Back to Basics

As I approached work yesterday morning, only a few blocks away, I turned off my mp3 player and settled on the local Christian radio station. The pastor was just starting a sermon on 2nd Peter chapter 2, verses 1 and 2. 

1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ² I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.


Focusing on the second verse, seeking out more and more knowledge can be a dangerous thing. All we need is right in the Word. Chasing after more bible studies and worship services and book study groups can be a negative thing, for knowledge can equal pride. Everything we need to know is right in the Bible, told to us by the prophets (Old Testament), Jesus Christ (the Gospels) and the Apostles (the Letters). We are commanded to return to these teachings repeatedly. 


This really hit home with me as a new believer, because I feel I am always seeking out more, more, more. I am so excited to learn as much as possible, and that can be ok, but the basics are already in my heart and mind and I need to focus on those. 


I need to stop trying to do my will, and turn my will over to Him. 
I need to love on everyone, more than I love myself. 
I need to be more accepting of people's traits and weaknesses, and not judge. 


All so easy to recite or write, not as easy to live every day. I judge my husband in the middle of arguments, I snap at my kids when lack of patience gets the best of me, I take things into my own hands all day long and get frustrated at the results. I think negative thoughts about people but my feelings get hurt if I hear negative things about me. Sure, none of this is all the time. But it's there, and He knows it, and I know it. 


Heard this morning, it would be better to learn 1 thing and put it into practice than to learn 5 things and not practice any of them. Yeah, I need to work on this one. 


What really sealed the deal in his sermon was his closing point: parents with young children, are you looking for more patience? Go to the Word.

:::Raises hand.:::

I mean, duh. I know that. It's logical and something I learned early on. But it's the quickest thing to become too busy to do. It's the easiest one to set aside when the day gets hectic. When my eyes are heavy at night, I find excuses.

Ironic, because it's the one the makes everything better.