Aim High

I think I set the bar a little high when it comes to this Blog. I started "Look at the Source" to post summaries from the time I spend with the youth here at Pilgrim in the Word, and secondly just to post random thoughts and comments (see "I Still Have McPheever"). But let me be honest, it's time consuming and a little difficult to put these messages on here. Besides the fact that I hand write everything and don't type my notes on my beautiful, yet incredibly functional iBook, it's hard to convey my "audience participation" style of teaching on here. I have several devos waiting to be typed up and available for your reading pleasure, but I just haven't found the time. Don't worry I will get them on soon enough, because I believe in the importance of this and other Blogs just like it.

As if this Blog wasn't enough, I have once again set another lofty goal. The youth ministry at Saxe Gotha led by my awesome friends and people whom I admire and have learned a lot from, Amy and Roddy, encouraged their youth and parents to read the Bible in a year using the awesome Daily Bible which contains 365 daily readings arranged in chronological order. It also contains sound commentary to guide you along and make you feel like you're part of the story. I decided I needed to be a part of this group and read the Bible in a year. This was sometime in February. I attempted to do this several times, one time attempting to do it as part of my Lenten "pick up something good, don't give up something" campaign. Each time I didn't even make it through Genesis.

Last week I was at a kick-off breakfast for the Crop Walk. The track and field coach from the University of South Carolina was the guest speaker picked to inspire us. He had many good things to say; though the speech was very disjointed. One thing he said that has stuck with me is "Aim high, reach for the stars, if you don't make it you're still pretty high" (or something very similar). I've heard others say "Shoot for the stars, if you miss you may still hit the moon". Taking this to heart and knowing that I need to spend more time in the Word, I decided to once again pick up my Daily Bible. But this time there's a twist. If I had stuck with Saxe Gotha's plan I'd have till February to finish; however, I want to reach for the stars! There's 4 months left in the year, if I read 3 sections a day, a whopping 15 pages (which includes commentary) , I'll finish by the end of the year! How awesome would that be to finish the whole Bible in 4 months! Though I'm not a big fan of doing what one of my favorite profs from GCC, Dr. Gordon, refers to as "Bible Laps" (reading the Bible quickly just to do it as opposed to reflecting on and studying smaller chunks), by reading the Bible in this short of a time span it will refresh my memory of many of the events and people, especially that which is contained in the Old Testament. Though I took a semester course on the OT 5 years ago, I don't remember much; some would say it went away with the final...along with History, Civ 101, Chemistry, etc. If I don't complete my goal and reach that star, hopefully I'll hit the moon and maybe catch up with my friends and finish in February, that still isn't that bad. Just like 15 pages isn't that bad. Think of all the stuff we read in a day...or all the TV shows we watch...or all the time we spend on the internet. I think I can give up enough of that to read 15 pages a day. I'll read 2 days worth in the morning and one day's worth at night. What better way to spend my time then reading the Word of God? After I finish my "Bible Laps" I'll spend more time reflecting on and studying individual passages...just for you Dr. Gordon!

I think I just inspired myself!

Now get out there and read those Bibles!

I'm Third!

I often wonder how many minutes...actually, hours of the day I spend thinking about myself. Better yet I would rather not know, because I think the number would scare me. In fact, I do not need to know to realize it's way too high and something needs to be done about it. My mind is often consumed with me. I don't want to stereotype/speak for everyone, but I'm sure it's the same for you. We live in a materialistic culture that bombards us with ads reminding us that what we have is not good enough, and nor will it ever be good enough till we buy the next new thing which in a matter of no time will not be good enough and once again this vicious cycle continues. We're told that we don't have enough, what we have is not good enough, and we're not pretty/handsome enough. In addition to this, we will do anything to adapt and change our schedule, even if it involves giving something up (like sleep) to make a situation better for ourselves. However, when it comes time for us to give the same thing up to help someone else, even someone close to us, we grumble and complain, making sure they hear about it.

Our priorities are in need of a major realignment! 1 Chronicles 16:11 (Many of you probably didn't know there was a book in the Bible called Chronicles, let alone 2 of them!) tells us to "Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his presence continually". This same exact statement is repeated in the book of Psalms chapter 105 verse 4. We're called to seek his face and his strength continually, that means (according to my handy dictionary widget...oh I love Mac OS X) "always happening; having no interruptions". How many of us can say this is true about our walk? I know I certainly can't, though I wish it was true!

Summer's Best Two Weeks, a Christian sports camp in good 'ole Western PA, has one of the best slogans I have ever heard. It goes like this: "God First, Others Second, I'm Third". How many of us would group our priorities in that order? [Very few, if any hands raise] I would be willing to bet that most of us rank our priorities in the exact opposite order. [Heads nod, hands raise, and shouts of "Amen" can be heard] I think the Bible has something to support the importance of this slogan. Matthew 6:33 states, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well". This verse appears in the Sermon on the Mount and is contained in the section in which Jesus calls us "not to store up money and riches on earth (6:19-24), not to worry about the future (6:25-34), to refrain from self-righteousness judgment (7:1-5), and to go to God for all our needs (7:7-11)" (Nick Page, The Map, pg. 254). All of these require us to change our priorities, to focus less on ourselves, and more on God.

When we focus on God continually, making sure to put Him first, the rest will just fall into place. We will naturally want to serve others and focus less on ourselves. When we immerse ourselves in His presence, we'll realize how frivolous our attempts are to constantly satisfy our needs, and therefore strongly desire to serve Him and our neighbor. I'll be the first to tell you this isn't easy and I don't always accomplish it, but I try, and you should to.

Join me by shouting: "I'M THIRD!!!!!!"

~August 15, 2006
Prayer Breakfast

I Still Have McPheever!

The day is finally here! In a little more than 2 hours I will be fully engrossed in the concert delight of the season...American Idols Live (sponsored by Pop-Tarts). When my mom and I ordered the tickets it seemed so far away, but time sure did fly after a busy summer.

I used to never watch American Idol, mostly due to the fact that it is so hard to follow a show of its caliber while attending college, however, due to my lack of cable and wanting to check what it's all about, I began watching this winter...and man was I hooked! I critiqued every little thing and was captivated by the whole spectacle. Next season I might even adopt the Mama She-She form of evaluation, using checks and half checks. I often thought: "How cool would that be if that was me singing on that stage? Come on now, I'm better than Bucky and especially Taylor (ask me about him and I will give you many reasons why I don't like him and believe he will be the next Ruben. You belong in Vegas Taylor!)."

It amazes me how many people vote for these so called "Idols" but when it comes to voting for the president of the most powerful nation in the world, less that 50% of the population shows up at the polls...how sad! If you don't vote you have no right to complain about Bush, the war in Iraq, or any other elected official, I won't even give you the time of day. See that's why I can openly critique Taylor and the rest of the Idols, because I religiously voted (whenever I could get through) for my girl Katherine McPhee. Now I know what you're thinking: "Paul, you only voted for her because she has a pretty face.", though this factored into my decision, it was not the only reason (I liked her early on, before Hollywood started putting inappropriate, revealing clothes on her. It's sad what they do to those girls every year.). Have you heard her sing lately? No one else this season is in the same league (except for Chris, who is lucky he didn't win so he can sing his own style). I have always loved that soulful sound of jazz and blues music and I feel Kat is perfect for that, I can't wait till her album drops later this Fall. And did I mention her amazing range, or her ability to send chills down your spine while singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"?

Well that's all for now, hopefully I will be able to appease your appetite for more "American Idols Live" dirt that has developed after reading this, and post all the highs and lows a little later (most likely Taylor will be in some of those lows...but maybe not, I'm gonna try and give him a chance).

Food for thought: Are you old enough to vote? Do you? If you vote for your favorite Idol for 2 hours every week, you need to be voting in every election. Remember, the American Idol is not going to be helping to end poverty or solve the world's problems. Even if you don't watch Idol you need to be voting.

Better yet, think about the cultural things you follow religiously. Think about all the time and effort you put forth to follow those things. Do you put that much time into your walk with Christ? Do you pursue Him with as much passion and fervor? Let's all strive to answer that with a resounding YES!