Would You Rather Be Right or Righteous?

In this post from Ed Welch, he explains how sometimes we have to make a choice between being right about something and loving the person we are talking to. Check out this link from the CCEF website.

Hebrews 13:5-6

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he as said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

Augustine and God's Grace

As Christians, sometimes we forget about what life would be like without Christ. Through The Confessions, Augustine helps us to remember. He helps us remember where we were and the grace it required to rescue us. Properly considered, our only response can be gratitude to Him and compassion for others.


The following is from Book X:38-40.


Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours.


When I shall have adhered (Psalm 72:28)to you with the whole of myself, I shall never have 'pain and toil' (Ps. 89:10), and my entire life will be full of you. You lift up the person whom you fill. But for the present, because I am not full of you, I am a burden to myself. There is a struggle between the joys over which I should be weeping and regrets at matters over which I ought to be rejoicing, and which side has the victory I do not know. There is a struggle between my regrets at my evil past and my memories of good joys, and which side as the victory I do not know. Alas, 'Lord have mercy upon me' (Ps. 30:10), wretch that I am. See, I do not hide my wounds. You are the physician, I am the patient. You are pitiful, I am the object of pity. Is not a human life on earth a trial (Job 7:1)? Who desires troubles and difficulties? You command that they should be endured, no loved. No one loves what he endures, even if he loves to be able to endure it. Although he is glad he can endure it, he would prefer that what he endures should not be there. In adversities I desire prosperity, in prosperous times, I fear adversities. Between these two is there a middle ground where human life is not a trial? Cursed are the prosperities of the world, not once but twice over, because of the fear of adversity and the corruption of success. Cursed are the adversities of the world, not once or twice, but thrice, because of the longing for prosperity, because adversity itself is hard, and because of the possibility that one's endurance may crack. Is not the human life on earth a trial in which there is no respite?


My entire hope is exclusively in your very great mercy.


But remember, our hope is in Christ:

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25)

Psalm 51: 3-12

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

What Do You Want?

[The following is an excerpt from a book by Ed Welch.]

The spiritual allegiances of the heart are sometimes hidden, but like the quality of fruit on a tree, the heart will eventually reveal itself in word and deed:

For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,  for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke6:43-45)

Any violation of God's law is an expression of the heart, as is faith and obedience. Our emotions are also, more often than not, animated by the orientation of our hearts....When our worship is false, and the things we desire are unattainable or impotent, we can be grieved, bitter, depressed, angry, or fearful. Our emotions usually mean something, and it is wise to ask, "What are my emotions saying?" "What are they pointing to?"

In less religious language, here are some questions that can reveal the heart:

• What do you truly want?
• What is your purpose in life?
• What or whom do you really love?
• When do you get most sad and depressed?
• When do you get hopeless (not getting what you want)?
• What do you get excited about? What brings you the greatest pleasure?
• What is your dream? What do you day dream about?
• How would you like to be remembered?
• What do you especially want to avoid?

Think about these questions. What do the answers say about your life, relationships, and God?

Ephesians 3:14-19

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Talking to God

Shortly after a devastating tsunami hit Japan in 2011, Itaru Sasaki placed a phone booth in his garden. Inside is a disconnected rotary telephone. People come from miles away to the small town of Otsuchi to enter that phone booth, pick up the receiver, and speak to the relatives and friends they lost in the tsunami. The mourners act as if they are really talking to the dead, unburdening themselves of guilt, grief, and pain. An article from CityLab describes the comfort the phone booth offers:

The booth invites people to drop in to work out painful feelings in a comfortable space: sadness that can feel all-encompassing is, for a moment, confined to a specific shape and landscape. It’s a private way of wrestling with a tragedy that reshaped the whole community.

As a believer I know that I cannot speak to the dead through a disconnected phone line in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure most of the people who visit that booth know that, too. But I am intrigued by the comfort this activity brings people. I think this activity would helpful to many struggling individuals. Imagine this: place a phone down in front of a friend whom you have been counseling for awhile and ask him to call someone he needed to say something to - could be dead or alive. "Go ahead pick it up - say whatever you need to say". After some resistance and awkward moments, I can see it happening and being effective. "Say whatever you want. Tell that person about the pain, grief, joy, sadness, lonliness, etc. you experienced because of him or her." If you had the opportunity to do that, what would you say?

The background of this blog includes an old rotary phone hanging on a wall. If you could pick up that phone right now and have a conversation with God, what would you say? Sure, as believers, we can always talk to God, but I think this exercise makes that conversation more real, more intimate.

If it's 11:59 right now as you read this post - a minute before midnight - and you are struggling with something, fighting with a desire that just won't go away, or wanting a few moments of peace, what would you say to the God of the universe who is waiting on the other end of that line?

Hope for Change

A friend of mine offered some encouragement that I wanted to share.

Philippians 1:6 offers us enduring hope for change in our lives:

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

Notice what this verse is suggesting to us: "He has begun the good work in me, I know that, but I still struggle constantly. But this verse promises that He will see it to completion...therefore, I can have real hope that in some measure I will eventually, and hopefully in this fallen world, experience victory over what troubles me."

There is much hope in the promise of Philippians 1:6. The promise of sanctification is that He will make our lives holier for sure. Easier? Perhaps not and certainly not always, but the promise of progressive holiness endures. In the grand scheme of things, what else should we want out of this life than to be the human beings we were meant to be?

God Before Midnight

As mentioned in the description of this blog, there is something about life "after midnight." In his song by the same name, Eric Clapton suggests that there is a moral permissiveness that the night time brings: "after midnight, we're gonna let it all hangout." (Here is a link to the tune for those who are more audio-oriented.)

It is true that God created the day and the night and declared both to be good (Genesis 1). But humans do not always use God's good gifts for good purposes. In Proverbs, the author warns his son of  adultery; note when his son is chasing sin:

For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness. (Proverbs 7:6-9)

The night gives us the illusion of cover. People may not be able to see what we do, but the Lord does. He sees it all:

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)

Let's not kid ourselves. God knows what we are doing before midnight...and after.

Unfortunately, sometimes we forget or don't want to believe this.

I hope God Before Midnight will help those of you out there who need a word of encouragement late in the day and into the night, a reminder that we are always to pursue what is just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8). I will try to post daily: it may be a short essay or simply a passage from the Scriptures.

If you are tempted after midnight, please don't let it all hang out. Perhaps it would be better to check this blog sometime around 11:59pm, give it a read, shut off the light, and go to bed.