Spending time in the Word

I've come across multiple discussions in the past few weeks about the value of spending time in God's Word. Here are some verses that I believe speak very clearly about where our hearts should be with regards reading and knowing scripture and its benefits.

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. -Psalm 19:7-9

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training, in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. -2 Timothy 3:16-17 

like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation -1 Peter 2:2

until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming -Ephesians 4:13-14

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the  mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. -Hebrews 5:12-14

"If you love Me, you will keep my commandments. -John 14:15

Feel free to cite more in the comments and I'll add them to the post!

Dating? First weed them out!

I couldn't stop laughing, but he makes awesome points. Well worth the watch!

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Can God create a rock so big that He can't move it?

I don't have time to comment on this at the time being, but I listened to this sermon a few weeks back and wanted to share it!  I'll add more to this post on Friday after my midblock exam!

Link: Omnipotence: The Irresistable Will of God by Jonathan Rourke, August 1, 2010 (Grace Community Church)

Testimony

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" -Romans 3:23 (NASB)

I grew up in a Christian family, was taught the gospel at the very young age, attended a Lutheran elementary school, and attended Sunday school every week.  I understood that we are all sinners, deserving of hell and eternal punishment.  I knew that Jesus Christ, God's one and only Son, died on the cross for the atonement of my sins, and conquered sin through His resurrection.  Although I knew all of these things, I admit that I lived a very "Christian" life because it was easy to do so in my very sheltered environment.  I was never challenged to stand up for my faith and it was rarely convenient to act contrary to what I knew was right.

I attended an independent, secular high school.  Here was where I realized the difference between the life of a Christian and that of a non-Christian.  It was a place where everyone was relatively tolerant of everyone else's views, values, and beliefs, and seldom did I feel an urge to make it known that I was Christian.  I had my beliefs, and everyone else had their own.  At this point, my priorities were very focused around succeeding in school, having fun with friends, and getting into the college of my choice, UC Berkeley.  It was a great school, and I wanted to stay close to home.  I was almost completely sure that I would be going there the following year as my stats pretty much matched those represented by the previously accepted class.  However, as March came, I was devastated.  I was devastated because things didn't work out as I had anticipated, and now, making the decision to attend UCLA instead, there would be a mess of uncertainties to come.

Why I decided to start this blog

I decided to blog about my medical education career in light of being a Christian. I’ve been asked numerous times by both guys and girls about whether or not it’s a good decision to go into medicine. Also, as a medical student now, I come across decisions every day that I need to either make now or think and pray about for the future. And with these decisions, I need to constantly make sure that I thinking clearly about them through the lens that is scripture.

With that, I hope that sharing some of my daily thoughts and experiences can be helpful to anyone who is either considering pursuing a medical career or is currently in school for a healthcare related career and is interested in my thoughts as a Christian medical student.

It is not only through my future career as a doctor that I must use for God’s glory, but also each and every day that I spend pursuing that career.

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’” -James 4:13-15