Here we are at the halfway point of 2018. I know, already? You know what recent trends reveal. Most Oscar Awards quality films come out in the last month of the year. A number appear in the fall season. Yet each year a few surprises emerge from the early season fair of films. How? A cult of popularity develops. A limited release strategy suddenly blossoms from viral word of mouth. Remember 2017? Oscar winner Get Out premiered in February.
My journey of personal observations which I have made over the years to apply Bible reading in my life.
1 Corinthians 3:6 He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the spirit. For the letter kills, but the spirit produces life.
Observation
We have been made ministers of a new coveneant of the spirit.
Applicationin my life
The letter of the law convicts sin and the wages or the sentence is a death sentence, hence the letter kills. The spirit produces life through the ministry of Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We are freed from the consequences of our sin and able to live under the direction of the spirit which aligns us with the mind of Christ. As ministers, it is our role to serve, to aide, to teach, to pray over, to correct, to disciple, and to love. We are ambassadors of the Christian way of life, and we invite as many as we can to choose it and follow it and spread it and practice it with us.
My prayer
Lord, thank you for the new covenant, and for showing me how to minister it. Let your will be done in this area in my life and the lives of those whom I share my life with, Amen
My journey of personal observations which I have made over the years to apply Bible reading in my life.
Genesis 41:12-13
“A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. When we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. And as he interpreted to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office and the baker was hanged.”
Observation
The cupbearer tells Pharaoh about Joseph, what Joseph had done, and he vouched for Joseph before the most powerful person in the land.
Application in my life
Joseph’s is a story of a man rising from the lowest depths to the highest heights. It does not take place unless the cupbearer bears witness to Pharaoh about what this man Joseph can do. That does not happen unless Joseph responds to the needs of the cupbearer. At that time, I wonder what Joseph was thinking. Here I am in this awful situation and these men want something.Why should I bother? Who are they? I don’t know, but whatever he thought Joseph did respond to them. And by helping them it paved the way for him to have an oppertunity later to go before Pharaoh. When he went to see Pharaoh he helped him. Joseph was ready to be used by God in this important role because he had done what was needed earlier, helped those in need.
So for me I want to understand that at anytime and with any person I might be helping what I do is important and valuable to them, if to no one else. We never know who will be a witness for us in the future. But someday they might be a witness before the most powerful; before Jesus, and testify about what we did for them.
My prayer
Lord, Joseph’s story reveals much to us if we let it. With the things You have blessed me let me be responsible, and wiling to help those who I can, and do it with joy and love, Amen
James Patterson has sold many books and has many fans. This book is the first of the 17 Women’s Murder Club series novels. Book number 17 The 17th Suspect was published this year.
I prefer to read mystery genre. I enjoy historical fiction. I’ve found dystopian science fiction and fantasy fun too. We all have our preferences. How do I measure quality mystery? Read anything by John D. MacDonald and you will know my idea of quality. The story surrounds a female homicide detective in San Francisco and three women whom she confers with regarding an investigation. The four women form her unofficial murder club.
What I liked
Four professional women meeting and brainstorming a difficult criminal investigation. What’s not to like about that? The setting is San Francisco, which I know very little about. Either it’s not a very fascinating location, or the author has failed to capture it in a manner that has enthralled me. I like the fact that it has potential so I’ll leave it there for now.
The plot keeps you guessing, and you can guess right yet still enjoy the story. That means the writing is fairly satisfying in it’s own right. The protagonist, Inspector Lindsay Boxer, is a well fleshed out character. However, as told through her first person perspective, I did not get to know enough about the other three female characters (there were actually four others). I did like them. They were written to be likeable.
The relationship between Lindsay and her partner John Raleigh was great. I could get into any number of cases involving these two and appreciate how they approach challenges. Very refreshing.
What I didn’t like
I did not accept the author’s premise for the John Raleigh character at all. It was a terribly simplistic view of life. It did not work at all for me. So I can’t see any point in reading anymore books in this series. Sorry. Something else that really bothered me. Why in so many police mysteries are the cops all good – like this one – or completely bad? Can’t anyone write a mystery where the cops are mostly good accept for a few exceptions? That would be too realistic I guess.
The ending. If there was any possibility at all that I would read another Women’s Murder Club novel, the ending guarantees that will not happen. Too bad for me. The idea of these four women supporting each other in their professional ambitions and their personal struggles, is such a good one. I will miss out since I think this first one misses the mark.
One of the benefits of travel is the experience of nature at its best. The majesty of the sights, sounds, and feelings from sun, wind, and water. Nothing compares.
An example of this: The hike to Stewart Falls in Sundance, Utah.
The location can be reached only on foot.
You can then appreciate the reward for your effort, and the fulfillment of your anticipation.
About 4 miles long, by setting your own pace most can make it.
My journey of personal observations which I have made over the years to apply Bible reading in my life.
1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is a great gain.
Observation
Godliness is a character trait that is spoken of as profitable. Godliness is combined with contentment and given high esteem as benefitting those who attain it.
Temptation is a challenge every person faces, both believer and non-believer. The consequences for giving into temptation are dire. Godliness is a goal only for the believer. Godliness combined with contentment rewards those who posses both. How can this be acheived? Understanding what it means to be content, which is something to grow in, becoming more knowledgeable about it, and experienced with it. One faith message is that prayer and communication with God about the things we face will bring us contentment. Asking for God to supply our needs and the desires of our hearts when we pray is one part. So, perhaps when I see something desirable, whether a car or clothes or computer, I can ask myself am I content without having this new thing? Can I be content whether I have it or not? My answer should be yes. If not, I need to ask God to help me see what the cause of my unhappiness is and address it with God’s ability to heal me spiritually, or emotionally through counseling or ministry. Like a support group. If I can be content without it then there are other questions. Is this going to cause me temptation that I might be able to resist? WIll I unwisely incur debt to get it? These questions can help me recognize what it is to be contented so that I can practice and grow better at living a contented lifestyle.
My prayer
Lord there is great gain associated with godliness and contentment. I thank you for this lesson and the oppertuntiy to attain these things and live a life blessed by You. Let me embrace the contentment that You would have me to experience. Amen
Carbohydrates are a problem. At least for me. So out of necessity I searched for a short-term solution where I could cut carbs and lose weight too. I am getting to the point where I need to settle in on a long-term alternative for my diet. This is a good time to reflect on where eating and maintaining Ketosis arrived as a tool for me.
I began with strict daily calorie counts. 25 grams maximum of carbs. To reach the level of fat burning I wanted, my ratio of 4% Calories from carbs, 15% from protein and 81% from fat was what I followed. So, with about 2000 calories daily, I had 77 grams of protein and 184 grams of fat to eat.
Was it hard? You bet it was. Finding enough fat to eat seemed almost impossible. The shock for me was realizing how much the typical American diet is high carb and “low” fat. What was good for me is that I reached Ketosis quickly and saw early weight loss. I did not stay on it very long because of the health risks people around me kept reminding me of.
I found that using a dieting app was indispensable. After looking around a bit I went with Lifesum. The choice of diets with the app were a factor for me. I soon switched to their Ketogenic easy. This meant I now got to eat a whopping 100 grams of carbs each day. My ratio changed to 20% calories from carbs, 15% from protein and 65% from fat. The bad news was that my protein stayed at 77 grams per day. The shift up by 75 grams of carbs was offset by a reduction in 35 grams of fat down to 149 grams a day.
While that may seem easy as the name implies, at first it was hard for me to get up to 100 carbs. I began with the idea that by eating about 4 times I could average about 25 grams of carbs per meal. This average was significant for me because I was wary of how large swings in carb consumption would affect blood sugar.
One of the biggest benefits from this new diet was that it led me on an unending search for healthy, convenient, nutritious and consumable sources of carbohydrates. So many of these foods checked off some of the boxes but not all. They might be extremely hard to prepare, or even harder to digest! Some are delicate and challenging to use. It seemed like the window of when they are ripe, and edible was so small that if you didn’t have a backyard garden full of trees giving birth to them the moment before you ate some, then forget it.
Another benefit was that I lost weight, and on a gradual timeline. I learned over time how I would be able to maintain my goal weight once I reached it. With the 2000 calorie plan, any day I burned more than I consumed contributed to my weight loss. The app was a big help with measuring my daily calorie burns.
My takeaways.
Eat at least 4 meals at regular intervals. If fasting, plan the fasting periods with care.
Avoid unhealthy calories. These can lead to very bad consequences. Take the time and make the effort to find healthy types of fat, protein, and carbohydrates for your diet and then eat them in healthy amounts.
Counting calories is a good habit to have. Knowing how much you are eating keeps you out of danger.
Counting the calories that you burn each day has huge benefits. This lets you know if your amount of exercise is contributing to a healthy lifestyle or an unhealthy one.
Healthy dieting can provide better alternatives than caffeine and other stimulants people depend on.
There are so many things to learn about diet and exercise that can impact not only your health but your brain, your skin, your energy, even your sleep.
My journey of personal observations which I have made over the years to apply Bible reading in my life.
Acts 7:58-60 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this he fell asleep.
Observation
One of the people Steven asked God to forgive when he was put to death was Saul. His dying words were do not hold this sin against them.
Application in my life
Perhaps this, Stephen’s selfless loving forgiveness, is the source of Saul’s opportunity. A door opened, through which Saul could enter and choose to convert from being a persecutor of Christians to stand up and be counted as a leader of the Christian movement.
God approached Saul and offered him forgiveness and a chance to change from within, change his heart mind and soul. So I think of this as an example. Why? Because Saul was a mortal enemy, and he was won over – not by combat or conflict – but by the power of God’s love and the power of God’s presence. So for us we can know that our enemies today can be won over by the power of God’s presence, love, and forgiveness. So as Steven prayed for his enemies, we should also pray for our enemies that they allow the truth to be heard and are thereby transformed by a change of heart.
Myprayer
Lord, a more powerful human example than Stephen, I cannot imagine. Let that be one example for me as I pray with the belief that such prayer will lead to the conversion of the strongest opponents of Christian faith, Amen
