Welcome

This blog will serve many purposes over the next days, weeks, months and years. First, it will provide me an opportunity to spew out random observations about life, one that I will follow with momentarily. The second, perhaps more important purpose will be to share ideas and thoughts about God. I have a concern and a burden that Jesus is being attacked and it hurts my heart to think there are people out there being deceived about who God really is. Most of those blogs will be longer, so bear with me, but please do read along as God reveals Himself to all of us. A term comes to mind with this second purpose and that is "humble orthodoxy". My goal over the course of this blog is to embrace and explain what that means clearly because it is a conviction of mine, to make much of God and His one true gospel and yet do this with humility and in love, because it is love for others and them hearing this message of life that motivates me. So do read, and do comment and let's rediscover the old, old story again.
Tonight at our men's meeting, through a book, "Lost in the Middle" and through a friend's humble sharing of a struggle, I was reminded of the battle that rages in our hearts, in my heart with sin. We talked about regrets and how in our lives these regrets can lead us to do one of two things. One, we can put the blame elsewhere, thinking that everyone else is to blame for our troubles, our sins. Or, we can look inward at our own hearts, realizing their is a battle going on.
When we get angry at our wives or friends, we can often regret words or actions that come out from a moment of anger, and it is in that moment of regret that we can learn. We can say, "I'm just frustrated with life right now," or we can admit that we are angry, even angry at God and ask the God of the universe for help in overcoming anger, in helping us understand what the root cause of the anger is (pride, fear of man, etc) and even what lesson He is trying to teach us through this trial.
I am a sinner, but I am a sinner that knows that God is for me, that He will in HIs mercy show me my sin so that I can grow to look more like His Son, but He will also give me the power through His Holy Spirit to help me change.
Consider what God is saying to you right now. Are there regrets in your life? Know this, that God even uses our mistakes in His plan, but that He wants to teach us in those mistakes and He wants to help not make those mistakes again.
Thank you God for your love for us and thank you for a friend's humility in sharing to help me see this tonight.