Mental Musings

I am part of a home small group Bible study and our study this week is taken from the book of Habakkuk ( click here to hear it pronounced). I thought I would post some lessons that I learned from this study, which is chapter 17 in the book Right Thinking In A World Gone Wrong: A Biblical Response to Today's Most Controversial Issues by John MacArthur. Habakkuk 1:1-4 – Habakkuk basically asks God, “Why aren’t you doing anything about Judah’s sinfulness?” Habakkuk 1:5-11 – God’s answer was basically, “I am doing something. I am sending the Babylonians (modern region of Iraq) to conquer and enslave Judah.” Habakkuk was shocked by God’s response and asked a second question. Habakkuk 1:12-17 – Habakkuk’s second question was “How can you allow these unclean, uncircumcised, ungodly people conquer and enslave Your chosen people, the Kingdom of priests?” At first he was upset that God was not doing anything about the sin, and then he was upset that God was being overly drastic in Hi...

After shoveling 2 feet of snow twice in the last two months, I have learned some important things that I thought I would share with others. Normally you should breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth while exercising, however doing this out in the cold will only cause your nose to freeze. It is one of the few jobs where you get to start at the top and work your way down. When you don’t want to shovel anymore, it is a great time to meet some of your neighbors who probably are looking for an excuse to rest as well. If you don’t do the job completely, you will be slipping on ice later. No matter how cold you may get, you will still sweat. Hot Chocolate is as important to have on hand as water, milk and bread. "Plan ahead" counts here as well or you may be shoveling the same snow twice. Even the fluffiest snow can break glass. It is far easier to walk 1.5 miles in knee-deep snow than it is to shovel 2 feet of snow from a 20-foot driveway. Your own kids cannot poss...

2012 will be a big year. Not because the Mayan calendar ends, but because it will mark my 30th Anniversary in ministry. Today is my fourth anniversary at my current church. I realized that half of my ministry years have been spent at this church and the two previous. A few years ago I led a Bible Study which emphasized that we should take the time to mark down the mileposts in our Christian Life. Some people call them mile markers because they mark the mile or distance from the beginning of a road. Most roads in the US mark the miles from South to North and West to East so that you can tell how many miles left if you are driving South or West and you can tell how far you have driven if you are driving North or East. Why is it important that we take the time to mark our own mileposts in life? We often can easily think about the problems and difficulties that we have experienced. These difficult times can help us realize just how much God has done for us during the storms of life. But du...