Status Updates From The Hard Good: Showing Up f...

^Then the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her.
—J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King^

^When we refuse to apologize, we are holding two prisoners—ourselves and someone else. The act of apology is the act of releasing both of us who are bound.^

^Death to flesh results in abundance of life—that is God’s equation.^

^To be willing to die on a cross, you are first willing to die to every other right. We have to die on our daily crosses too.^

^I have never been to prison, but I know quite well what an emotional jail cell feels like. This situation locked me up for quite a while.^

^In many ways bringing them into the light helps eliminate their shadows.^

^No one is ever truly moved by the thought of a perfect Christian. But they are moved by the testimony of the Christian who presses on.^

^The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience.
—Flannery O’Connor^

^We [the church] should be leading out in things, as the spiritual guides of this world. We should be the first to help in every situation. When things go wrong, people should look around and see the church front and center and say, “Of course the church is here.”^

^The same sun which melts wax hardens clay. And the same Gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sins.
—Charles H. Spurgeon^

^Verse 28 [Romans 8:28] does not promise everything to be good. But with God, good comes from it.^

^Grief is like a fingerprint, uniquely yours. Others can’t know how that person smelled to you, know your private jokes, or remember what you miss the most.^

^The loss of a parent, Beth explained, is a loss of our past. The loss of a spouse is a loss of our present. And the loss of a child is a loss of our future.^

^But waiting is one of the best producers of good things.^

^While our eternal salvation comes once and extends forever, God’s grace continually rescues.^

^Self is the god of culture.^

^If you live for people's acceptance,
you'll die from their rejection.
—Lecrae^

^holding on versus hanging on. You can do better than simply hanging on.

Holding on in the spiritual life is clinging to a stable place and being held in return.^

^And just as he has whispered lies before to others, Satan adds just enough truth so the lies can be believed.^

^the invaluable lesson of cheering for someone who gets what you want shapes your character in ways always winning never can.^

^We so often want the benefit of a seasoned life without the seasoning. But life doesn’t work that way.^

^Your defeating what ifs will turn into joy over what is as you release expectations of controlling something uncontrollable.^

^Accepting the parts [of your life] you don’t love will help shape you into a person who no longer needs everything to be perfect.^

^I knew fifty-two years of marriage was bonding for my parents, but until I saw my mother whisper and weep over my father’s body with him already gone, I never really knew. That day I saw till death do us part—a love far deeper than it is on a wedding day.^

^All pain’s a prelude: to symphony, to sweetness.
“The pearl began as a pain in the
oyster’s stomach.”
—Eugene H. Peterson^

cont’d

This means that there will be missteps, disappointments, losses, and things that fall through along the way. Not everything in this world will work out for us. But the hard things will work together for good for those who love God and desire to be usable for His kingdom.^

In the intro…
^And what may be the most important thing to note from that quotable in Romans 8: “All things work together for good” (v. 28 KJV): the most missed word in the verse is together, and it’s the most important. It does not say that all things work out. It says all things work together.

In the intro…
^- God is good. Therefore, hard things that lead you to God will be good for you.
- Growth is good. That means you can’t be good without process and progress.
- A good life = a life of kingdom usability. Not fame, fortune, or ease.^