stuff that everybody knows but I still wanna talk about . . .

Each day, I think its a goal that each of us have, to be better than we were yesterday. We don't expect any of our days to go perfectly, but somehow, we feel like we should get better and wiser over time.
The thing I most hate is stumbling on the same rock that fell me yesterday and the day before that. . . is that a consequence of unconfessed sin, I wonder? Does God give us each a "thorn in the flesh" as He gave to the Apostle Paul? I wouldn't be surprised. There are certain struggles that each of us will have for the rest of our lives. . . (and we all say, "oh goodie" and clap our hands with glee). . . yeah right. . .

And I'll share this one - my flaming tongue of terror. The tongue itself would make a fine post in and of itself. How ironic that the same thing that loves and blesses also cuts and curses. And though I am not going to try to cut off my tongue or any other appendage that helps me in sinning, it brings up the greater thing. I might as well cut out my heart if this is the case - "from the heart flows all sorts of wickedness". Leithart speaks much on spiritual circumcision, the purification of the heart. Sometimes we get it so wrong. We think that we can externally "cut off" the sin without seing that the roots of it are still there, growing more fiercely than before. Its kind of like pulling a weed and not getting all the roots with it. Do you ever notice how it comes back even stronger? Same thing with sin. We think we nip the nasty in the bud, and then it comes back to surprise us, stronger.

We think that building up our strength and immunity is the way to kill it. The trick is becoming weak and humble, so that the Lord's perfect power can show us that its already dead and we are the victors and what's left to deal with, He has already given us strength to fight it. And though we wish that it would be gone out of our lives completely, we need it to remind us that we are victors in Him.