14 MAR 09: Might As Well Jump?
(BLOGGER'S NOTE: You may find the following item humorous, serious, or a little of both - but we offer these thoughts from time to time, as we keep a seventh-day Sabbath.)
The man on the phone was a minister, who wanted publicity for some "good clean fun" this weekend. This was reassuring to hear - although any minister promoting bad dirty fun might be more newsworthy.
The minister said a Columbus congregation is holding a 24-hour "Jump for Joy" event. People are taking 15-minute turns bouncing on a trampoline -- while holding Bibles. If I tried this, I'd admittedly want to hold onto something else. I'd want guard rails on either side of me.
When I heard the minister suggest this stunt, a question came to my mind. "If someone falls off the trampoline and the Bible flies open," I asked, "do you stop everything you're doing and read the chapter where it's open?"
The minister laughed at that idea -- but then, I was a little tempted to laugh at his. Do you teach young people about the Bible by having them hold it, while they're on a trampoline? I suppose it could fulfill an old hymn - "Take the name of Jesus with you, take it everywhere you go...."
The Bible indeed can be a book with many uses. Sadly, it became a shield for a pastor during a shooting spree last weekend in Illinois. And some people use a big Bible as a "coffee table" book in their living rooms - which admittedly is better than Kramer's old "coffee table book about coffee table books" on Seinfeld.
Call me old-fashioned, but I consider the Bible more than a prop to use for children's exercise. I actually open it up and read it. But of course, anybody can do that. Atlanta radio talk show host Neal Boortz used to say he reads the Bible every day - yet has it really made him kind and compassionate on the air?
My point is that we need to do more than jump around with a Bible. In fact, we need to do more than simply read a Bible. God wants us to study it carefully - then dare to believe and apply what it says. The book of II Timothy says it was written under God's inspiration. That seems to top any tell-all book Chris Brown and Rihanna might be planning.
Examine God's word carefully, and you might make some amazing discoveries. For instance, did you know the Old Testament mentions a king named Jehoshaphat - but it never says he jumped?
P.S. Instant Message to the Opelika Kroger store: About that sign in the meat section, "Who let the hogs out? Oink! Oink!" - maybe Jesus let them out, so they could dive off a cliff.
The number of unique visitors to our blog is up 16 percent so far in 2009! To advertise to them, offer a story tip, make a PayPal donation or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.
BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 770 (- 150, 16.3%)
The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.
© 2003-09 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.