Even Moses can't do it alone!(Exodus 17-18)

Delegation is great! There are a lot of times, when Monica has been talking about me, she says, 'Wesley doesn't actually do anything, he just gets other people to do stuff!' In a lot of ways that is really accurate. I'm the idea guy! And I love being the idea guy! I love dreaming big, casting vision and getting things started, then afterward, I love evaluating and seeing how we can improve. I am a great starter and mobilizer, I am not a great finisher. This is where Monica and I make a great team! I can easily get a lot of things started and not finish any of them before moving on, this is why I have read the first half of most of the books on my bookshelf. Monica is not that way, she needs completion before moving on.  

I have noticed this same problem with getting consistency in running again. I want to run. I have a great plan. When I am in shape, I really love to run. But the last time I had consistency was when I was on the cross country team at UAH. Having the team really helped me to stick with it. I have noticed this in other areas as well, I can run really hard for a while, I can juggle a lot of things, I can get a lot of cool things rolling, but unless I have other people with me, I will burn out. This is a lesson Moses had to learn. 

We get this cool picture of battle. A battle is happening and as long as Moses holds up his hands, Israel is winning. But as time progressed, he needed his friends to hold up his arms for him. Then we see Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, give him some golden advice 'The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.'

Moses learned two things here: 

1. Delegation is a beautiful thing.  

2. It is good to have people who can look from the outside in and give advice.  

Random observation: Jethro ate, with Moses and the elders, in the presence of God. 

John Piper explains why reading your Bible is not legalism

For many years I have been saying that one thing I don't think I can be too legalist about is reading my Bible. Even when I don't want to. Even when I don't feel like I am growing. Even when I am in difficult sections of scripture to read. 

I spent middle school, high school, and my first to years of college as a distance runner. One thing learned from my time as a runner is that running is as much a mental discipline as it is a physical one. Going on long runs prepares your mind mentally to know that you can do it, and running everyday regardless of how I feel moves me past the option to just rest one day...which turns into two...which turns into...

When I stopped running after my second year of college, I stopped running. Now 10 years later, I carry 40 more pounds than I did then, and my body is just not used to running consistently anymore. I really want to get back in shape and my goal is to run a marathon, but it is much more difficult now. The only solution for me, is to become legalistic about running. Knowing that everyday I will run take the option off the table to not. And over time I will get in shape again. Regardless of days that I don't want to do it or am not seeing the results I hoped or feel bad on the run, by running everyday I will reach my goal. 

Sometimes reading my Bible is similar. Some days I don't want to. Some days I don't feel like I'm growing, but I know that by doing it consistently and making reading my Bible daily not optional, God will change my heart. 

Here is a link to Piper's article. 

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/read-your-bible-more-and-more