Examining Our Excitement

I just sinned and I hate it.  Through repentance, I knew forgiveness.  I thanked God and praised Jesus.

Soon afterwards, prompted by awareness of my newfound energy, my mind switched to a dietary supplement called ageLoc Vitality.  (This stuff is the difference between quarterly sinus infections/peeling myself out of bed and more vacation days/being jump started to tackle the day.)  In my excitement, I thought of ways to help others by promoting it.  Then, I realized: it's a dietary supplement.  A dietary supplement.  Why was I so amped up about it?  Why were these little white pills more exciting to me than thoughts of Jesus, my Lord and Savior?

I examined myself... I was viewing the vitality pills with their ongoing benefits; but with Jesus, my eyes were complacently static.  The Cross is not one and done + thanks and now move on, but active intercession and unabridged access to the Giver of Life.  Transformation, gratitude, hope, eternity, glory—this is where my mind should be dwelling.

Ephesians 4:23
...be renewed in the spirit of your minds...

Conscious of Dread

I had a nightmare that I lost my salvation. As a Christian (who by definition knows Christ and therefore knows life), the sense of loss was massively deep, the heavy hopelessness of my (perceived) personal reality a painful dread.

What would be the point of living? To enjoy with reckless abandon the remainder of this blip-on-eternity that we call life? In the face of eternity, decades of earthly pleasure (or pain) are meaningless; they're simply wasted years if they're not ultimately leading Somewhere.

For those who don't know Christ—who don't know life—they're saved from at least being conscious of such dread (for dead men don't know they're dead). And it makes sense, in part, why many don't even want to begin to hear things related to the Gospel: if all you want is this life, and to simply enjoy it, why would you want anyone ruining your flow? It'd be like someone loving McDonald's obliviously (intentional or not) and then having someone, without solicit, tell you the actual ingredients (e.g. pink slime).

Praise God that none who belong to Jesus can be snatched from His hand.

[Jonah 2:6-8]
"...I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.
When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.
Those who pay regard to vain idols
forsake their hope of steadfast love..."

[John 10:27-30]
"...My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

Proverbs against Babbling

Proverbs 10:8
The wise of heart will receive commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

Proverbs 10:10
Whoever winks the eye causes trouble, but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

Proverbs 10:19
When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Proverbs 11:12
Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.

Proverbs 11:13
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

Proverbs 13:3
Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Proverbs 17:27
Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Proverbs 17:28
Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Proverbs 18:2
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Proverbs 18:6
A fool's lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating.

Proverbs 18:7
A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

Proverbs 20:19
Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

Proverbs 21:23
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Proverbs 29:11
A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

Proverbs 29:20
Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs advocating for the Poor

Proverbs 14:21
Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.

Proverbs 14:31
Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.

Proverbs 17:5
Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 19:17
Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.

Proverbs 21:13
Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.

Proverbs 22:22-23
Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.

Proverbs 28:27
Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.

Proverbs 29:7
A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.

Proverbs 29:14
If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever.

Proverbs 31:8-9
Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Remembering Your Redemption

My deepest need has been met: I've been reconciled to the Giver of Life, the Killer of Death. (As Gungor put it, "when Death dies, all things live.")

I hadn't rock climbed in almost six months and when I left off, I was performing at a level that seemed natural—a personal standard that seemed forever fixed. Breaking that bouldering hiatus last night, I discovered otherwise as I was definitively humbled. At the same time, I developed an appreciation for the previous level of performance to which I was formerly accustomed (e.g. took for granted).

I see now why it's critical to look back on where you came from—where you could still be if it wasn't for Grace—and why that's better than dwelling on current shortcomings and things yet to be attained. Remember what Jesus has already done rather than what He has yet to do. Whether or not I feel it on any given day, on any given day, my deepest need has been met in Jesus. Praise Him!
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Praises to the One who made it all and finds it beautiful! [Gungor]

Amen!
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Work

Just in case you're feel the same as me: I'm really not in the mood to work, but work—in essence—is submission to those whom God has put over us. It is worship.

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Doctrine

1. God is Triune and is, therefore, relational. God is continuously relational with His creation because the Trinity is in everlasting relationship.

2. We are made in His image, and as His image bearers, each and every action either reflects or (more often) sadly misrepresents Him. With each and every sin, therefore, God is the party chiefly offended.

3. God is for God. Human beings (for the most part) inherently know that self-glorification isn't appropriate—and rightly so—because we are designed to glorify something greater than ourselves: the one true God. Only with Him is self-glorification acceptable, appropriate, right, and pure.

4. Jesus suffered and died on our behalf and conquered death to give life to those who have faith. Since all of creation and even death itself is in utter submission to the Living God, how much more are those who have been ransomed to wholly bow at His lordship in regards to all our values, thoughts, and deeds?

5. Forgiveness without atonement is apathetic, a killer of justice and devoid of love. Christ is the ultimate atonement. Believers only have forgiveness because of Jesus' shed blood—which is the propitiation for our sins—and bodily resurrection.

6. Church is family. And Christ is the head.

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Lean Not On Your Own Understanding

Judges 17:6
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Romans 10:3
For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own,
they did not submit to God's righteousness.

Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.

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