Study...

It has always really confused me that we can go to church, serve actively, tithe often, and participate in religious activities without ever really experiencing Jesus. How do we manage being all things religion and no things Christ?

It's a heart thing. It always comes down to what we do with Jesus each moment personally. Which is proof of how intimate a relationship Jesus wants to have with us. Which is crazy cool.

I've never thought about how the Philippians verse is excluding everything but God. I don't really know what to add to that. But I know that this year I have been listening to worship music almost exclusively and it feels so much better. Not sure if that really connected all that much.

The part about what we're feeding ourselves really stuck out to me. It reminded me of a C.S. Lewis quote that says "We don't have a soul, we are a soul. We have a body." or something like that. In which case, it is equally if not more important that we find ways to let our souls be filled. I'm not all that interested in academia. I go to classes and get decent grades because "That's what you're supposed to do." So I'm not really sure what I study. I guess I study and invest my thoughts and time in people. Which is still a problem if there's not an abundance of soul feeding going on.

I really liked the scripture end notes this week! It was a little weird that this week was so small compared to Holy Week.

I really like the parable in Luke, it's not one I hear that much but I still remember. It is impossible to imagine the kind of dread I would feel if I was living pointlessly and then God told me I was going to die within the night. Because a lot of the time I'm sure I live pointlessly. But I wrote this next to the passage: What good does it do to make ourselves comfortable? There is a sickening abundance of the lost and broken.

And in Ephesians. Not giving the devil a foothold. We should be mindful of what he wants us to focus on. The part about building each other up part stood out to me. Especially the "according to their needs" part. We all receive encouragement differently and we all need different things at different times, it is also good to be aware of what's going on with that too.

I hope that this coming week I will remember to actively put into practice what I've learned this week about study. It's funny how that happens, because I was already planning on it.