Man, God is good. I've been awake for 32 hours straight now, and probably 80% of that time has been spent either in a classroom or doing homework. And I'm barely even caught up to where I need to be. It's crazy but I'm learning so much. It really is remarkable how practical the Bible is when it comes to dealing with people's problems. It just makes a whole lot of sense. A heck of a lot more sense than taking drugs that mess with the chemicals in your brain, or electroshock therapy, or exploring secret subconscious desires that control us our whole lives, or reliving past experiences, or reconditioning our reward and punishment instincts in an attempt to fix the things we don't like in our lives. Those do nothing for your heart. The Bible is entirely concerned about the heart in regards to counseling, because the heart is the source of everything we do, say, and feel. It is our mind, will, and affections. That is a convicting and seriously, seriously powerful truth to think about.

I need more of that conviction and power, and I need to dig into the Word more.

One thing that's been on my mind a lot lately is just the implications that come with the Bible being true. If we are 100% convicted of the unwavering truth of the Bible, how are we not spending every second of our lives witnessing to people and being broken and rejoicing in the power and love from that Book. I remember hearing a quote, I believe from Ghandi, who said something along the lines of "If people really believed in this book, it would change the world" I need SO MUCH more of that conviction. Honestly this terrifies me to think about. The Bible being true means abandoning everything I have ever wanted or enjoyed that is a product of sin. But how much better are the things of God? Terrifying, but exhilarating. It is beyond words how little I know about the God of the Bible, how far I am from true faith, and how much different my life must be if it is to reflect the truth of this Word. In short, how much of a helpless infant I am spiritually, in knowledge and in faith. God, please show me Your Truth. Please help me to act according to it. Keep me from sin and draw me to You. If you're reading this I would greatly appreciate prayers in this area.

How infinitely greater is the life controlled by the true Gospel of Jesus, compared to the life of so many "Christians" that are content to live a "moral life" and go to Church. How much power is in that truth??? This is, like I said, terrifying to me, and I can barely understand the implications of this, but all I can hope is that I will earnestly seek the Truth, and trust that God will both allow and help me to find it. Why are Christians so mediocre if we believe what we claim to believe? It's like saying that we know for a fact that we will die in 24 hours, but doing nothing special with our "last day", just kind of being lazy and milling around by ourselves. Ridiculous picture, isn't it? Is this not what so much of the Church is like? Are we not content with living comfortably? The Bible does not leave an inch for us to live a life defined by comfort. But so many of us who bear the name of Christ are completely infatuated with comfort. This simply does not make any sense at all. This is powerful, terrifying, and convicting. Is it not?

Be good to each other. Thoughts on this are welcome.