Checkup

I've finally set a few days aside for vacation in early April, right after another drafting seminar down in Richmond. I don't know what to do with my time off just yet - a lot will depend on the weather and if anyone else comes with me. I'd like to spend a day down near Grayson Highlands in the southern part of the state. Maybe I'll head the opposite direction and lookup old friends in Newport News. Maybe I'll just spend 4 days sleeping - who knows!

The last time I tried vacationing by myself didn't work out too well - loneliness set in after about 2 days, and I spent the rest of the week taking day trips close to home. We'll see about it this time.

I spent Saturday afternoon hiking near Signal Knob, just outside Strasburg. There weren't too many spots for pictures, but I'll post what I took later on tonight.

Good news - I'm meeting my both parents for dinner here in town in less than an hour. My mom has spent the last week in Honolulu (lucky bugger...) with Dad, who has been working in Pearl Harbor for the past few weeks. Dad worked all week, and Mom's not too adventurous, so she spent most of her time in Waikiki. They flew back together, and I'm interested to see how it went! (Looking back at the past few paragraphs, you can tell that I've got a bad case of cabin fever...)

Despite all the stuff I did this past week, loneliness and boredom are still my greatest struggles. I wish I knew what God has in store for me in the future. Keep me in prayer.

The Law of Liberty

Obedient hearing springs from the moral and spiritual beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ deeply impacting us. A Christian can rejoice at the realization that such inward beauty is his by new birth. He can be inspired to express this beauty through obedience. But, of course, this "captivation" of the heart by the "beauty of Jesus" is the work of God's Holy Spirit through God's Word.
However, a moment's reflection will show that obedient hearing cannot be the result of guilt or an intolerable load of obligation. If such responsiveness does not arise from our innermost self as a deeply felt desire, it remains a work of the flesh. The spirit of the legalist is far removed from what we are talking about here. That is why James goes on to say this:

"But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:25)

It is striking that in this statement James now refers to God's Word at "the perfect law of liberty." So far from being a burden, the law of liberty frees us from above (see 1:18). When Christian living becomes a burden which we must "grind out," we have forgotten what we truly are. Life in Christ is true liberty.

~Zane Hodges, "Six Secrets of the Christian Life", pg. 36-37.

I think I'm starting to get it...

Letting go of the extremes

Thanks you both for the comments from a few weeks ago. While I can't say that I've gotten to be a better Christian in the past few weeks, I feel like I'm a little closer to finally "getting it". What I mean is, finding that balance between (1) always relying on my own willpower to obey God's will, and (2) using zero will power and just hoping that God will nudge slap me with instant, miraculous sanctification. I know that both extremes are wrong - I've tried them both within the past few months and failed horribly. However, I also know that I do need a certain measure of both willpower and faith, working together, to become a better Christian. I guess all that's left is for me to keep trying.

Non Sequitur: I had Indian food for dinner today. That green chicken was awesome. Seriously - green chicken kabobs. Yum.

Also Non Sequitur: I am getting REALLY stir-crazy. Anybody out there going camping sometime in the next month or two?