at work the next morning when my neck felt hot, my head was swimming and I felt a lump of something creeping up my throat. I left work and started driving home. I got sick, if you know what I mean (hurled), 3 times before I made it home. At the beginning of December this year, we took our family to December to a Christmas Parade. We drove by that seafood place and I felt that same feeling all over again and it has been at least 13 years since that event.
The point is, I would never go back to that restaurant because it made me sick. Too bad the same isn’t true for sin. How many times do I return to sin in which I know will leave me feeling defeated and distant from the Lord? I was reading 1 John 2 this morning and some how ended up in Hebrews 6:1. “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God..” (NewAmerican Standard Bible) What are the elementary teachings of Christ? My study bible points out these elementary teaching as ”importance of faith, the foolishness of trying to be saved by good deeds, the meaning of baptism and spiritual gifts and the facts of the resurrection and of eternal life.” That is a lot of basics. So where is a maturing believer supposed to go? The maturity comes from “walking as Jesus did.” (1 John 2:6). It is knowing the elementary truths then following up on them by leading others to do the same. The trap is not moving beyond the talk.
How have you been over the break? For me it seems like anytime there is a break in normal schedule I get tested in laziness or taking too much of break. Hmmm, am I all alone?
2 Responses to “I should know better…”
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Jason, God never ceases to amaze me with what He is doing in your life. You try so hard sometimes. I wonder if the fact that no one seems to respond sometimes gets to you. It would to me. Though I have not much scriptural and relative insight to give at the moment, I want you to know how cool it is to just see you go at this and promote The Depths like you do. I am totally convicted right now to dig out my Bible and drink deeply, as I have put off in my quiet time to a point. I am doing some, but I could be doing so much more, and I would not be so attentive to that need right now had you not gone through so much time and effort to type such honest encouragements. Thank you for challenging me. Maybe tomorrow or sometime, next time I actually get on the net and bother to come here (which I am called/obligated to do more frequently now), I can really get into something really worthwhile. It is so sad that this is all that I have to bring right now…how sad and convicting…a blessing and a curse.
I love what the speaker said at church this morning about being CALLED and OBLIGATED to the world. God has given us amazing capabilities/opportunities/gifts/whatever you want to call them as humans with His Spirit; who are we to keep it to ourselves? To do such would defy God and all that we believe in (but really, would that be believing if you would do that? Maybe, but not much so if so. If.). I had never realized how much of a duty and obligation it was for me to use what I (with God) have. I always thought that I was never obligated to do anything, but I thought wrong. You learn something new everyday…
Hmm…guess I had a little insight in me afterall…I like it. I should do that more often.
This has absolutely nothing to do with anything listed here, but I thought someone might like it. Today I improved my future of every day hereon; you see, I have a chart of things good to do each day posted on my door. At the end of the day, I check off, mark unattended, or mark void, whichever appropriate, each thing listed there. Some of my things are as follows: Exercise, Laundry, Clean room(by this I mean improve and make cleaner something in the house, usually located in my room), Bible drill(added today…just means something done to further my knowledge of the Bible and prepare myself for religious questions and “explain my HOPE”), Learn something, Improve something, Further God’s Kingdom(whatever that may look like. Challenging, really, considering you must know/know well how to do that and the different ways to do it), Express yourself(also added today; not entirely sure what it means yet, but hey; it sounds cool), Prepare for College, OSSM(a kind of school work), Schoolwork, Work, Socialize, Feed cats, and Enjoy yourself. Yes, I have to put “enjoy myself” on the list…so often I go through the day too hard on myself, so I put it on my list to remind me to have fun and enjoy myself. Sounds silly, but it is a good and Godly thing to me. At the end of the day, I add up how many I did out of how many I should have done. At the end of the week, I calculate the total of the week, and then a new chart comes up every Sunday. Soon I hope to apply mathematical calculations and derivatives to chart on a line/pie/whatever feels appropriate grpah of my progress, my ambition, the rate at which I am progressing, and eventually my faith, which I believe is the closest word I can use to describe my motive behind what I have accomplished. After 6 weeks(began November 22), I’ve totalled 161/ 267 or 162/277, where the top number is what I did and the bottom what I should have done.
Very interesting, if you ask me. It keeps me on my toes. I would highly recommend that anyone who reads this to adopt it(or something like it) and try it out; it is convicting at times, and so rewarding at others. It’s a curse…and a blessing…just like the Depths, huh?
Over and out. Keep it real. Keep it on God.
Candice Dahl
Same here man. I start to think its “my” break, or “my” time. I get in this selfish mood. Usualy after a few days it goes away, but i can feel it deep down inside of me.