Excellence, Executed.

We all want to stand out. I personally wanted to do things people I knew never did before, just to stand out. Little did I realize that this was just me wanting to stand above. I wanted to be above. I wanted to be better than everyone else. Today all that changed. Today I realized there's more to this life than to look at myself and find myself wanting.

Humble pie. Based on today's events I'm led to think that man, I need to know so much. I have so much to learn. I've been here in this dirt patch for 30 years and I have so much to learn.

Those who came after me have an edge in the sense that there are so much more of us in this world who have made more errors than they have, so much more of us in this world who have so much to share to them. I envy the youth, to be honest. I'm probably going the same route as those older than me have been known to say - these kids 'have it so much better'. 

Have things changed, therefore, in the way we are to act? Does this increase in knowledge, this prevailing thought that those younger than us will definitely be better and stronger than us - does all this change how we ought to move and think and strategize? 

No. In fact, though we have so much learned and so much to learn, I believe in any season and in any age it is always going to be important - no, vital for us to always remember that things and times in this world are subject to change and ultimately, oblivion. It is vital for us to remember that the heavens and the earth with eventually pass away, and Christ's words will be all that remains.

It is these words that will always stay constant, now and forever. We ought to look to Christ during times that we drink from the cup of victory, or during times when we have humble pie shoved down our throats. 

There is nothing else to boast in. Our skills and possessions - they all came from Christ. Yes, our skills and talents, they all came because of Christ's finished work. In fact, they flourish only because we know that in Christ, everything we put our hands into prospers. 

There is nothing else to boast on. Christ is all we need. Christ is enough for all of us. Christ is all we need. Christ is Who we boast in.

We need to keep reminding ourselves of this. The Good News continues to flow in and through us, mercies manifesting anew every morning. As we see, believe, receive, and conquer, I believe those who have both gone before us and after us will find us faithful - not for our glory, but solely for our God, in whom all things were made, and in whom all things consist.

Soli Deo Gloria.

We are all equally loved. We are all given the same infinite measure of unconditional and unfailing and everlasting love from our Heavenly Father. We are created in His image, and therefore we would do well to understand and apply the truth that we are not all created with all the same traits, and that though The Lord is faithful to prosper the work of our hands, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. We must understand that there is a time for everything - a time to bear another's burden and to help in another's weakness, and a time to join another in celebrating their strength.

In both cases, we celebrate God's great love.

This space is intentionally left blank at least until I bring the car inside the garage this evening.

Heck, I'll just say it now. Manang Irene is still lovingly bringing the dogs to their place so they don't run out when I bring the car in:

We have something greater than excellence. We are righteous. No, we have righteousness. We have Christ. Christ is our righteousness. Christ fulfilled the law, the standards that go beyond perfection in the sense that it shines to show our absolute imperfection. Christ adhered to the most excellent and most perfect of standards. 

In fact, He not only adhered but showed the world His Father's true nature of absolute and everlasting love. He not only adhered but He became imperfection - He became sin so we would become His righteousness... His perfection.

We have something greater than excellence. We have something far superior to perfection according to us or according to the world. We have righteousness. No, we do not merely possess it, but we are righteous. No, it is not merely attributed to us. We ARE ourselves the Righteousness of God, because of Jesus Christ!

Look at it this way. It wasn't enough that Christ took our sins, as if it was just part of us. It wasn't enough that Christ did something to cover what we were (sinful). Christ literally became sin, and this was His painful side of the beautiful exchange for us to literally become the righteousness of God!

So though the world does not see excellence in us, though we would find ourselves wanting, we must understand that because of Christ's finished work, we are righteousness, more than perfect, more than excellent! 

Because of Christ's finished work, we are fearless in moving forward! Because of Christ's finished work, we continue to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, knowing that His perfect love casts out all fear - fear of danger, fear of death, fear of rejection, fear of failure... His perfect love casts out ALL fear! 

Halleluyah! What a great Savior we have! Christ is so good and great and glorious in all things! Blessed be His glorious, eternally famous and wonderful and magnificent Name! Halleluyah!!

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email me at jibee@rocketmail.com


May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift His countenance upon you and give you His Shalom. - Numbers 6:24-26