Pizza Epiphany

Eating my leftover Stuff Crusted Chicken and Bacon pizza from Papa Murphy's (which I highly recommend) I had an epiphany. Normally we buy the cheapest pizza from another pizza chain. This pizza is good, but its nothing special. It's a one topping medium for $5, and does the trick when I'm hungry and want pizza. However, the Stuff Crusted Chicken and Bacon pizza from Papa Murphy's was amazing. It's the best pizza I've had in a very long time. In fact, it's my new favorite.

This got me to thinking...I could have the $5 pizza anytime. It's quick, cheap, and satisfies my hunger. It's convenient as the $5 pizza is just down the street. Don't get me wrong, it's a good $5 pizza. However, it's nothing like my new favorite.

Relevance? Well, I could live a life of $5 pizza. Quick, cheap, and convenient. But, is that the life I really want to lead? Or, do I want to lead a life I REALLY ENJOY? A life in which I look forward to partaking? I know that MOST of life is mundane, but should we not take every opportunity to LIVE life and not just endure it?

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious

I've really been struggling lately with Galatians 5:19-26

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

There is a parallel here in my own life between fits of rage vs. patience and kindness. Lately it's been really stressful at work. Although I haven't yelled, screamed, and cursed out my co-workers, I haven't exactly been patient and kind. The acts of my sinful nature have been obvious. Jesus doesn't command us to be patient and kind ONLY when things are going well. It's when things ARE NOT going well that we must stand up to the stress and be patient and kind.

So, my focus today has been to be patient and kind to everyone I encounter today. So far, I'm about 50/50. I pray the day improves.

This Prayer Sabbatical

Is harder that I realized or imagined it would be. I'm reading a devotional book by A.W. Tozer. His take on prayer is basically this, it's the most important thing we can do. That is, we need to be in constant contact with God before having contact with men. Tozer's rule of thumb is that you should spend a LOT more time with God than man. Yet, prayer (communication with God) is the easiest thing to neglect. Why is it that the thing I need the most is the one thing I can never "make" time for?