All posts in Jesus Stuff

I read a lot, and as I come across things that make me think, encourage me, cause me to grow, or that just seem pertinent, I am going to start passing them along as mini-devotionals. It may be once a month, it might be 3 in one week. That’s why they’re called Sporadic Devotionals.

My hope is that you’ll be able to steal 3 or 4 minutes and contemplate them. Even better if you feel like hitting  the comments below and continuing the conversation. I hope you enjoy them, and for the maiden voyage, here is a quote I recently came across with a lot of truth.

“Without the regular experience of being received and loved by God in solitude and silence, we are vulnerable to a kind of leadership that is driven by profound emptiness that we are seeking to fill through performance and achievement. This unconscious striving is very dangerous for us and for those around us; it will eventually burn us out (since there is no amount of achievement that will ultimately satisfy the emptiness of the human soul), and the people we work with will eventually notice that they are mere cogs in the wheel of our own ego-driven plans.”

-Ruth Haley Barton, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership

To kick off what is arguably the biggest “giving” week of the year, some interesting stats courtesy of (super awesome) online budget tool Mint.com

One of the things I found the most interesting was the exorbitant number of charities in the United States. Consolidation would probably lead to more efficient use of charitable funds. And speaking of efficient use of funds, the Disabled Veterans Association is a good example of the ugly side of fundraising.

– Mint.com

What do you think? Would Jesus praise the charity of Americans, or call us to give even more?

I love lucky charms. And not just because I bear a striking resemblance to the guy on the box. I love the way the marshmallows taste, the fun different types of shapes, and the neat colors the milk turns as the colored sugar dissolves.

One day, I was eating breakfast in the dining hall of my college. One of my classmates sat down across from me and on his tray were a heaping bowl of lucky charms, an empty bowl, and a 20oz. bottle of Mountain Dew.

I watched as he meticulously separated the marshmallow shapes out from the pieces of wheat cereal. He placed the marshmallow pieces in his empty bowl until he had a healthy helping of colorful sugar, and another bowl that more closely resembled Cheerios rather than Lucky Charms. Then, he poured the Mountain Dew on the ‘mallows, and proceeded to eat them as though there was nothing odd. When he was done, he threw away the wheat parts and left.

I’m impressed that he didn’t go into shock, and glad I wasn’t sitting by him in my next class. But that image of picking out the sugary stuff and washing it down with pure (delicious) caffeine has always stuck with me.

A lot of people read the Bible the way my buddy ate his Lucky Charms. They pick out the sweet parts that are fun to eat. The feel good things like don’t steal, help the poor, God loves you, and other verses that are pretty easy to swallow. They are happy to eat the marshmallows of the Bible, but stay away from the parts that don’t taste as good. Things like don’t be arrogant or greedy, don’t gossip, stay pure, put others before yourself, and other verses that require us to actually change how we live.

You know those Nutritional Facts panels on the sides of cereal boxes? The results are based on eating everything in the box, not just one part. The Bible works the same way, the whole thing is good, and meant to be taken as a whole. So we need to be sure that we don’t just pick the comfortable, tasty, sugary parts of being a Christian. We need to take everything the Bible says, even the parts that are hard to swallow, and make it a part of our life. Any other way, just isn’t healthy.