“The narrow way was never hit upon by chance, neither did a heedless man ever live a holy life.” — Charles Spurgeon, “Treasury of David: Psalm 119“
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By the Grace of God
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain” – 1 Corinthians 15:10a
He is risen…
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End of the Matter
“Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
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Trials
“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise” — Oscar Wilde
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Not hnau…
If you’ve ever read the “Space Trilogy” then you are familiar with the themes of humanity and the alignment of worship. This quote from “Out of the Silent Planet” has always been very poignant to me:
“He had decided from the outset that he would be quite frank, for he now felt that it would be not hnau, and also that it would be unavailing, to do otherwise. They were astonished at what he had to tell them of human history—of war, slavery and prostitution. “It is because they have no Oyarsa,” said one of the pupils. “It is because every one of them wants to be a little Oyarsa himself,” said Augray. “They cannot help it,” said the old sorn. “There must be rule, yet how can creatures rule themselves? Beasts must be ruled by hnau and hnau by eldila and eldila by Maleldil. These creatures have no eldila. They are like one trying to lift himself by his own hair—or one trying to see over a whole country when he is on a level with it—like a female trying to beget young on herself.” — C.S. Lewis, “Out of the Silent Planet“
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Why I don’t post on Instagram
I saw a video the other day that explained it perfectly, that photos were being composed, produced, edited and posted to get responses from other people. Chasing the algorithm.
“Photography isn’t about validation, it’s about observation.”
I’m not sure I had distilled it down so clearly on my own, but I know I had stress over the responses I received or didn’t receive. The entire point of taking pictures is for me to express my own creativity rather than impressing others, but I had fallen into a trap of posting for recognition instead of taking a picture because I saw something that made me stop and notice. Thus my removal of all of my social media presence some time ago. And quite honestly, I haven’t missed it a bit.
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What’s my desire?
“Sin is not simply making bad choices or mistakes. Sin is having the desire in our hearts to do the will of the enemy of God.” — R.C Sproul
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How long?
How long will we continue to act in selfishness to make ourselves happy, when all it really does is harm those around us, those who love us? You can justify selfishness until the end of time, but in the end, selfishness has always been, and will always be about…self.
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Wonderwall
“And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
But I don’t know how…” — Oasis, “Wonderwall” -
What we need…
“…he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough to bear such a burden, even if such visions were not a mere cheat to betray him. The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command. ‘And anyway all these notions are only a trick, he said to himself.”” — Sam Gamgee, “The Return of the King” J.R.R. Tolkien