Some Good Advice

PunkStar · Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:56 am Post subject: Some Good Advice

G'day. Welcome to my new series. Sermon In A Second. So named because that's about how much research time went into each sermon. These sermons are usually written with two objectives in mind. To pass on important nuggets of religious goodness, and to get a cheap laugh. So, in that spirit I bring you the first Sermon In A Second.

Some people have given me some good advice over the years.

Keep your receipts.
Even though it says it's non-toxic, you still shouldn't eat it.
Electricity is not a play thing.
People's feelings are important, don't muck with them. This is especially important when dealing with women.
Growing a mullet means you won't have to answer questions about fashion advice.
The highway to Hell is an easier walk, but climbing the stairway to Heaven is infinately more rewarding.
Sausage is the wildcard of the meat family.
And my personal favourite:

Son, never trust Black Pudding. It's not actually pudding.

Oh wait, I missed one (he says in a tone making it sound like he left it out deliberately). It's the most important of all. I'll enlarge it to try and make up for it.

READ YOUR BIBLE! (sorry to yell)

That's right, you read that correctly. I said read the Bible. But don't just read it. Study, meditate, and generally give those pages a good and serious turning. Don't just gloss over the text. Really think about the words you read and what they mean.

But now maybe you're thinking "PunkStar, why should I read the Bible?" Well I'm glad you asked. The Bible isn't just a series of well-strung together words created by some idiot with too much time on his hands (That's right, I didn't write it Wink

). The Bible was actually written by God, that's right, God. If you don't believe me, check out 2 Timothy 3:16. If God wrote it, then it must be important and very useful for us to know. The verse mentioned even gives some examples of good uses. The Bible is the very manual of Christian living. You wouldn't think of re-programming a VCR without using a manual would you? You need that manual (the Bible, not the VCR manual) to get you through life the best way possible. That's the best reason. But if you want others. Hey, it gives you that real element of religious goodness by saying you read the Bible. But there won't be a halo waiting in Heaven for you though if that last one is your reason for doing it, so try to use the first one, ok?

I would also advise reading devotions and Bible commentaries. They will help your understanding of the Scriptures so much. And you won't fall asleep as much during sermons because you will actually know what the preacher is droning on about. If anyone can recommend any good books, feel free to post them up.

So now I'm gonna do what one of my friends did for me. I personally challenge everyone who reads this to start reading their Bible at least once every day for the next year. I don't care how much you read. You could read a few verses, maybe a chapter. Or maybe set aside a few minutes each day to read the Scriptures. But you have to read the Bible at least once each day. If you accidently happen to miss a day, that's ok. Just do an extra reading tomorrow to make up for it. I recommend setting aside a regular time to read the Scriptures, maybe before you start your day, or before going to bed. Either way, I challenge you to get into a habit of reading the Scriptures daily. If you already do, then this challenge doesn't apply to you. Keep up the good work.

I'd like to leave you with two thoughts. Firstly, think about how much time you spend doing things (eg. watching tv), then think about how much time you devote to God. How do they compare? How should they compare? I know it's hard to get a good balance in today's world. But how can you even up the score? TIP: You know that time you spend with your guitar, maybe you could invite God into that time. Secondly, a quote. I've got no idea where it's from or who said it, but here it is. "A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't."

Crucified_With_Christ · Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2004 6:07 am Post subject:

Good word, PunkStar! I needed to hear that. Let me give you a quick background informational on myself. During the school year, I would be in bed by 9:00 and up by 5:00 every day. I would wake up as soon as my alarm went off, shower, and do my devotions for 2 hours. I loved it! Whenever I told anyone, they would inevitably look at me with a face that clearly stated, "You screwball! Why would you go to bed that early?! And furthermore, who in their right mind would purposefully get up that early?!" Some were even bold enough to ask that out loud. But for me, that was the schedule that worked and I was having the most amazing time of my life with my Savior and Friend, Jesus Christ.
Then summer came. And along with it came staying up 'till 11:30 or later every night. And along with those late hours came a major decline in my "Bible time". Major meaning down to nothing! I've been arguing with myself about putting some time aside for my God, but I just haven't taken the initiative and I can see myself slipping. Now, because of your post, I am going to put aside a goodly amount of time this day and work at a schedule that could hold for all the coming summer days. All I needed was a challenge, and I'm very excited to start this time up again with my best Friend who I've neglected for the last couple of weeks.
Thanks PunkStar! I'll keep you posted on how it's going and how my schedule unfolds. You are quite an encouragement to me and I'm happy for the kick in the pants that I have just received from your first "Sermon A Second".
- Crucified_
- Tim

PunkStar · Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:46 am Post subject:

Cool, I'm glad you got something out of it. I guess the new forum has already come in useful for something. I'm also glad you managed to find a system that works for you. I'm still tinkering with mine. I hope God brings you some real blessings with your new study time. Congrats dude! Hope you enjoy it.

jeff_osu · Tiger Joined: 17 Sep 2003 Posts: 838 Location: Oklahoma

Good post! (Somehow I missed this Confused

)

Regarding Bible time, I used to sit the Bible on my bed. It actually never left my bed. Every night when I'd go to sleep I would read for about 10-20 minutes. You can't just forget when it's on your pillow, plus you can reflect on what you read as you go to sleep. That was the system that worked best for me.

PunkStar · Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 9:20 pm Post subject:

I use a similar system. When I wake up, I do about 10 minutes of Bible reading and then I read the day's daily devotion from one of my books. So that's about 15 minutes. Then I go through my school day. Then before I go to be, I read a Bible commentary for 15 minutes. Then I go to sleep. That's my system of Scripture study.

Steve · Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2004 10:54 pm Post subject:

Great thread.

When I was a new Christian I did a lot of writing down the scriptures into notebooks. Passages from the New Testament mostly, at that time.

It really got those Scriptures down into me, like eating them. The Holy Spirit brings them to mind often now.

Nowadays I mostly just underline when I'm reading the Bible. Seems like I underline different parts of the same passages the next time I'm on that page. Pretty soon many pages will be totally underlined!
The Lord keeps it fresh. Cool

Crucified_With_Christ · Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2004 5:59 pm Post subject:

Steve, I do the same thing that you say you used to do. I love writing and I'm always recording neat peices of Scripture that I find. I find that writing it down burns it into my memory even better than saying it over and over again. Of course, I believe that meditation of Scripture is a huge part of memorization, I still feel that that process starts when I write it down in my little notebook. Then to journal my thoughts about that portion of Scripture further inscribes it upon my memory. I love it! And I love when God brings a portion of His written Word to memory when it is most needed. We serve a pretty neat God. And yes, Steve, He does keep it fresh! Smile

- Crucified_