Hey guys! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. I know my family and I did. It's always good to have a white Christmas, and we certainly did here! I love it!
It's been a few days since I posted, and I have a reason. I have been quite sick, and simply didn't feel like posting! However, the Lord has allowed me to start getting better, and therefore I return to you. This is not a deep, long-winded post, as that should come tomorrow (I'm working on one). I do have a few things to address, however. :)
First, I want to thank everyone that read my last post. I received a lot of nice feedback, and I really appreciate that. I makes me desire to write more about the wonders of God, if I feel they are reaching people. Which leads me to my next point..
We've made it to China! For anyone that doesn't know via Facebook, I'm really pumped about that. China is a Communist country, and thus does not promote anyone having religion. While they are not as strict as some other countries, they are tough enough that yesterday, during his Christmas speech, the Pope felt the need to call them out for their attacks on Christianity. In fact, Christianity is only allowed to exist because it profits China's ever-growing economy. When some of your biggest customers are nations like the US, Britain and Australia, which all have large Christian populations, it isn't good business to imprison their kind.
Regardless, this blog got into China, and that shows that the Internet may be an effective way to reach the people of China and other nations that are hostile to the Truth. Other countries we have reached, as of today, include: Canada, Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Germany, Croatia, and Slovenia. This is great news to me, that people all over the world can be touched by God's Word through this blog. It's also a lot of pressure to make sure I do what He tells me to write, as well!
One last thing: an update on my "expedition" through the Bible in a year. I am now nearly at the end of my stay in the New Testament, as only the Books of John and Acts remain (yes, I went out of order). As I go through, I want to share something with you each day, more than a long post every few days. Therefore, a feature I kind of started on my old blog, Life in a Mason Jar of Lightning Bugs (if you would like to know the meaning behind both of these titles, please leave a comment. I will post an explanation) will be resurrected. It will now be called "Thoughts from the Retro Bible."
This will be a daily thing. My old "teen" Bible has all kinds of little boxes in the middle of passages, highlighting meanings and themes. For each day, I will find one that pertains to what my reading was. Some days I may paraphrase the Retro Bible's "helper box"; some days I won't. As an example, today's reading was John 1-4. My Retro Bible post begins now.
Thought from the Retro Bible: Stay on Your Toes
"5 His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.' 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water'; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.' They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, 'Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.' 11 This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him." -John 2:5-11
There's an important lesson here: Always be ready to do anything for God, however crazy it may seem. You never know when there's going to be a miracle just around the corner.
This thought was brought to you courtesy of Revolution: The Bible for Teen Guys.
No comments:
Post a Comment