"Floating" Fish

I've been working on setting up a new aquarium. The interesting thing about adding fish to an aquarium is the means by which you normally add them so that they don't die. You usually get your fish in plastic bags from the fish store, and you first dump off about a quarter of the pet store water, and add that much of your tank water back to the bag. Then you reseal the bag, and drop it in the water. Every 10 minutes you add another cup of your water to the bag for 30 minutes. Then you take the fish out of the bags and put them in the aquarium.

This process is call acclimation; the fish become acclimated to your water. It's how fish get accustomed to the different chemicals in your water that wasn't in the pet store water. In this process, I recognize a pattern that the devil often uses in our lives. Often, we're stuck with having to "just deal" with a little bit of ungodliness. Then a little bit later, after we've gotten used to that, we go for some more. Next thing you know, we're swimming free in the water that would have killed us just a short time ago.

Romans 12:2 says that we shouldn't conform to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We don't have to just let someone watch dirty movies while we're around, or gossip to us, or tell us dirty jokes. Those are the patterns of the world, "Oh, that guy just always tells dirty jokes and I just shrug it off and go on."

Our minds are supposed to be being renewed, we shouldn't be thinking like that any more, and we don't have to listen, watch, or participate in those things just because we're not in our own home. We shouldn't participate in anything that we wouldn't participate in at church. Let's not allow ourselves to be made into the pattern of the world, let's seek God in everything we do, so that we will be found as faithful servants.

Once there was this guy named Job (Part 1)

It almost sounds like the beginning of a joke, or even a fairy tale. This is neither of the two.

Job 1:1
As a man of God, is there any better description you could desire? I love the way the Scriptures get right down to brass tacks. Here's two things he was, and two things he did. Together making a tremendous testimony about Job's life. As we read on, we see the blessings that God had given Job.

Job 1:2-3
Here we see an amazing amount of worldly goods. I think it's safe to say that Job was a successful father, business man, and man of God. This says a lot about Job. The following speaks volumes about what Job did.

Job 1:4-5
So, like a good father, Job regularly attended to the spiritual well being of his children. This is a good lesson for Godly men today. Are you looking after your children's souls? Do you pray for them, and check up on them? Are they on your minds as you go about your career? If not they should be. As the spiritual leader of your house you are responsible for your families spiritual well being. You can't make them follow God, but you can pray for them, and set a good example.