Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

It is encouraging that even though I am deeply flawed, I will continue to grow and will be completed when Christ returns. What an awesome thing to know that God, who began the good work within me, is going to continue to work on me, mold me, grow me, stretch me, push me, make me. I want to be a willing participant in this process, and will continue to deny my nature to do so, with God’s help and guidance.

I don’t want to do it on my own. Pretty simple. If I have God at my side guiding me, who am I to think I can generate better results? I can at least humble myself enough to know that I’m not God. Yet, that’s counter cultural today, isn’t it?

Psalm 31:3 (NLT)
3 You are my rock and my fortress.
For the honor of your name, lead me out of this danger.

Follow God. That’s the easy way out, though it’s the most difficult thing to do. Follow God and not me. It’s much easier to follow my own advice than wait patiently for God’s. So it is, and so are the consequences. God is good, He’s a rock, He’s my fortress. He’ll lead me away from my natural ways and that’s a good thing for me and those around me. If I only submit that He’s greater than I am. Shouldn’t be to hard…. Oy.

Habakkuk 2:4 (NLT)
4 “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked.
But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

Look at the proud! Isn’t that the way of the world? Let’s put man first and kick God to the curb. He’s got nothing for us, but our Universities and Hollywood sure do. Look at the proud. Look at where it gets us. Moral relativity. Values based on whatever. Intolerance in the name of tolerance. Structural, systemic poverty as a power base for the elite. Millionaire pop cultural icons hiding sexual abuse because to do differently would impact their pocket books and vanity. Look at the cesspool of corruption and debauchery that defines pop culture. Look at the proud.

God and righteousness doesn’t look so bad now, does it?

John 20:21 (NLT)
21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.”