In the world...

Jesus said, "In the world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33). I usually take this to mean that we will face trials that come from living in this world, external diffculties and struggles.

But I think that Jesus also would include in this statement troubles that come from within. Often I think that if I can just get things straightened out on the inside, things will be smooth sailing. Or another way of saying it is: I have to get my sinfulness and personal struggles straightened out before I can depend on God.

I have recently been encouraged by Jesus' reminder: In this world you will also face trouble from within. Your insides will often work to betray you. You will often face personal failure. But take heart--I have overcome the world, and I am with you always.

:)

A reminder to myself

I always need to hear things like this:

"One day as I was passing into the field . . . this sentence fell upon my soul. Thy righteousness is in heaven. And methought, withal, I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he wants [=lacks] my righteousness, for that was just before him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, 'The same yesterday, today, and forever.' " --John Bunyan

Taken from John Piper's biography on John Bunyan, http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1480_To_Live_Upon_God_that_Is_Invisible

remember your God

"Remember your God." Remember your God! Your God is with you.

"1God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling." Ps. 46:1-3

He is enough.

well, in today's economy...

I like the way certain phrases are used in conversation.

The phrase, "Well, in today's economy..." can now be inserted anywhere in a conversation.

"I thought about changing career fields...but, in today's economy..." And then the sentence is ended. It can perhaps be followed up by a sarcastic laugh, or a mutual "Ha ha, yeah!" The rest is understood--no need to explain oneself, of course. The phrase is a catch-all.

A man has a conversation with the grocery store cashier:
"Hello!"
"Hello, sir, how are you today?"
"I'm fine. Could be better. I thought about changing my underwear today..."
--a slight, akward pause--
But then, a smirk of confidence from unspoken agreement crosses the man's face.
"BUT, in today's economy..."
and then--a mutually understood wink, followed by laughter and friendship.

This (and other phrases, they change over time) are codes for our society: if you want in, you use the current phrase.

A few months ago, when gas prices were really high, the general consensus was that the established code-phrase was "Yeah, but with today's gas prices!"

I thought about using it to my advantage.
Imagine the folowing scenario.

I walk into a bar and approach an attractive girl, who is obviously too good for me, and say:
"Hey!"
"Hi."
And then, I abruptly and loudly blurt out"But with today's gas prices, you just about have to go out with me!"(overly-extended, playful wink)"right?"
"Ha ha. You're kind of cute."

Of course, ethically speaking, this would never work. It is morally wrong to use the powerful phrase to influence ladies into datation of me.

Nevertheless, in conclusion to this tract, society's phrase is a powerful ally. Wield it well, young padawan.

"A Little Faith"

I'm sorry to keep posting things that other people wrote in stead of something that I wrote. I mainly post these things for myself. But enjoy!

"It is not the quantity of your faith that shall save you. A drop of water is as much water as the whole ocean. In the same way a little faith is as much faith as the greatest. A child eight days old is as much man as one of sixty years. A spark of fire is as much fire as a great flame. A sickly man is as much living as a healthy man.
So it is not the measure of your faith that saves you — it is the blood that it grips to that saves you. The weak hand of a child that puts a spoon to his mouth will feed himself just as well as the strong arm of a man, because it is not the hand that nourishes them, it is the meat that nourishes him.
So if you can grip Christ ever so weakly, he will not let you perish. The weakest hands take a gift as well as the strongest. Now, Christ is this gift, and weak faith may grip him as well as strong faith, and Christ is as truly yours when you have weak faith, as when you have come to those triumphant joys through the strength of faith." --Welsh

From http://biblestudyplanet.com/livingwaters/?p=809

J. Temp. quote

"A problem that occurs in your life may simply be a question that life asks you. However, anxiety can make solutions seem elusive, and pessimism can be a block to embracing the part of ourselves that already knows the answers. Your positive outlook can open doors to opportunity that fear might otherwise tightly lock." --Sir John Templeton

I think God wants us to be optismistic, to see the good in things.

I don't even know who this J. Temp. guy is, but he sounds right in what he says here.

"Nevertheless, I am still with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Ps. 73:23-26