Weekly Email (11/13/07) - Long term accomplishment

Have you been feeling a little down recently? Getting some serious negative vibes? Feel like the life has been sucked right out of you? Need a little positive energy? This Sunday we will be talking about positively living as we overcome discontentment, judgmentalism, and pessimism. If you know someone who might benefit from this positive message, make sure to invite them to join you in worship!

Have you ever bitten off more than you could chew? Have you ever made a commitment that was bigger than you could handle? Pastor and author John Maxwell says that most people over estimate what they can accomplish in the short term, but underestimate what they can accomplish in the long term.

In other words we often aim too high in short term. We have grand visions of what we will accomplish on a given day, a week, or a month. More often than not, these visions of grandeur are far from reality. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we often aim too low in the long term. We don't dream big enough for what we can accomplish in the next year, the next 5 years, or next 10 years.

Growing in God's Word is no different. Let's face it. The Bible is a thick book. It has small print. It is not always easy to understand. You are not going to master it in a short amount of time. It takes consistency and regularity over the long haul.

It is nice to have a goal to read the sum of God's Word over the course of a year. Yet for some of you, that may be shooting too high in the short term. You might consider reading through just the New Testament over the course of the year. Then the following year consider jumping into the Old Testament. Reading the sum of God's Word might be goal to aim for over the course of the next two or even three years.

It is not important how much we read as much as it is important that we are consistently reading, studying, praying, and meditating on the Word. If we are consistently in God's Word on a daily basis, even if it just a little bit, we will be amazed how much of Scripture we will cover over the course of time.

Take your time. Don't rush. Take time to read, reflect, study, and pray. Seek understanding and application. In the God's Word you will find great wisdom!

Psalm 119:97-104

97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.

98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,
for they are ever with me.

99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
for I meditate on your statutes.

100 I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.

101 I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.

102 I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taught me.

103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!

104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore I hate every wrong path.