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.