Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Call To Remember and Obey

This is one of my favorite thanksgiving passages, the Lord provides:

Deuteronomy 8

“Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell. Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.
“So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills. 10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. 12 For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, 13 and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful! 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 15 Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! 16 He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. 17 He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ 18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.
19 “But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. 20 Just as the Lord has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the Lord your God.

Love you guys, I am thankful for you guys and thank God that I have two amazing brothers to walk along side me through life. Happy Thanksgiving.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

prosperity gospel?

so i've been in the library a tad too many hours lately. so when i check my twitter and all the peeps are hittin me up (aka none) i sometimes get distracted. but the weird thing about twitter is sometimes random people "follow" you. i don't know why. and you have no say in the matter! if some rando tried to be my facebook friend, i'd block them so quick. anyways, some twitter person followed me so i check out their "page" is what i think it's called. you can see it here. and then there is a link to their website so i click on that which takes me here.
my thought process goes something like this, "oh whatever cool they want people to give back... good idea i gue.. wait what?!? it says (and i quote), 'you deserve to be rich - financially, emotionally, spiritually, and in all areas of life'. um excuse me? wanna back that up a bit?"
i just don't know where in the Bible someone would get that. it is like they never read Job or Psalm 88. there is nothing positive or rich about those passages. don't get me wrong, God has blessed me beyond what i deserved and frankly beyond what i asked for.  i want hardships.  i know for a fact i have a hard time accepting love and help.  and it is almost like i don't need to because my life is so easy, too easy.  at the very least, i know that i do not 'deserve to be rich - financially, emotionally, spiritually and in all areas of life'

1O LORD, God of my salvation; I cry out day and night before you.2Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!3For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.4I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength,5like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.6You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep.7Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah8You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;9my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O LORD; I spread out my hands to you.10Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah11Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?12Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?13But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.14O LORD, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?15Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.16Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me.17They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together.18You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.

~Psalm 88

Monday, November 5, 2012

break from studying.

for lack of time for a full post, here is something to hold your interest when a study break is necessary. but do not fear, a post will come soon.

worst music video of all time?

and after that

cutest eating contest of all time?