Day 1

So today, we begin. Sure this is going to be hard. Yes you are going to have to work at it. For some of you that have been through it before you may not be worried... but today, I want you to remember why we are doing the Media Fast.

READ: Read in your Bible the following: HEBREWS 12:1-2+

RELATE: "Lay aside any weight... that clings so closely..." Think about that phrase today. I just read an article from the University of California in San Diego that did some research on Americans. Did you know that Americans consume 3.6 zettabytes of media per day (outside of work)! I don't know what a zettabyte is but they said it translates to 1.3 trillion hours per day! So put that into terms we can understand... that would mean that every person in America consumes amlost 12 hours of media per day! I love the word "consume". We may think the TV is just on but we are consuming what it's saying. Your brain is always on... learning... and your soul... it's constantly consuming.

Take it to another level... that 12 hours per day of media consumption translates to over 100,536 words per day! That doesn't include the words your parents, teachers, friends, and sibling use in a day. Now I know it may seem like I use that many words in one Sunday morning teaching in High School group but actually (I figured this out just now), that I used approximately 100 words per minute... and for the 30 minute talk I did this past week (and a lot of it was the students responses) that translates to about 3000 words...

So let's assume that you don't spend any other time with God during the week. You don't read your Bible. You barely pray. That means that in 1 week, you have consumed 703,752 words of media (probably not directly focued on God) and only 3000 (give or take a few) directly focused on God...

RESPOND: Here's the thought for the day: Do you think that maybe... just maybe... the weight that is holding you from having your "dream relationship" with God may have something to do with the things your mind and soul are consuming? Maybe we are clinging so closely to our media that there is no room for God... I mean, after all... 8 hours at school, 12 hours of media... that's a lot of hours in your day for other stuff instead of God's voice. I challenge you today to take some time to read your Bible. Read Hebrews 12 and see what sticks out. Then, talk to God about it.