Virtue Without Rules!

I've been studying Romans with the high school group and currently I'm in chapter 3. It is amazing to see and understand this revelation, that God has provided righteousness apart from keeping the law! That is why I titled this post 'Virtue Without Rules'.

Verse 21 states, "Now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested." This righteousness is God's alone, but God does not keep it to himself! He has given it to his people. It is refreshing to be reminded that I was given what I could not earn. No amount of keeping the law could have made me right with God. Not to mention I didn't really keep the law very well anyway!

I was just studying and decided I would post some of these thoughts as I will be teaching them this upcoming Sunday.

Amazing...righteousness without law...

Don't Waste Your Acid Reflux

Yeah I know I stole that line from John Piper. But hey it fits.

So, as some of you know, and now all of you know, I've been having acid reflux. I have hated every minute of it. It is painful, sleep hindering, food altering, joy inhibiting, and all around stupid!

But some good has been coming from this little experience. I have seen growth from this form of suffering. Now nobody likes to suffer, even the Bible tells us that, but it does produce good that can not be learned any other way. As Mark Twain said, "A man learns a lesson carrying a cat by the tail, and some will learn it no other way."

With that said I am learning things about compassion through this time. While I do not like what I'm going through I would not trade it away if I could, because that would mean losing what I have gained.

Now I open it up to you who have faced trials. Would you trade those trials in? What have they produced?

Oh Poop!

Ok so I'm back after two years of not writing. I got sucked back in by reading my own blogs, how's that for self-center?

So, here we go.

I don't really have anything to say at this time. I'm just seeing if anyone will even read this thing. Let me ask a question;

I'm not sure if any of you have seen Piper's website and his upcoming conf. There is an interesting video about language. If you've seen it please comment, let me know what you guys are thinking.

The reason why I ask is because I've been thinking a lot about how I talk. Not that I curse like a sailor but I'm wondering if 'bad' words are good to use at times. Just a thought, and you know me I like to stir things up.