I'm going to be quite brief for this blog. I'm tired. Also, I have an exam approaching.
Now before you wonder why in the world I would post this video here, let me explain.
1.) I like to watch Ted talks when I take breaks from studying.
2.) Having learned to speak a second language when I was 13, I know how hard it can be. I also feel like I used some of these methods without knowing it when I was in the process of learning.
3.) The principles and main ideas in this video apply to much more than learning a language.
The speaker suggests listening to and using the language at every opportunity. What if we listened to God at every opportunity?
The speaker recommends getting a "language parent." What would happen if you got yourself a Christian accountability partner or mentor?
I found these parallels interesting, and know there are others, but my Chemistry and Biology books are calling my name, so....what parallels do you see??
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Luke 22:19-20
In this passage, Jesus tells his disciples to "Do this in remembrance of me." I was raised in a home where going to church was expected and I have now begun going to a new church that has communion every Sunday. I have always really liked the concept of coming together as a family in Christ and remembering the sacrifice He made for us. It is a somber experience that makes you think about the deeper things in life. It is a moment to reflect about where you are with God. It is a moment to take a step back from the world and think about eternity and where you stand in it. But I would really like to have a deeper definition of communion than that.
Let's define "communion." Dictionary.com has the following definitions:
Number one is obviously describing what we do at church, number two is also describing what we do at church. But now let's look at definition number three. An "association" or a "fellowship." When we take communion, we are coming as close to fellowship with God as we can on Earth. And number four? "An interchange or sharing of thoughts or emotions; intimate communication." When we take communion at church, are we sharing out thoughts and emotions on an intimate level with God? We should be.
But to continue this thought process, what about when we are not in church? What about the other 6 days of the week? Shouldn't we still be in or attempting to be in communion with God? Since Jesus used bread and wine, which were two common food and drink items in that time period I would like to think that he wasn't asking his disciples to come up with another ritual to do on a regular basis. I would like to think that Jesus was saying, "Whenever you eat, I want you to remember me." I'm not just saying that we should ask a prayer of blessing before each meal. I'm saying that before we eat we should take a step back and really communicate with God. Really think about where you are with Him. After all, if He gave his son, can't I give a little bit of time each day? Shouldn't I want to be in communion with my creator?
I don't know about you, but this is something that I am most definitely in need of working on. It is easy to forget. It is easy to be too hungry, too busy, too social, to forget to spend time in communion with God.
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
As a new college student, I am making an attempt to make new friends. Everyone here seems to be very friendly and also wants to make new friends. Part of this may be that there are more than 6,000 freshman who are also trying to meet new people and make new friendships. As I attempt to meet new people through various methods, I have to ask myself, "Why?" Why do I need friends? Why do I crave the contact of other people? Why can't I just depend on God for fulfillment? The simple answer to this is God designed humans for human contact.
The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man [Adam] to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
Genesis 2:18
God wants us to have friends. He wants us to have fellowship with other people. He wants us to support others and to accept support from others. He wants us to share his Love with others.
He wants us to depend of him to be fulfilled. He Loves us so much that his Love is all that we need. However, He wants us to share his Love with everyone. He wants us to show the world that He loves everyone. If we look to human love to be filled up, then we are going to be sadly disappointed. As hard as we try to fulfill the definition of love given to us in 1 Corinthians 13, we are going to fail. Therefore, our first step to being fulfilled is looking to God for love. Then, as we experience his Love, we can learn to love others the way that we are designed.
So why do I need to make friends? I need to make friends so that I can love. I need to make friends so that God can show the world his Love through me. I can make friends with the motivation being that I need friends to care about me, but that isn't what it should be about. My goal in making friends should be to show them God's love, so that they can experience his Power, his Glory, his Mercy, and his Grace.
Love, true, self-sacrificing, unselfish love, is an incredible force. It's hard. It is not a weakness. To love takes strength. And to find that strength, I will look to God, and his Love will fill me up, pour over the edges, and immerse others in something more powerful then they could even imagine.
Suffering from a lack of inspiration, I asked a friend from high school to give me a random object to blog about. The word I was given was "potato." To be completely honest, I have no idea where this blog is going to end up, but at least there will be a blog post.
Potatoes are a very amazing food. You can boil 'em, mash 'em, or stick 'em in a stew.
However, as it is very clear in this video, that is only one side of the story. Smeagol does not share the same opinion of potatoes as Sam or myself. Smeagol might be right about potatoes. They are relatively starchy compared to a lot of other plants. Some people might not like the taste of potatoes. But in the end, it really just depends on the opinion of the person whether or not they like or dislike potatoes.
There is much in this world that is based on opinion. There are also many facts in this world. We have to choose which things we are going to believe and where we want our opinions to be. That reminds me of a Bible verse.
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24:15
Today, I choose to like potatoes and to serve the Lord.
