Black Ops vs The Word

While playing some Catan the other night on Xbox Live, my good buddy Ben (Death is Gain) and I were talking about how much time we had spent playing Call of Duty Black Ops since it's November 9th 2010 release. Both of us had in the mid 70's worth of hours played in just the multiplayer portion of the game. We talked about how just looking at that number of hours turned into a conviction about how much of our God given time we spend on things like evangelism, prayer and reading the Bible compared to our game time. Despite the facts that we, along with other members of DiG, have taken on the task of memorizing Philippians(yes the whole thing lol) and that we use Black Ops to share Jesus with lost gamers, we still have some major convictions about the time we spend online. After careful examination of the numbers, I hope you agree that we should all make more time for God's Word. Here is a breakdown of the time that has been available, no gifted to us, since November 2010.




*93 Days
*2232 Hours (total) and counting
*520 Hours of work (based on a 40 hour work week)
*546 Hours of sleep (based on 6 hours a night)
*74.2 Hours of Black Ops Multiplayer (SaulBecomesPaul's Total playing time)

At first glance one might say that 74, 75, even 80 hours of game playing isn't really that much when looking at the other numbers. Remember though that Ben and I are both more casual gamers than quite a bit of people on our friends list though our wives might disagree lol. Irregardless, we have many Christian friends who are way out ahead of us in prestige and rank because of the hours they have put into this game. All of that aside, here's the part that gets to the heart of the matter.

Based on someone reading the Bible a generous 5 chapters a day at roughly 5 minutes per chapter, that adds up to 38.75 hours in the Word of God for that person since November 9, 2010.

Have I read more than that? Less than that? Probably, no I'm sure, the latter. This is as much a wake up call for me as it is for any gamer reading this right now. Especially with the new First Strike map pack out for the already great Call of Duty game. I know that a lot of our readers and I will be spending time trying to learn the nooks and crannies of Kowloon, Berlin Wall, Stadium and Discovery. But what about the meat of God's Word? Shouldn't our thumbs be furiously flipping through those love filled pages in light of the times we are living in rather than wrapped around our controllers? Maybe we won't pass our playing time with time in the Word but we should be at least be getting close. The Xbox has saved us from nothing. Jesus has written your name in the book of life through His bloody death on that Roman cross. And yet our Bibles don't open. He has given you the hope of Heaven, yet we rush out to church when we can and maybe we remember to bring our Bibles with us. Something just doesn't sit right with this one guys. The Word is exciting. Dig into it. Tear into it. Learn it. Love it. Yearn for it. No Bible, no breakfast. No read, no feed. Challenge yourself to not play games longer than you read your Bible this day and every day from now on. In the end Jesus doesn't care if you know how to take the zipline on the Kowloon map but He will care if you take the time to hear what He has to say in His Word. There are many online sites that are great for getting into God's Word. Here is a list of them.

Bible.is (audio)
Esvonline.org
Bible Gateway
Blue Letter Bible

Proverbs 4:5 (English Standard Version)

Get wisdom; get insight;
do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

You're Gonna Need a Bigger Excuse

Alright we all know someone who says they don't read the Bible because it falls under their catch-all excuse of, "I just don't like to read." Now audio bibles can be very expensive and when I recommend them to non-readers that is usually the excuse they come up with. So with a nod to Jaws, "you're going to need a bigger excuse." Ben told me about an iPhone app a few days ago called Bible.is This app is amazing. It goes with the premise that "faith comes by hearing"(Romans 10:17) and has the complete bible on audio in both the KJV(King James Version) and ESV(English Standard Version). It also has the bible in upwards of 100 different languages. The best part about the app is that it is completely free! iPhone owners who don't read the Word because they "don't like to" are completely without excuse thanks to this app. Now, people who do not own the iPhone, please don't think you are getting out of this easy. Bible.is also has a website on your computer that has the same exact functionality as the amazing app. I recommend that everyone pick up Bible.is for your iPhones or visit their website and check it out. Stop hiding from God's Word and listen to what He has to say. If you're excuse now is that, "I just don't like to listen", well that's probably why you weren't reading His word to begin with. Finally for you obedient readers out there who just cant get enough of God's Living Word, check out the Accordance app on your iPhone. This bible app is ESV based and has a complete Greek and Hebrew dictionary. You can click on any English word and it will tell you the actual word used in the original languages. It is a fantastic app for those who want to get off of milk and get into the meat of God's Word.

Psalm 119:105 (English Standard Version)

Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.

DiG Bible Memorization Challenge for September

Alright, on the heels of my previous post we are going to challenge/encourage our faithful readers to commit scripture to memory. Every month we will pick a block of scripture for you and your families to memorize. Thirty days should provide ample time to commit these verses to memory and to store God's Word in our hearts. For September our passage will be John 1:1-14. Make sure you post comments to let us know how you are doing!

John 1:1-14 (New International Version)

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.

³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

⁶There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

¹⁰He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹²Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent,nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Memories

How many of us gamers have their favorite Call of Duty or Halo maps memorized? How bout that Madden playbook? Hardcore fans of that beloved football franchise can most likely navigate their way through their favorite plays blindfolded. For those that come here who aren't gamers it could be something else that occupies brain cells. Plots of the their weekly TV shows or stats from their local professional sports teams can fill up their memory banks. How about God's Word? Is their room for that in all of the other unimportant things we fill our minds, days and lives with? It is imperative that we commit God's Word to memory. It will not only help when witnessing, it will improve your relationship with God as well. You will have insight into His will for your life dwelling in you all the time and that can't be a bad thing. My wife made the point that there might be a day soon where bibles become illegal. The more of God's word we have in our hearts the better if that happens, Amen? So make it a habit each day to not only read your bible but also commit at least one verse to memory. Before you pick up the controller, remote, sports page, favorite website, or novel, pick up God's Word and read it. Don't let the excuse of not liking to read get between you and God's Word. You can get the bible on audio. Have someone read it to you. Get the living Word any way you can. Make that your call of duty today. You'll be glad you did.

Psalm 119:11 (New International Version)

¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

If

if–conjunction 1.in case that; granting or supposing that; on condition that.

If is such a small word but it can really pack a punch when something important hinges on it. My family and I are participating in the Bible Bee this year. Part of that is a study of Colossians. Lets look at a bible verse that my family and I have been looking at all week. It's Colossians 1:22. It reads...But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— That sounds great right. We are reconciled and will be without blemish thanks to Jesus death on the cross for our sins. Who wouldn't be excited about that? Well keep reading because it's not that simple. Our little two letter conjunction comes in and smacks us with some responsibility in verse 23. if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel(emphasis added). Powerful little word huh? It stands to reason that if you don't continue in your faith, established and firm that we won't be presented holy in his sight, without blemish. Let's make our calling and election sure by continuing in our faith, established and firm guys. We need to always have oil in our lamps like the five smart virgins in Matthew 25 and be ready for Jesus to come back at any minute. He will come like a thief in the night and I don't to miss Him, do you? Don't miss out because of if. Be ready. Be in the Word. Be in prayer. Be in Fellowship. Don't be moved from the hope held out in the gospel. If you are not sure about your relationship with the Lord today, please listen to True and False Conversions on this site or DiGoutreach.com We don't know when He will return and we don't know when we are going to die. All I know is that it won't be as long now as it has been. If you haven't repented and put your faith in Jesus, today is the day.

Matthew 25:13 (New International Version)

13"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

21 Days Later

For those that don't know, experts tell us that it takes 21 days straight of doing something to make it a habit. Conversely, it takes 21 days of not doing something to break a habit. Most times I've heard this principle used for running or lifting weights or quitting things like smoking. This isn't a blog about exercise and tobacco so what does that have to do with us? The Gospel of John. The 21 chapters in this book could easily help you or someone you know form a habit of reading the Word of God on a daily basis. All you have to do is make a commitment to one chapter a day. That should lead to making it a habit and also to reading the other books in the Bible and increasing the number of chapters per day. Remember its hard to know God's will if we never look at his Word. This isn't just for new believers. If you have been walking with the Lord for a number of years and don't read like you should, this is a great chance to get back to your first love. We should treasure His Word like it says in the book of Job. Chapter 23 verse 12 in Job reads,"I have treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food,". A good thing to remember is "no read, no feed-no Bible, no breakfast." The 21 chapters in the Gospel of John will help you treasure God's word and help to form the great habit of reading your Bible daily. On the flipside, if there is some kind of sin in your life give it up for 21 days and see what happens. If for whatever reason you are having trouble letting go of a certain sin, a mere three weeks could help change your walk and your life completely. God wants us to repent, to completely forsake our sins. This could be used as a way to do that for you. Don't try this under your own power. Pray for God to be with you and help you. Remember you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

Psalm 119:11 (New International Version)

¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.

Best explination of repentance that I've heard

Ah, repent. The big, scary, Christianese word that the world doesn't really comprehend. Here's what dictionary.com says. repent-to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better; be penitent. That still may be too vague for some people to understand especially if no one has ever taken them through God's Law to show them why the need to repent. Now for the super-easy definition that I learned from one of the leaders at the Ambassador's Academy. She explained to a young man that someone is punching him in the arm. The puncher repeatedly says, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Sure the boy can forgive the person punching him over and over, 70x7 times even. However, what does the boy who is getting punched really want the "sorry" person to do? He wants him to stop doing what he is doing, to stop punching him. And that is what God wants us to do with our sinful lifestyles. Some think that they can say sorry and continue to live however and do whatever they want. That is simply not true. Repent is mentioned in some form or another 56 times in the New Testament often times appearing twice in the same Verse. I think God wants us to understand the need for turning from sin. Maybe you're reading this today and feel you are saved because you are resting on John 3:16. I would encourage you to have an active role in your relationship with Jesus. Show Him that you are truly sorry by not "punching" Him over and over with the same sin He saved you from. If you've stumbled upon this and are not saved by repentance and faith in Jesus and are not born again, please consider that there will be Judgment one day for every lie, theft, and lustful look. The punishment for these things is Hell. The bible says that Jesus died for those sins, then rose from the dead so that if you repent and trust in Him you will have everlasting life. I hope this is an encouragement for the lost and the lukewarm to get right with God, as well as for the soundly saved to share the need for repentance to their unsaved friends. God bless, SbP.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (New International Version)
10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.