(This is copied from a post I published this morning in the 'Living as a Christian in a Modern World' thread on the YBC discussion board.)
I was listening to LifeFM on the way into work this morning, and Matthew 16:24 was quoted : "Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." (quoted here - vv23-25)
Jesus' rebuke of Peter is surprisingly harsh, but from this, we can see that Christ places a real importance on fixing our minds on things above, not the things of the world. Peter had just incredulously expressed his surprise at the fact that Jesus had said that he had come to die upon a cross. Peter was not thinking (nor understanding) of God's plan - rather, he had his mind fixed on worldly things - he had anticpated the Messiah to be a conquering hero in a worldly sense, that he might rule as a mighty king, putting his enemies to the sword etc.
So, in the light of this, we are to deny ourselves, deny any worldly desires that we have, and seek to lose our lives in Christ, as He has become our new life.
We cannot compromise Christianity just so that we can 'fit into' a modern world. We should stand out - our not-of-this-world thoughts should manifest themselves in our actions, such that we cannot blend in at all. Christianity is Christ, and Christ never changes.
This serves to reinforce my resolve (see earlier post(s) below)
Did 45 minutes cardio work this morning - found it was much easier having not done any weights first.
Rhubarb is yummy. Isn't it funny how rhubarb and apple are so different, yet are so totally interchangeable in every recipe??(every recipe that I've seen, anyway)
Looked at a couple of houses yesterday evening. One was an excellent but old place, in a not-so-good location. The other was in a satisfactory location, but wasn't ideal. Oh well - gotta keep looking, I guess.
Should look for a new car too. The miles are getting up on the Skyline.
Its a shame that its more economically viable for Michelle and I to take the car in to work, rather than to use public transport. Might be a different story in 5 or 10 years when some of the rapid transit/light rail initiatives get implemented.
