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2009 Devotionals
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2nd Semester for 2009

MATRIX week one

Matrix,the movie from a few years ago, protrays the real world we know day-in and day-out as a hoax, an elaborate deceptive fraud. In this fraudulent world people live completely oblivious to the deception. they go about their day unknowing of what is really happening in the "world "around them.

After watching this movie it occures to me how often we live our day-to-day lives without thought of the 'world' around us, without God, without God in our conscience thoughts, without God in our plans, conversations, work, school or play. Often we do not deliberately choose to do this ignoring God, but we are caught up in the busy, exciting and immediate crys of our world.

Looking at (in fact meditating on) this scripture from Romans 12:2.

"Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." (The Message)

"Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you." (Love)

And stop assuming an outward expression that does not come from within you and is not representative of what you are in your inner being but is patterned after this age; but change your outward expression to one that comes from within and is representative of your inner being, by the renewing of your mind..." (Wuest)

What do all three paraphrases tell you? What do they say or bring to light for you? What comes to your mind with the phrases 'well-adjusted', 'copy' and 'assuming'? Do you know or think of or feel situations in your life are conformed to your daily world?

 

Gutzy Goals?
Are you ready for them?

I'll spend enough time thinking/meditating on Romans 12:2 that it will become memorized within the week.

I'll creatively express Romans 12:2 by writing a poem or song or drawing or painting or sculpturing its significance to my life.

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MATRIX week two

From the movie 'Matrix'.

The population of the world going about their daily activities of work, school, families, boy friends or girl friends are unaware of the deception that is being played upon them. They think, feel, taste, smell, see and hear only a hoax - a fraud.

Well, the Matrix is only a story, however I see a comparison to how often we live in our physical world without realizing there is also a spiritual part. We are busy with all the tastes, feelings, sights, smells and sounds of our world. And that often causes us to miss the spiritual.

From last week Romans 12:2 encouraged us to deliberately choose not to "become so well adjusted" or "to copy" or "to assume" the culture of our world. The NIV puts it as, " Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

'Renewing' is the choice to start again in your thinking. The choice to form a new basis and priority for making decisions.

What are the priorities our culture asks of us that you think you could change?

This is only an idea or a hint:

school - car - job - house - career - vacations - early retirement.
or
school - volunteer - service projects - teach - mentor - philanthropy.

 

Back to the movie 'Matrix' - There were a small few who chose to live in the reality of knowing about the deception. They were those who accepted the 'red pill' and now were free to live beyond the prison of the fraud.

 

Gutzy Goals?
Are you ready for them?

 

Going beyond the meditation on Romams 12:2 that we did last week as a Gutzy Goal this week I'll find and start a voluteer project. (doing something for someone without getting paid or rewarded).

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