NoiseTrade Widget

Our band is doing a nationwide radio promotion for 8 weeks starting this Monday. I am excited to see how many of the 350 stations around the country will end up playing Kingdom of Noise? I am happy to let you in on a little free download here if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet!

Ten on Ten :: June 2009

Ten on Ten :: May 2009

Ten on 10

Gen. 1-11: Finish Strong

I have never been a good finisher...I like to start new things and get them going and then think of something else to start. At first glance it would be easy to talk about beginnings...after all we are reading Genesis...but I was struck as I read that in the first 11 chapters of Genesis it is painfully obvious that I am not the only one who has trouble finishing strong.

God sets the example early...get your work done and then rest. Adam and Eve get a lot done and then get distracted by the serpent...with some fairly large consequence. Noah is incredibly faithful but then, in retirement, chooses to make a vineyard and get drunk. And right at the end we read of Abram's father Terah who, on his way to Canaan, decides he will just stop in Haran for awhile/for the rest of his life...a decision that will cost Abram half of his inheritance.

I remember when I was in Middle School and this guy spoke about doing the most important things in the day first so that you can be a strong finisher every day. He had an empty jar (to represent your day) and poured a bunch of sand in while saying, "The sand represents the extras...video games, t.v., joking, surfing the web and general time wasters." After dumping all of the sand in the jar he started dropping in rocks, "These are the things you know you should be doing...brushing your teeth, reading your Bible, caring for your family, finishing chores, encouraging others, and anything else that shows good stewardship of your time." He was quickly out of room in the jar and did not get all of the rocks in. In his second attempt he put all of the rocks in the jar first, and then poured in the sand, miraculously (to a junior higher) everything fit this time!

Losing site of the end is always a problem, and for many of us time runs out before we do the things we know we ought to do. Why wait until tomorrow to challenge your spouse? Why wait for New Years to make life changes, why wait for disaster before realizing something is wrong? Live the life you hope for today, and persevere! As I am reading through the Bible from the start there are definitely passages that I look forward to getting to: men of great faith, women of incredible hope and God's amazing promise at the end! I know there will be some slower parts along the way, but I believe God will speak through all of it. Paul, after just reflecting on many of these stories says in Heb. 12:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

In the beginning it is critical to have the end in mind, so that you can make every effort to move that direction...my hope is to not lose focus like Adam and Eve, rest foolishly like Noah or retire early like Haran.

Gen. 1: So This is the New Year!!! da...da......da...da...and I don't feel any different...da...da

Yep, great Death Cab song.
So this year I am hoping to read through the Bible by reading a few chapters each day in a chronological order. I have never been very strong in any discipline, my bane really, but I truly do grow a lot, and receive critical perspective when I read God's word. In fact, that was always the intent of this blog, (that I never update...the bane) was to use it to share ideas that inevitably come from readings that I like to dig into. Like a dog, however pathetic, my digging often simply ends in a mess...but if there is anything that can come out, if even an old bone, my hope is that I can put it into words here.
So, as I read the greatest book from the beginning, about the beginning today I am reminded that God's creation of us in his image, means (among many things) that we are in fact to create ourselves...perhaps not out of nothing (ex-nihilo) as only God can do, but we can take the bits and pieces that we have and work/hope for them to become something amazing.
At the end of the day, I am not convinced that the goal of the New Year is to feel incredibly different. Certainly, there is nothing really in the substance of this day that can differentiate itself from any other really...after all every day God's Spirit is hovering, every day we have things that we must steward, we make choices that honor, encourage and bless others, and we make choices that cause us to be ashamed and hide. Every single day is a gift, and I am thankful that on this day people stop and remember a fraction of that great truth!
Genesis 1-3 today...and if you would like to read along please let me know and you could follow this link: http://www.ewordtoday.com/year/31/cjan01.htm

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