Ephesians 3:16-19

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. -Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV)

Amen!

Eph 2:10

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  -Eph 2:10 (NIV)

I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities afforded me to take actions upon which i can be proud.  Lord knows, I'm not proud of everything I've done, but I can be proud of the things I do today, and it's not that hard. I don't have to go looking for the good I am meant to do. It's already been prepared for me.

John 6:29

“Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”” -John 6:29 (NIV)

this one for me is difficult. granted it would be good for me if I an judged on my faith, and not so much on the sins if my past, but I was taught that to believe something is to know it to be true, blind faith, without question. maybe I was taught wrong?

if you tell me something, and I believe you, I don't know it to be true. you could be lying, you could be unsure yourself, but if I believe you it's because I choose to believe you, probably because I've chosen to trust you.

Isaiah 26:3

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." -Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)

Am I steadfast? I'm not there yet, but at least this verse includes a solution...

Trust in you

Romans 12:4-5

“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” -Romans 12:4-5 (NIV)

I think I'm inspired to know that I don't have to be like everybody else, in fact, I'm not supposed to be. I'm intended to be different, unique, to serve a purpose all my own. You are no more justified to tell me to be a Christian like you than I would be you me.

Psalm 119:165

“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” -Psalm 119:165 (NIV)

I never understood that, until recently. Like that passage, Psalm 1 I believe, his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he mediate day and night.  Why would someone delight in more rules and restrictions?

Today I see things differently. Following the rules keeps me safe. If I think of Peace as a lack of anxiety, then it's easy to see how living within the rules brings peace.

Psalm 116:1-2

“I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.” -Psalm 116:1-2 (NIV)

when I talk to god I usually feel heard. I feel like I can always turn to him for anything, no matter how big the mess is that I'm in, no matter how much that mess is entirely my fault.

I think sometimes the answer to my cry for mercy is, "well now Jonathan, you have to suffer these consequences, but I will suffer then with you."  maybe having to face the challenges presented by my own choices is somehow true mercy...

...or maybe it's that I never have to face them alone.