“One-half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it.”

Marvelous post. Your posts consistently stimulate me to think deeply on these sort of things, and of course, to "do hard things."
Zachary | Homepage | 04.14.06 - 8:22 pm | #

Oooph, you guys really got me here: "Pray to God that He will grant you the grace to be faithful to His Word. Because, honestly, most of us are too weak to shut-off our computer in order to have some distraction-free devotional time. It won’t get easier till we work harder."

Ouch!! That's something I've been struggling with lately. I want to read the Word more, but I haven't the self-discipline to click the "Close" button. I have to continually ask God's help; I can't do it of my own will.

Thanks for posting this great piece, guys. It was amazing, and a good reminder to stop spitting, and start standing on the Word of Truth.
Veronika W. | Homepage | 04.14.06 - 8:39 pm | #

Wow. What faith she must have had.
Mr. K | Homepage | 04.14.06 - 9:59 pm | #

Thanks for the great post. It's a challenge and a reminder to us to stand firm in our faith.

I admire the girl. She could have "spit" on the Bible like the rest did, but she chose to stand firm in her faith.

Once again, great post.
Alyssa C. | Homepage | 04.15.06 - 3:47 am | #

This story does make me think. The soldiers were not just asking her to spit, and she knew it. They wanted her to put her life before her faith and ridicule and mock the foundation of all she believed. It took amazing courage, and I can only hope that her friends were shamed and encouraged into being stronger followers of Christ when the next challenge came. Thanks for sharing this!
Elizabeth | Homepage | 04.15.06 - 6:52 am | #

Stories like this make me reflect on my heart. Thank you. There was a dramatic film short of this story at the SAICFF.
Bryce | Homepage | 04.15.06 - 10:18 am | #

Great post guys!

Happy Easter to both of you!
Kaitlin | Homepage | 04.15.06 - 10:56 am | #

Wow, that sure packs a punch, but a good one. Thanks for reposting this, guys...you have a way of hitting the nail right on the head and not beating around any bushes.

Blessings for a wonderful Easter!
Hannah L. | Homepage | 04.15.06 - 5:32 pm | #

I have been reading your site off and on for a while now, but something in this post made me want to comment.

1) Recently I have been challenged to give up the "comfort" of reading other books in order to read the Bible only. I tend to read thought-provoking books and I read my Bible - but how much value do I place on reading my Bible? Do I consider IT thought-provoking? It has been a good challenge.

2) What prompted me to comment was your seemingly innocuous statement at the end of this post, "Ask yourself, 'what are these verses saying? What do they mean for me?'"
It hits a little too close to "what does the Bible mean to you?" a form of relativism that Christians often fall into. While I know that wasn't your intent, perhaps a better way to state your thought would be, "What is God saying to you through these passages?"

But perhaps I am making a mountain out of a mole-hill, in which case I apologize.

Thanks for the challenge!!
> Jody
Jody | Homepage | 04.15.06 - 8:30 pm | #

Ok, I'll make this comment short.

My response to this post:

http://redzerosix.blogspot.com/2...ds- essense.html
Dan | Homepage | 04.15.06 - 10:52 pm | #

Jody: Thank you for pointing that out. You are right that it was far from our intention to imply that the Bible has many different meanings. I think a better way to have said it was this: "How does these verses apply to my life?"

Don't worry, you didn't make too big a deal out of it. It was an important clarification.
Alex Jordan Harris | Homepage | 04.16.06 - 7:37 am | #

I think you are absolutely right. So many times I'm bored, but instead of having some time with God, I force myself to do something else.

This is a very good post.


Andrew Joyce
MK in Brazil
Andrew Joyce | 04.16.06 - 8:27 am | #

Okay - thanks. I really thought it was a great artical. I have enjoyed your posts and they really make me think! =0)
~ Jody
Jody | Homepage | 04.16.06 - 6:20 pm | #

Interestingly enough, an even greater sin (at least in my mind) is that of seeming goodness.

For example, I don't read computer building magazines instead of God's word; At least, that's not how I start.

I start by working on a Christian movie, and due to a deadline, don't take God's day off to worship him, and don't take an hour out to study his word. That's where it starts. But after all, it's a good cause: I'm not being lazy, instead, I'm working hard! I'm doing a hard thing by working on the movie!

The sad thing is, the harder thing for me is to read the bible. Why is it so hard? What makes it difficult to take a break for a mere fraction of the day to study the one whom I am making the movie to glorify?

But after a while, I realize that building computers is a part of filmmaking. So, I start reading about computer building instead of working on the movie, because the movie is finished, and I'm out of the habit of reading God's word. So I start reading about filmmaking: Computer hardware in particular.

Now I'm reading Maximum PC instead of the bible, and it has some very interesting articles about computer games, and how realistic they are. Pretty soon, I read about a game that really interests me, so I download the demo and install it.

It's the same sin, it's just more disguised in the beginning.

Well, I gotta run. By the way, I'm not sure what changed, but this is the first time I've been able to access your blog in quite a while!

God Bless!

~ John.
John | Homepage | 04.16.06 - 7:56 pm | #

Thanks for the Post Guys!
Vevy | 04.16.06 - 8:16 pm | #

The 16-year old girl in this post knew the meaning of this verse:

"But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. " Matt. 10:33

The Communist soldiers weren't asking her only to direct her spit in a certain direction, they were asking her to deny her Lord.

Praise God that there are Christians who refuse to deny Jesus! May we do the same in our everyday lives.

~Sparky
Sparky | 04.17.06 - 2:33 pm | #

Note: Please limit all off-topic comments to emails. Thank you.

Edited By Siteowner
DeathRoe.com a Pro-Life websit | Homepage | 04.17.06 - 3:16 pm | #

Remember, though, that the Lord tells us not to take up graven images. The discourse on the Bible in contemporary Evangelical culture comes uncomfortably close to idolizing the Bible itself. We need to remember that the Bible is only valuable and sacred vis-a-viz the Word of God enclosed therein--there is nothing in the physical book, leather, and paper itself that makes it any different from any other book. Y'all may disagree, but I really don't think God would have wanted that girl to die for a scrap of leather.
Jessica | Homepage | 04.17.06 - 5:04 pm | #

I love this post. it'svery well written. Keep up the good work.

~EA
EscapeArtist | Homepage | 04.17.06 - 7:10 pm | #

Thanks, Alex, for sharing this story. It had also moved me when I read it. May we all seek to see God and His word as precious as she did.
Kimi
KimiHarris | Homepage | 04.17.06 - 8:21 pm | #

Thank you for that post, it really makes me think. Reminds me of what Jim Elliot said: "He is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
Damaris | 04.18.06 - 9:55 am | #

Sorry I've been absent for so long, but life kind of got in the way. What a good post to which to return!

"The sad thing is, the harder thing for me is to read the bible. Why is it so hard?"

Very interesting point. I have the same problem, though it's mostly with falling asleep in my Bible or in church. Personally, I think it's the Devil, and while the knowledge doesn't change the battle, it does help in fighting.
A fellow soldier | 04.18.06 - 3:13 pm | #

That was well said. I do agree about finding more time to read devotions for the Lord. I'll be checking this site out more as I go.

F.N
Amanda | 04.18.06 - 8:38 pm | #

An excellent post. Very good questions. Thank you.
Christine | Homepage | 04.21.06 - 10:38 am | #