At the facility where I work out, I noticed a flood of new membership starting in January. I think that a lot of these new members are people who are following through on a New Year’s resolution; and for the most part that is a good thing. On some nights, however, it is hard to get on a machine or use a particular piece of equipment. I realize that if these new members are just following a new resolution, it is possible that they will soon drop out and go back to their routine of not working out.
But what if these people, like me, have had an epiphany and decided that they didn’t need to have extra weight on their bodies? What if these people have concluded that being healthy is a goal that they want for their lives?
Actually, I hope that it is true and they are able to follow through and that it isn’t just a short term new phase they are going through. I hope that if they have had a wake-up-call that they can lose weight and make a change that will affect the rest of their lives.
After September 11, 2001, church attendance went up for a brief bit in America. People had a wake-up-call that caused them to look outside of themselves to God. Spirituality and religion became part of everyday conversations as people sought answers to get rid of the “extra weight” they were carrying emotionally. “God, where are you?” could be heard off the lips of atheists who seemed open to a God whom they didn’t believe to exist. They say that there are no atheists in foxholes, and I saw that in the weeks and months that followed these tragic times in the history of USA.
I had hope that this wasn’t just a short term new phase that people were going through. I hoped that if they have had a wake-up-call that they can make a change that will affect the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, when the memories cleared, and life became “normal” again (although it never has gone back to normal), people who were seeking God went back to their old routine of not needing Him.
Throughout the history of man this has been the case. All throughout the Old Testament we can read stories of God telling us not forget Him when life becomes good. In other words, He doesn’t want a relationship with us just when things are bad. God wants to spend time with us throughout our days; no matter what kind of a day we are having.
When Jesus was on this earth, He cried out as He saw how mankind had rejected God. Jesus said; “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37).
God is calling out to you who made the New Year’s resolution to search for God in 2010. To you who said; “There must be more to life than this!” To you who said’ “I have to do something to get rid of this extra weight that I am constantly weighed down with from my past”.
My friends, if today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts (Hebrews 3:15). Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2Corinthians 6:2).
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SUNDAY SCHOOL by Phil Keaggy
Give me more darkness said the blind man,
Give me more folly said the fool,
Give me stone silence said the deaf man,
I didn't believe Sunday School.
Take it away said the hungry man,
Although I'm starving I'll get by.
Take it away said the thirsty man,
I'll find a drink before I die.
I've got plenty of time to think of Heaven,
But right now there's too much on my mind.
And I've had enough of that religious stuff
And besides I can't relate to your kind.
Leave me alone said the lonely man,
Don't want to let go of this feeling.
Leave me to roam said the wanderer,
There's too many cracks in my ceilings.
I've got plenty of time to think of Heaven,
But right now there's too much on my mind.
And I've had enough of that religious stuff
And besides I can't relate to your kind.
Give me more darkness said the blind man,
Give me more folly said the fool,
Give me stone silence said the deaf man,
I didn't believe Sunday School.
I've got plenty of time to think of Heaven,
But right now there's too much on my mind.
And I've had enough of that religious stuff
And besides I can't relate to your kind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_jg8xPYF-o&feature=related
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