Enchanted Rock

I can't believe its already Thanksgiving break! This semester has flown by! With the conclusion of the semester drawing near, Christians on campus group had an outing at Enchanted Rock last weekend. I really enjoyed attending it and have continued to enjoy the topics we covered throughout this week. 

The day's topic was Noah's Family as age-turners and we heard some speaking concerning God's purpose, man's fall, and the way of salvation in the morning. Then we got into the life and work that changed the age in the afternoon in small groups kind of like we do in our semester Bible studies. And lastly, we heard some speaking on practical aspects of what it means to be an age-turner.

 All of the sharing and readings were so enjoyable. But something that I've been especially enjoying is one of the Godly ways of the Fathers that we have inherited. This was what we learned from Adam, which was Adam's way of salvation.

Because Adam fell, God covered him with the sheepskin and gave him a way of salvation.  This really touched me because even though man's fall is generally seen as a negative event, it also allows us to taste the sweetness of God's salvation. For the first time I understood the verse, "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the well's of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3).

Ink's Lake Outing

This semester I've been attending a Bible Study with the Christians on campus group and this past Saturday we had an outing at Ink's Lake! It was so nice to get away from campus for a day just to relax, take in the beautiful scenery and enjoy the refreshing day with those I've been enjoying Colossians with all semester! :)

Some things we did included eating a delicious lunch after arriving, canoeing or kayaking on the river, a hike on the park trails and a yummy cook out to replenish us from our active day. We ended the evening with some singing and watched the sun set over the water. It was such an enjoyable time and a great way to get refreshed for the last stretch of the semester.

Need a metabolism boost?

Continuing from last post... how can we let the word dwell in us richly?

In the supplemental reading it mentions that we need to have a proper metabolism in order to digest the word and have the word become rich to us. This prompted me to look up ways to boost one's physical metabolism in order to get ideas of how one could boost their spiritual metabolism. Here's what I found...

How to boost your metabolism:

1) Exercise

Exercising builds muscle which is more metabolically active than other cells. With more exercise, you increase your resting metabolic rate so that you burn more calories even while you aren't exercising. While physical exercise puts our physical bodies in a better condition to being metabolically active, spiritual exercise can as well. In Acts 24:16, Luke says "I also exercise... to always have a conscience without offense toward God and men." So in order to remove any barrier there may be between us and the Lord and to be in a state of having a proper metabolism to digest and assimilate His word, we need to exercise!

2) Stay Hydrated

All of the chemical reactions that occur in our body and burn calories happen in water. So even if you are the least bit dehydrated, your metabolism slows down. We can also be spiritually dehydrated. John 7:37 says "...If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink." Christ is our real drink and the only drink that satisfies man. (John 4:13) We need to continually drink Christ by calling on His name, praying to Him simple conversational prayers throughout our day and overflowing to other believers as well as enjoying others' overflow to us in order to stay hydrated!

3) Eat all day 

Though contrary to what most people interested in losing weight by boosting their metabolism would think, it is recommended to eat small frequent meals all throughout the day. This keeps your metabolism running non-stop and prevents you from overeating after starving yourself for too long. Similarly we can eat Christ all day long! To eat Christ is just to enjoy Him! In John 6:51, the Lord says, "I am the living bread..." We can eat Him anytime and anywhere! We shouldn't limit our eating to once of day and definitely not to just once a week. If we were to physically eat a meal just once a week, how miserable we would be! So frequent, continual eating of Christ all day long by enjoying Him in the word, through prayer or even through praying or singing the word will boost your metabolism.

4) Eat Breakfast

Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day. This is because it jump starts your metabolism. Likewise, having a morning time with the Lord is crucial for maintaining a proper spiritual metabolism. As the Lord practices in Mark 1:35, "rising very early in the morning... He prayed," we can jump start our metabolism of enjoying the Lord by coming to Him in the morning to enjoy His name, His word and our spirit!

Deficiency prevention

     This week in our Colossians Bible study, we enjoyed the phrase in Col. 3:16, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...

His word is rich!

     Since I am studying Nutrition, I greatly appreciated the analogy of letting the word dwell in us richly to eating a meal in which the food is assimilated by our bodies and nourishes us. Like the word of Christ, food is rich in nutrients, but even so, if we are not able to absorb the riches, the food will not adequately nourish us. This reminded me of a difference in nutrient deficiencies one may have...

Primary deficiency vs. Secondary deficiency

     primary deficiency is a deficiency that occurs when not enough of a nutrient is consumed in the diet (which could be likened to reading the word every now and then and not taking in the word in a consistent or adequate manner)

     secondary deficiency occurs when a person cannot absorb enough of a nutrient, excretes too much of a nutrient from the body, or cannot utilize a nutrient efficiently (which can be likened to reading the word perhaps very often and even memorizing it extensively, but not digesting, assimilating, or enjoying the word so that it nourishes and enriches us) 

     

So how can we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly? ... to be continued :)