"It's Better the Second Time Around"

Word Traveler

"my daily encounter with God through His Word"

Dave Scriven

Location: Beaverton, Oregon, USA
Birthday: October 06

Title: Principal Broker
Company: RE/MAX

Bio: This site is a two year writing experiment I call "P, B & J" (Prayer, Bible, and Journal) which follows a two year Bible reading plan. (A link to this reading plan is at My Links below.) As I read Bible, I look for an inspirational verse and write about it. These articles are my P, B & J journal entries. I hope you enjoy them. ________________________________ Bible guy, happily married, 7 kids, 1 cool grandkid, Realtor. If you want more, check out "My Story" at My Links below. Thanks! _______________________________ Credits: The black and white graphic of Moses at left of title bar is used by permission and entitled "The Spoken Law" by my friend and excellent comic book illustrator, Paul Gulacy.

MY RECENT POSTS

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April 10, 2011 10:50AM
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"Assurance"
March 21, 2011 12:03PM
"Don't Muzzle the Ox"
March 21, 2011 09:43AM

MY RECENT COMMENTS

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March 26, 2011 12:46PM
“Thanks IJ.”
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Dave Scriven's Links

New list: My Story; 423 Men; Word Traveler; 2011 Bible Reading Plan; Artist Writer Mary Ann Farley

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NOVEMBER 20, 2009 12:07PM

Rate: 1 Flag

Ezekiel 28.6-8, 17 The Message

“Therefore, God, the Master, says: ‘Because you’re acting like a god, pretending to be a god, I’m giving fair warning: I’m bringing strangers down on you, the most vicious of all nations. They’ll pull their swords and make hash of your reputation for knowing it all.

They’ll puncture the balloon of your god-pretensions. They’ll bring you down from your self-made pedestal and bury you in the deep blue sea.’

‘Your beauty went to your head. You corrupted wisdom by using it to get worldly fame.’”

I like Denzel Washington and now I know why. His father was a Pentecostal minister and he attended the University of Oregon for a season. He’s starred in some great films and helps to support notable charities. Washington is an Academy Award winner and (I’ve heard) a happily married man and devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

Unlike the demigods of Ezekiel’s time and many modern icons of the silver screen, Denzel Washington’s “worldly fame” never “went to [his] head”. Why not?

Last night I read a 2007 Reader’s Digest interview with Denzel Washington.[1] It referred to the actor’s daily discipline of Bible reading... “It’s better the second time around.” Here’s a few excerpts:

RD: Do you think of yourself as a spiritual person?
Washington: Definitely.

RD: In what way?
Washington: I read the Bible every day. I’m in my second pass-through now, in the Book of John. My pastor told me to start with the New Testament, so I did, maybe two years ago. Worked my way through it, then through the Old Testament. Now I’m back in the New Testament. It’s better the second time around. (italics mine)

And, later in the interview:

RD: What are you reading?
Washington: Books? I don’t have time. Except for the Bible, the No. 1 bestseller.

I’m glad there are role models like Mr. Washington who remind me that “worldly fame” is nothing without Christ and His Word. A man who gets a jolt out of “acting like a god” will eventually fall from his “self-made pedestal”. God promises to “puncture the balloon of [his] god-pretensions”.

Thanksgiving is one week from today and next week is National Bible Week. I am thankful for the Bible and for people like Denzel Washington who admit their need for it even “the second time around”.
_______________________

[1]"Denzel Washington Interview: Devoted to Family and Faith", Reader's Digest, December 2007 (http://www.rd.com/your-america-inspiring-people-and-stories/denzel-washington-interview-devoted/article49236.html).