Are You Annoying and/or Pointless?

Ryan — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:18:32 +0000

do you know someone who is always arguing about something–always looking at the negative side of things–always pointing out your flaws?

i do.

i know a handful of them.

they annoy me.

i think they annoy God as well.

1Corinthians 13.1-2 says . . .

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

two good things–1) speaking in the tongues of men and angels–praying, and 2) preaching–both publicly or privately.

two bad things–1) loud, pointless, annoying noises, and 2) being pointless/nothing.

connecting point: LACK OF LOVE!!!

signs you may lack love:

griping more than fixing
pointing more than embracing
argue more than encourage
proud instead of humble
teaching more than being taught

may we NEVER be seen by God as annoying or pointless.

my all that we do be surrounded with a heart AND attitude of love–even our confrontations.

note: please don’t point out my lack of capitalization. i know.

oh–and i LOVE you!

Spiritual Sleepwalking

Ryan — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:17:55 +0000

We are a family of sleep-walkers. I won’t always remember it but my wife says I will talk and sit-up in my sleep. She will talk and has been known to pet invisible dogs in her sleep. But our middle child is probably the worst. Noah will carry on a conversation and will also walk aimlessly around the house–all while being dead asleep. Speaking of aimlessly–we have caught him a couple of times using the restroom while asleep. The problem is he doesn’t aim for the toilet but the trash can!!!! Makes for fun clean-up. We usually have a lot of fun with him.

But sleepwalking can be dangerous. Here are signs of sleepwalking:

eyes open during sleep
may have blank facial expression
may sit up and appear awake during sleep
walking during sleep
other detailed activity during sleep, any sort
no recall of the event upon awaking
confusion, disorientation on awakening
sleep talking is incomprehensible and non-purposeful

Spiritually speaking, there are also sleepwalkers. People who walk through life as if they are spiritually alive and yet are still spiritually asleep.

Here are the signs to look for to see if you are a SPIRITUAL sleepwalker:

you HEAR the Word but don’t DO what is says. (James 1.22-24)
you sit in church service yet never look engaged to what is going on.
you come to worship service hoping to be fed because you haven’t fed yourself any time during the week.
you don’t recall any spiritually impacting moment in your life.
when it comes to spiritual things, you are confused and disoriented.
your spiritual life is incomprehensible and non-purposeful.
your spiritual talk is incoherent and doesn’t match your lifestyle

As you read down this list does any of them point to you? If so, you need to take a spiritual inventory of your life and ask the question, “Am I a spiritual sleepwalker?”

My Epic Journey » lack

Are You Annoying and/or Pointless?

Spiritual Sleepwalking