Founder’s Blog
FaceGod not Facebook
Do you ever feel overwhelmed--like you just have too much on your plate and you cannot keep up? Here at First Fruits of Zion, we are always taking on more projects than we can handle, and we talk about having "too many balls in the air." When a juggler has too many balls in the air, he's going to drop a few, or eventually, he may end up dropping all of them.
In the modern world, many of us live under the tyranny of too many activities, too many responsibilities, too many options, and not enough time. We run from stress to stress. Life was not always like this, nor is it supposed to be like this. Our Master teaches us that we are not to run after the things of this world or make ourselves busy with the things of this world. Instead, we are to prioritize the things of the kingdom of heaven. This means putting things like mitzvot, good deeds, prayer, and Torah study ahead of everything else.
A person thinks, "I don't have time to pray and study. I have to get to work! I have responsibilities." But the Master teaches us that we should let tomorrow worry about itself and that we should be seeking the things of the kingdom first.
Many of us need to simplify our lives to get things back in order. We need to reorganize and remember which things are truly important. Maybe we need more time face-to-face with God and less time on Facebook!
With those thoughts in mind let me encourage you to prioritize your study time. Don't try to squeeze your study time in after everything else is done. If you do it that way, you will never have time to study. The great Rabbi Hillel once said, "Do not say that you will study Torah when you have more time; perhaps, you will never have more time."
If you have "too many balls in the air," that doesn't necessarily indicate that you need to become a better juggler, it might mean that you need to drop a few of those extra balls. Sometimes selectively dropping some balls is a good thing ... just make sure that the one you drop isn't your personal time of study. The study of God's Word is a spiritual act of worship. It is a time of intimacy with the Father when He is able to speak to you through the living words of His Scripture.
Search in Blogs...
Browse through Blogs
Feeds
Use this RSS feed to track our blogs in your favorite reader.
The FFOZ Blogs RSS Feed
Blogs by Category
- Back Office
- Events and Administration
- Founder’s Blog
- Guest Authors
- Lessons from the Land
- Levertoff Documentary
- Mishlei Musings
- Publications
- Road Trip 09
- Shalom Tour
- Teaching Team
- The Siddur Project
- Torah Club
- Video Blogs
- Site Info Blog
Blogs by Author
- Aaron Eby
- Boaz Michael
- D. Thomas Lancaster
- FFOZ Staff
- Guest Authors
- Media Staff
- Hope Egan
- Seth Dralle
- Toby Janicki
More Recent Posts
- Shameless Self-Promotion
- Is the Bible B.S.?
- Becoming A Better Boss
- Remembrance and Repentance
- Passover and the Death of James the Just
- Hosting Your First Passover Seder
- Devil's Children
- Vacation Time
- Visit Israel with FFOZ
- A KISS from me to you
Visitor Feedback:
This is so true and speaks to me today, thank you!!!
Scotty "Simcha" Miller | November 1, 2010 9:47 AM
Perfect advice.
Maggie Hays | November 1, 2010 10:45 AM
Interesting that you comment on this at this point in time. The Father has been working with me on this lately, and I'm seeing wonderful things happen in my marriage and family, not to mention my walk with the Master. I have been making prayer and Bible reading/study a priority, followed by making sure I read the TCV4 installment for the week! We also need to make these things a priority for our families, of course.
Mike Miller | November 1, 2010 11:42 AM
Perfect word for the day.I just told my Hebrew teacher yesterday i was making a schedule with a plan and reconstructing our life from running here and there.Good word thankyou!!
deedee russel | November 1, 2010 12:07 PM
Your title really tickled me, so I decided to read your whole entry. You hit the nail on the head with this one. Great reminder and good signpost!
Thanks Boaz!
Avner | November 2, 2010 1:10 AM
Thanks Boaz for a great little article. It is so good to be remined of such things! Bless you for all that you do.
Carol Barton | November 2, 2010 9:50 AM
Boaz, please help me understand. Being rather new to Messianic Judaism, I study a lot each day. Yet that study isn't always from God's Word. There is so much to learn and I seem to learn more about God from theology books than I do directly from His Word. Yes, I read the Bible, but not as much as I do extra-biblical material. A friend recently told me I should spend more time in the Word and less time reading what others say about the Word? Would appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks.
Martin Morisette | November 3, 2010 10:00 AM
Imagine that you are standing in front of a deep well of fresh, cool water. You are parched and thirsty, but “you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?” (John 4:11).
Though the water is right in front of you, it might as well be on another continent. Commentaries are like a bucket and rope. The goal of commentaries is the help on understand the word of God--but as you are aware they never replace the living water. Balance your studies--which I am sure you do.
Boaz Michael
|
November 3, 2010 11:07 AM
I was just talking to a friend (on twitter, ironically) about how, if we prepare all week for the coming Shabbat, we don't have to rush when it's almost here. Faith is a lifestyle, not a web browser add-on.
James | November 8, 2010 4:43 PM
Regarding Martins comment, I too was, at one point, almost addicted to reading commentaries on the Scriptures and not as much time in the Word. Then a day came that [HaShem] took it away, I simply could not hear the commentaries anymore, it was disquieting for me as I was getting so much from them. (Or so I thought, Christian commentaries). After a few days of trying unsuccessfully to read this literature the Father put it in my heart to read his word only,so I did. Everything for me changed then, I began to be as hungry for His Word as I was for the commentaries of His Word before. In this time, over about a year, I read nothing but Scripture, starting in Genesis. It was in this time that [HaShem] revealed to me His Sabbath, His feasts, His Name, His Torah, and it was in this time that I researched history and discovered the pagan elements of the Christian feasts of Christmas and Easter. I am grateful to see Him true to His Word and see He is able to teach us through it. Men are prone to err.
lea | November 15, 2010 6:35 AM
Thank you all for your comments. I was especially encouraged by yours, Lea, that Scripture alone showed you the truth about Sabbath and the Feasts. I have been accused of being more influenced on the teaching of men rather than Scripture regarding my new beliefs in these areas, but it is so clear in Scripture!
~ Chaverah
Chaverah | November 29, 2010 10:54 AM