SURFING BLOGS
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE:
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning all of them are right; they are faultless to those who have knowledge. Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 8:8-11
SURFING BLOGS
I recently signed this blog up, with Blog Explosion, to increase exposure. I am not sure that was a good thing. Yes, the number of people looking at my blog has increased. The problem is they are not reading it. They are staying just long enough to rack up credits for surfing blogs. Then they move to the next one. This is done to help increase the traffic to their blog. If you think about it, it makes no sense. People are going to flip from blog to blog and no one reads anything.
Now here is the kicker. My "surfing blogs theory" is exactly how many people pick their religion and their beliefs. They go from church to church and do not stay long enough to find out what that church really believes. You need to find a church, which fits you, but you cannot do that in one visit or even two. If you are going to try a new church, go for a few Sundays. That doesn't mean you have to join the choir the first week or be on a committee. It means you go and listen to the Word. You see how you are welcomed. You watch people as they worship. Does it feel comfortable? Are they preaching the Word of God or just saying what makes you feel good? Are there all age groups? Do they have small groups (Sunday School, Bible Studies, Craft/Art/Conversation groups where people with like interests can meet)? Do you feel the presence of God?
Many people also read the Bible in a "surfing blogs theory" way. They jump around in the Bible, reading first this and then that and they expect it to make sense. That is not going to happen. Again, you have to stop and take your time. Until the last couple of years, reading the Bible was my weakest area. I think that was because I never had any order to my reading. I would read a scripture attached to a devotional and call that good enough. It takes time and determination to make sense of the Bible. Everyone has their own style and you need to develop yours.
Surfing blogs may be fun, but you do not learn anything by surfing blogs. You learn by taking time to read. Surfing churches gets you in and out of a church fast, but you do not learn anything by surfing churches. You learn by staying and making decisions based upon more than one Sunday. Surfing the scripture is a fast way to go from verse to verse, but you do not learn the Word by going from here to there. You learn by slowly reading and finding the meaning and wisdom.
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY
Are you a surfer? Do you flip from blog to blog, not reading anything, always looking for the next blog? Do you go from church to church, always looking for one just a little better? Do you open the Bible and then hop from verse to verse?
Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.
LET US PRAY
Dear Jesus, You came to earth with one purpose - to serve your Father and do His will. You did not go from here to there, you put your feet on the path and you followed it. That is what I want to do. I want to belong to a church that teaches me how to walk the same path. I want that path to begin in the Old Testament and lead me to the very end of the New Testament. I do not want to be a surfer, I want to be ………………………………… Amen
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE:
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning all of them are right; they are faultless to those who have knowledge. Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 8:8-11
SURFING BLOGS
I recently signed this blog up, with Blog Explosion, to increase exposure. I am not sure that was a good thing. Yes, the number of people looking at my blog has increased. The problem is they are not reading it. They are staying just long enough to rack up credits for surfing blogs. Then they move to the next one. This is done to help increase the traffic to their blog. If you think about it, it makes no sense. People are going to flip from blog to blog and no one reads anything.
Now here is the kicker. My "surfing blogs theory" is exactly how many people pick their religion and their beliefs. They go from church to church and do not stay long enough to find out what that church really believes. You need to find a church, which fits you, but you cannot do that in one visit or even two. If you are going to try a new church, go for a few Sundays. That doesn't mean you have to join the choir the first week or be on a committee. It means you go and listen to the Word. You see how you are welcomed. You watch people as they worship. Does it feel comfortable? Are they preaching the Word of God or just saying what makes you feel good? Are there all age groups? Do they have small groups (Sunday School, Bible Studies, Craft/Art/Conversation groups where people with like interests can meet)? Do you feel the presence of God?
Many people also read the Bible in a "surfing blogs theory" way. They jump around in the Bible, reading first this and then that and they expect it to make sense. That is not going to happen. Again, you have to stop and take your time. Until the last couple of years, reading the Bible was my weakest area. I think that was because I never had any order to my reading. I would read a scripture attached to a devotional and call that good enough. It takes time and determination to make sense of the Bible. Everyone has their own style and you need to develop yours.
Surfing blogs may be fun, but you do not learn anything by surfing blogs. You learn by taking time to read. Surfing churches gets you in and out of a church fast, but you do not learn anything by surfing churches. You learn by staying and making decisions based upon more than one Sunday. Surfing the scripture is a fast way to go from verse to verse, but you do not learn the Word by going from here to there. You learn by slowly reading and finding the meaning and wisdom.
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY
Are you a surfer? Do you flip from blog to blog, not reading anything, always looking for the next blog? Do you go from church to church, always looking for one just a little better? Do you open the Bible and then hop from verse to verse?
Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.
LET US PRAY
Dear Jesus, You came to earth with one purpose - to serve your Father and do His will. You did not go from here to there, you put your feet on the path and you followed it. That is what I want to do. I want to belong to a church that teaches me how to walk the same path. I want that path to begin in the Old Testament and lead me to the very end of the New Testament. I do not want to be a surfer, I want to be ………………………………… Amen
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