Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for October, 2009

Cleaning Out Left-Overs

Earlier this week Kristi decided it was time to go through the refrigerator and do a little inventory and clean out.  I am not sure how it is in your house, but left-overs don’t normally fair too well here.  Our boys won’t usually eat them.  The good thing is that now that the boys are older, we rarely have much left to put in the refrigerator after a meal.  But what does go in is destined to be there a while (depending on how far back it gets pushed on the shelf).

Our normal rule of thumb is if we can’t remember when we had the meal, then the left-overs probably shouldn’t be eaten.  But occasionally there are things in there that we can’t even identify, much less remember when we had.  So Kristi went through it and cleaned it out.  And now, we are all set to start the process again.

How often do you do a personal inventory?  How is your spiritual life?  Are there things crammed into your life that really don’t do anything but take up time and space?  Maybe its time to go through your heart and do a little cleaning.  From time to time I have to do this to make room for God.  I fill my life with mostly good things but sometimes I don’t leave room for the best.

Spend some time this weekend reflecting on what is stale in your spiritual walk and then resolve to do something about it.

By the way, does hot mustard go bad?  I’m thinking after 8 years it may not be good.

Read Full Post »

I have been reading out of Colossians this week while practicing lectio divina (a fancy term for meditative prayer and reading).  Chapter 2 of that book deals with getting at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus – and also points out in the process, what doesn’t lead us to Jesus.

Verses 13 – 15 of chapter 2 talk about the fact that when God saves us, we are freed from the rules that man has put in place (you can read it here).  Verse 14 gives us a very vivid picture of what God thinks of the rules man has set in place to make our way to God.  It says that God canceled those regulations and took that code “that opposed us” and nailed it to the cross along with Jesus.  In other words, all the things man had put into place that were necessary to follow God, to draw near to God – all those things were destroyed.  I don’t know about you but that is a liberating thought for me.

It got me to thinking – what code have we put into place in modern day religion that opposes people?  Or put another way, what hurdles have we placed in our religious systems that make it difficult for people to come to God?

Do we expect people to act a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to talk a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to dress a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to like what we like to come into our churches?

Reading this passage reminds me that the rules we throw up that make it harder for people to come to Jesus are not of God.

How do you make it hard for people to follow Jesus?

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts