Why Do I Blog?

I believe everything we do should have purpose. No action can or should be without purpose. Even those things we say have no purpose, actually do have at least one purpose; the purpose being, of course, to have no purpose. That being said, on this 60th blog entry, I thought it would be good to think out why it is I blog. There is definitely a purpose, but I’ve never spelled it out here.

Almost everything I type here has gone through one prior brainstorm. I journal regularly. Most of the things you read here on my blog – not all – have already been thought out and written down in my journal. Journaling helps me think out what I believe. It helps me succinctly spell out the reasons I believe a particular way about a particular issue. The things I post here are mainly the things that either get me excited during my journaling or that I think might be helpful to someone else. Not everything I journal about makes it on to the blog.

So, why do I blog? One reason: I don’t want to be a sponge who sits around and soaks up knowledge and insight but never releases it back out. We have too many sponges in the church. Sponges would be people who soak up knowledge, but never share what they have learned with anyone. Knowledge, shared, benefits, not just the hearer, but also the person sharing. For me, sharing the insights I gain from Scripture makes me want to dig deeper. So I post it here. I’m not necessarily fishing for responses – although I do appreciate the ones I receive. I just want to share what the Holy Spirit teaches me, plain and simple. It’s not arrogance, it’s not pride, it’s not that I think I’m smarter than anyone. I just love sharing and I can’t help it. Also, I feel a responsibility to share. Jesus teaches us that from those who have been given much, much will be required. If what I share protects someone from making a mistake, then AMEN! My sharing has borne fruit. The knowledge we receive in our times with God should serve not just to protect us, but to protect others in God’s family as well.

In the end, I am a fallible man, and my best understanding of things may be incomplete. I welcome discussion and debate. Healthy discussion over issues is a good thing in my book; even if neither of us are persuaded to change our minds. At a minimum, it causes us to examine more closely what we truly believe.

Coffee with Jesus

I wanted to share with you all the biggest discovery of this year for me. This needs to begin with a confession. My life has been marked by inconsistency in regard to “quiet times” or whatever you want to call them (Personally, I eschew the use of that phrase, but that’s typically what everyone calls it, so I’ll call it a “quiet time” in this post.). That is until this year. 2008 is the first year – EVER – that I have had an eight month run of nearly perfect consistency. My best efforts in the past had been 2 maybe 3 months of consistent quiet times. The rest of the time was marked by a quiet time here, then skip 4-5 days and have another one, then have 2 or 3 days, then miss a week, ad nauseum.

There never was a lack of desire. I constantly desired to spend time with Jesus, but I was blowing it on a regular basis. This year, I resolved to do things differently and do something for which I never had much enthusiasm. I began keeping a journal of my quiet times. It did not take long, and I began to love it. I cannot tell you how much my spiritual walk has been enriched because I began taking notes about what I was reading, what the Lord was teaching me, and my thoughts on particular passages. Keeping a journal does a few specific things:

• It makes you deal with the passage at hand. In doing so, it prevents you from always defaulting to your favorite topics or pet passages.
• It helps you remember with more clarity what you have been learning. And if you forget, you can always refer back to your notes.
• If you teach a Bible study, your notes can come in handy as a supplement to your study materials.

Most importantly, my love for the Word, my love for Jesus has grown during this time. I can hardly stand missing a single morning. I always try to make it up on my lunch hour (it’s not the same, but I still enjoy it). My coffee with Jesus every morning has changed my life for the better.

I hope this offers you some encouragement if you are struggling like I was.