8-Second Slave



The 8-second time lapse. Someone's jumping off a boat in Greece. Gone. Someone's eating a big bowl of ice-cream. Gone. Someone's sitting on a beach in Florida. Gone. Someone is reading a book in a hammock. Gone. Someone's having a party with all of your friends. Gone. Someone is in an airport flying to Texas. Gone. Someone's kissing her boyfriend. Gone. Someone just got flowers. Gone.

I have found myself growing more and more short-focused.  I can't help but wonder if it has to do with how surrounded I am by a fast-paced social and real world.

While reading, I can only make it a couple chapters...while praying, I only communicate for a few short minutes.

I think our generation is a slave to speed.

The internet is at our hands in no time. Questions about something? No problem. You'll have the answer in seconds...along with 300,000 other possibilities. The children of Gen Z are being exposed to all types of answers to their child-like questions in a matter of milliseconds.

But have we stopped to think how this might be affecting our relationship with God? As Christians, how focused are we? Do we have the ability to "be still and know"? Are we able to unplug and meditate? To empty our minds of the 1000 American "to dos" and the wants and desires stimulated by the 8-second Insta-Story?

Are we taking the necessary pre-cautions to be able to allow space for Jesus in our hearts?

I have been convicted recently of my lack of focus in my own walk. I am constantly thinking about something OTHER than the weight and magnitude of the gospel while I'm reading the bible. My prayers are often interrupted by a recent idea or conversation I might have had. And unfortunately...alot of them have to do with me.

I hate that the fall made us selfish. And I hate that our selfishness often doesn't even allow us to grasp how selfish we really are.

All He wants is our time, and that's the hardest thing for us to give Him.

But let me challenge you...

If your selfishness of time is interrupting the relationship you have with the creator OF time, then there needs to be a change of pace, heart, and mindset.

The command is to be still. So, turn it off sometimes. Let the first moment of your day be you acknowledging your need for stillness--and Who meets you there. Let the glory of the Savior keep you focused on what matters.

Here are two great podcasts that have challenged me this week:

http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/why-not-to-check-your-phone-in-the-morning

http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/dont-waste-your-mornings


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is it really real? Week 3 in Germany

Image
     Experiencing other cultures is vitally important to your faith, in my opinion. It pulls you out of your comfort zone, (Which is totally cliché right now, but think about it. You’re literally in a zone of the world and you need to physically get out of it) and pushes you to see how other people around the world do things.       In a world that is becoming postmodern I have learned to cherish my values, to cling to the body of Christ, to abandon legalism in order to truly understand the Gospel, to be open to different doors God may be opening, to think before I speak, and to understand that Gospel credibility to other people is through my relationships with other people (how I love them).      I have seen a different, but just as able way to do church. I have recognized how real the Gospel is and how worthy it is of my entire life. I have been to some of the latest, biggest parties I’ve ever experie...
Read more

Stubborn man given NEW life in a matter of minutes.

There is power in the name of Jesus. I have never seen it like I did that day. It was our free day, with not much to do. Earlier, we had passed a big hindu temple on the side of the red hills, and then into a small village that looked untouched by the mzungus. Some of the team had mentioned how it would be really interesting to go to that village for a day, so we went! As we climbed out of the too-small-van onto the staining dirt roads, we prayed for His will to be done. Whatever it was, to let Grace fall on these people. And it did. It was like fire spreading. And it was fire spreading; we dispersed immediately in all directions, carrying the news of redemption, salvation, life with us, hoping to give it away. Nathan, Nick, Maggie, one of the interns, and I started walking down a path worn down by bare feet and skinny, deprived legs. A couple of uninterested, non-english speaking children walked up to us, said a couple words and then went on their way. By this point Nathan h...
Read more

Goodbye 'Murica, Hey Germany!

If you know me at all, you know I love to travel. What an adventure I am about to be a part of! I graduated high school in December (2014). I made that decision in September to finish early because I had enough credits and then I was hoping to travel somewhere or get an internship somewhere local/domestic in the Spring semester (2015). However, I just kinda put it off because it was so far in the future. I met with our missions pastor at Calvary to see what opportunities were available. I wanted to serve the church and not just do what I wanted to do. He mentioned missionaries that Calvary had in Lebanon, Germany, Calgary, and India. After prayer and consideration and a couple emails, we decided that Germany would be really feasible to pursue because of a missionary connection that our head pastor had with the church planter there. Because apartments and living spaces are small in Germany (especially the city, Frankfurt), housing was a bit difficult to find and because we notifie...
Read more