Obsessiva Magnificat (at least it sounds Latin to me - I'm clueless!)

ClifWJ wrote the other day concerning the obsession many have with this cultural phenomenon that is the blogosphere. I for one have been semi-sucked in - though the blogs I read mainly pertain to the position I hold at our church and I have found an abundance of help from them. However, the amount of gossip and often thought provoking discussions that go on can steal a person’s time and thus be a problem. As humans many things can be obsessive for us. The definition of obsession is a persistent DISTURBING preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling; broadly : compelling motivation. Unfortunately most of our obsessions are harmful either to our physical bodies, our relationships or our spiritual lives. Certainly now that you all are participating in this dialogue I am anxious to hear what is going on in your lives and what things are on your hearts. That too can become an obsession for us all. Ours is to do our best to keep it at the interested level. I find I have to guard the amount of time I spend reading blogs - even helpful ones because usually one leads to another and before you know it an hour is gone. Why all this talk of obsessions? Clif asked me to write something short/emphatic (short? Ha/emphatic? You decide.) concerning what should be our true obsession or as he says magnificent obsession. Truth be told any obsession we have is in our eyes magnificent. That then leads us to the question of what is truly magnificent or exceptionally fine? The answer is in what God sees as magnificent. Is His view our view? Certainly as believers it should be! I am of the conviction that the only thing God sees as magnificent is His Glory and our Glorification of Him. I wish I could say that is my obsession as well. While I think of it often it does not consume me the way I would desire. What then are the things I can do to fuel my desire to see God Glorified and to make His glory my obsession? We all know the ‘simple’ answers of Bible reading and PRAYER/PRAISE (the reason I emphasize this is because I believe that as we praise God for who He is we will have a better idea of what brings Him glory and the more we show our dependence in Him the more He is glorified) and simple as they may seem we often find them impossible to do. What then are we willing to sacrifice to make sure that gets done? Is there some change we should make in the amount time we spend in front of the television/computer/blogs/good books or even with our children? I'll tell you this there are many days I am thankful we no longer have TV reception or an internet connection in our house. I find it much easier to find time for God's Word and praise/prayer when those distractions aren't there. Consequently, the more time I spend in God's word and in praise/prayer the less I have a desire to get those things back into my home. Some weekends I will get a DVD movie to watch with April on my laptop but usually it keeps us up too late and we are too tired the next day and I regret having watched it. Then I ask myself was it even edifying in the first place? Going back to the idea of time spent with children our parents truly gave us the heritage of eating meals together. I can’t tell you what a blessing that is to me – I am blessed in the fact that I am able to eat every meal every day with my children. I know not everyone can do that. But what of the time we spend with our children – of what quality is it? My kids love to wrestle with me and while I don’t mind that I would much rather be reading to them. I am blown away by the questions they ask and the words they want defined as we read through the NT at mealtime. My goal is that God would be glorified in the lives of my children both in the example our family must model at our church as well as in their own personal walk with God.
I read a challenge the other day regarding Bible reading. It is one I intend to act on starting today - being the first day of March. Every month for the rest of this year I plan to read through the entire New Testament that month. I think it is like 11 pages a day in my Thompson chain and only about 5 in the other little Bible I have. It will be a challenge - My days can be very busy but by God's grace before I lay my head down at night I will run the check to see if I have been faithful to my commitment. I would desire to say with the Psalmist:
O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
Is your magnificent obsession with God’s Glory disturbing anyone today?
I hope this was helpful – I only bring to the table struggles with which I grapple with on a daily basis. God is so merciful to me. As James 5:16 says Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Let us pray one for another.

c caleb