Have you ever been listening to the radio and a song that you’ve never heard before starts playing and it’s so beautiful that it overwhelms you? When I come across a song like that, I want to hear it again and again, so that’s what I do. I listen to it whenever I can. In fact, I play it so much that it starts to get too familiar. It loses some of its’ excitement. The radio is famous for playing a popular song so much that it loses some of its’ popularity. Some people let their walk with God become too familiar and it becomes a routine.
I have a friend who has been a Christian all her life. When she was a child, I’m sure it broke her heart when she heard what they did to Jesus. “Why were they so mean to Jesus?” children will ask often with tears in their eyes. Unfortunately, we’ve heard the crucifixion story so often that, if we were honest, it may not always move us the way it should.
One day my friend said to me, “This is going to sound awful, but when I hear about Jesus dying on the cross and everyone making a big deal about it, I sometimes think ‘so what?’ A lot of people in this world have suffered just as much.”
I responded with, “Yes, but Jesus didn’t have to.”
She was silent for a moment.
(I believe God put that response in my mind because I usually think of the right thing to say when it’s too late.) She then said, “You’re right. I never thought about that. He didn’t have to do anything for us, but he did.”
Think about it. Jesus is GOD, yet he came to earth as a helpless little baby. He lowered himself to become one of us to save us from our sin and he suffered an excruciating death. The thought of a holy, magnificent God doing that for little ol’ me, just astounds and overwhelms me. I don’t really get it that he would love me that much. It’s quite amazing.
There have been times in my life when my spiritual life became stagnant. I never stopped going to church but that enthusiasm towards God wasn’t there. He, for a while, became routine to me. It was those times in my life when I was making bad choices too and having the most problems. Go figure.
How did I get that enthusiasm and love for God back?
Reading God’s word.
I know that sounds too simple, but it’s true; especially in these days and times. I’ve read the bible all the way through several times. It’s the only book I’ve done that with and it doesn’t get boring. I learn something new every time I read it. In recent years I’ve been figuring things out that I never noticed before; parallels in the bible and foreshadowings, etc. The meaning of end time prophecies are making more sense lately. Thirty and forty years ago, some of the end time prophecies were bewildering. How would these things happen? With modern technology and the way the political stage has changed; it’s all making more sense now.
Only God could write a book like that; one that you get more out of it each time you read it instead of less. One that never gets old or loses its’ relevancy, no matter how long it’s been around.
The bible is exciting. When I take what’s in there and see what’s happening in the world today, it just blows me away. Everything is coming together and happening just like God said it would.
Don’t let God’s word become stagnant. If you don’t like reading, get some audio books of the bible and listen while you’re working around the house or driving in your car. If you’ve never read it before, start with the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) in the New Testament, then move on to the others.
God’s Word. Wow. He cared enough to give us instruction, encouragement and wisdom through the prophets, disciples and chosen believers. His Word is alive. If fact, the bible tells us that in the beginning was the Word and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us for a while.
Read the bible; stoke that fire and keep it burning!
Michigan Mary 
A friend noted to me, “familiarity only breeds contempt when the familiar is contemptible.”
“Routine” IS a much better word.
As for others who we think may have suffered as badly as Jesus, besides His choice (which is a VERY significant factor) there is the matter of what He was choosing: to bear the sins of EVERYONE who would come to faith in Him.
❤️&🙏, c.a.
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I’ve gone back and revised my story. I did a poor job of getting across my feelings. I do not share her opinion that it was no big deal. What Jesus went through for us was horrible. I also know that she knows how bad it was too, but people can become desensitized to pain and suffering if they see or hear it too much. She’s definitely a believer. She was just struggling with that at that moment. I better read it one more time and make sure I didn’t leave anything else out.
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Actually, I thought the original was just fine and did not diss her inordinately. I’ve said some dumb things in my time but fortunately nobody I knew was blogging! 🥴
I thought “routine” was an excellent choice of words. 😉
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Btw, we all go through periods of doubt or just plain boredom, but like you say, reading the Bible makes the reality come alive for us again.
You might want to try different versions for comparison. Anita and I are doing The Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) this year. We’ve done NIV, KJV and ESV different years.
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After I did my post I had to drive to Lansing. On the way, I kept thinking how I should have done the post differently. I wanted to change it before I read your comments. I didn’t think you were being negative or anything. You like to add comments and that makes it so much more interesting. Plus, when someone thinks my post is worthy of taking time to comment; I take it as a compliment. Thank you for all your feedback. I bought a King James Version and want to read that after I finish a project I’m working on. I bought two bibles and I’m reading them all the way through and making comments. I’m going to give them to my sons. The CJB sounds like a good choice too. I might add that to my list!
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