tim grandstaff gave a message last night at genesis on something that i am dealing with really heavily. I ask this question of all western believers, but the most emphasis being on the one i know best, me.
a few things i have found on this at this great site are that:
1. women (51%) are more likely to study the bible than men (42%)
2. as time goes on, younger generations tend to read the bible less
3. just more than half of born again christians will read their bible in a given week. (67%)
4. It does seem as though more people are reading the bible. (but still only around the 40-50% range.)

my questions about this seem to revolve around the number three listed above. Why is it that only 67% of believers interviewed by the barna group will read their bible this week. (the barna group uses a pretty loose system of questions to figure out if someone is a believer) Why in my own life dont i “ha’gah” the scriptures like tim talked about last night? ( ha’gah- the word used to describe how the ancient text was studied by the jews. the picture is the way a lion devours its prey)
Statistically, it looks like we dont take the bible seriously. The question for me is, if i really believe that this book was inspired by my creator and king, why have i not yet given my life to know this book? I want my kids to know this book, i want them to be able to teach it, quote it and use it to bring about a life that glorifies God, and i want the same for myself, but how can I (we) make disciples if we do not read/study the scriptures and know the text. How can we answer the questions of a lost generation when we dont know the words that God wants to share with us.
This seems to be a very simple question, but i must know the root of the problem.
Have we been fooled by the enemy? Has our culture been crafted by the ruler of this world to think that we dont need God? i dont personally think that anyone (including myself) would admit this, but if you look back over my life, you can see a trail that says nothing more than “when i need God, i will take him out of the box and use him and studying God’s word is not that important to me.”
Forgive me God for making light of the most important thing, so much more important it is than going green and feeding the hungry, we have starved ourselves and in turn we are starving the world of the bread of life and the eternal water that brings about the love it takes to change a generation. one thing i am convinced is that seeds of love can be sown by anyone, but without the watering of the holy spirit and nurturing of Christ, selfishness will rise like the blazing sun and tear down all the work that a man can do. Jesus lived the best life possible and encourages us to join him, but it’s impossible to live like jesus without the power of the holy spirit to break down the walls in our own life so that our light might shine before men and glorify our father in heaven. I dont mean living good, i mean living pure. I think living pure comes from knowing the words of the one we call king. (psalms119)
i personally think we can change the world.


I’m proud

of my brother. He just graduated from boot camp. you can see pictures here. I dont like the idea of war. actually, it’s not the idea of war that i dont like. I HATE the fact that innocent people die. I hate the fact that the government spends so much money to fund war. I think we could do alot to end poverty (something i believe is a root to war and fighting) if we would take some of that money and spend it differently. Anyway, that’s another post.
I am so excited for stephen!!! He was first in his class, voted to be platoon leader by his fellow soldiers, and won a medal for his physical fitness scores. He will defend us well!
I cant describe the way i felt as i saw him marching and getting his awards, or when i saw him dressed in his uniform. It was more than proud. i was honored to call him my brother.
Pray for stephen as he goes. he’s going into the special forces. He starts jump school next week and for the next 5 weeks and then on to fort Bragg where he begins special forces selection and training.