Jesus is the greatest teacher who ever lived. One of Jesus' techniques was to relate spiritual ideas to common everyday life. Pensamientos (afterthought) is an attempt to follow Jesus' method of teaching. Its title is in Spanish because we recognize the importance of multi-culturalism. We hope to translate some of these messages into Spanish soon.

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Pensamientos para hoy (afterthought for today)

Bad Java

About a month ago I went to the grocery store and bought a can of coffee. None of the brands that I usually buy were on sale so I bought a different brand that was on sale. Big mistake. The taste of this brand of coffee was--well let's just say "horrible with a capital H". I am not a fussy coffee drinker. I can drink it with or without cream. I even heat up day-old coffee in the micro-wave and drink it (though to be honest, it's not the same as drinking a cup of fresh brew). But this brand of coffee was beyond my ability to enjoy. So after enduring about a week of bad tasting coffee, I put the can in the freezer and went back to the grocery store and bought a brand that I can happily drink.

Bargains are not always a bargain. Cheap can mean both "inexpensive" or "poor quality". The old adage is often correct: "You get what you pay for." The same principle applies to our spiritual life. If we choose a cheap faith--a faith that cost little in the way of effort, we will get little in return. The Bible says:

A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:7-9). ¹

Unfortunately, sometimes we are willing to trade quality for convenience. But our spiritual life is like most things in life. You get out of it what you put into it. Many Christians have bought into a cheap faith because they mistakenly believe that only "super saints" should go all out for God. The myth of the "super saint" needs to be exterminated from our thinking. Every Christian can and should try to go "all out" for God. Every Christian can choose to reach for a quality faith--a life of joy and spiritual victory.

Don't settle for an imitation faith or a "convenience" faith. Imitations rarely bring long-lasting satisfaction and "convenience" foods lack real nutrition. As we approach the new year begin now to resolve to strive for a quality faith. Seriously consider signing up to work out at Jesus' Health Club and begin to stretch and flex your spiritual muscles. Unless of course your Bible is too heavy. If you're having trouble lifting the Word, then start light. Read one or two verses a day and then drink a Prayer shake to add some protein to your spiritual diet. And the coffee? Well you decide what brand to buy, but for me and my house? We won't be buying the cheap stuff any more.

Ready to pay, whatever the price;

Pastor Steve

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Footnotes

¹Galatians 6:7-9, NIV (New International Version) Unless otherwise noted all references to the Bible will be from the NIV.

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Find more afterthoughts at Mas Pensamientos
(more afterthoughts)

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