An Indestructible Joy

“YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” J.R. Tolkien analogizes the ultimate defeat of death happening at the cross as Gandalf gives his life for the company of the ring. This is a picture of what God has done for you.

(Source: effyeahlotr, via itsjonvu)

"The great tragedy of sin is the good we miss, not the evil we attain"

John Piper

“Is it moral to legally obtain marijuana with a license?”

a good friend of mine asked me this last week. my speech was too confusing and scatterbrained so i promised i’d get back to him on that,

i think one may see morality as personal or relative. For example, in an eskimo society it is perceived as okay to kill female babies to ensure communal survival. From my experience and rough personal observations, America’s morality is based not on maximizing communal survival but rather on maximizing personal and/or communal pleasure (“YOLO”, which is true); therefore, marijuana obtained by any means would be alright in this case.

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here is a biblical response and also an expression of what i believe what determines what is moral or not,

Short Answer: If there is something satisfying you in some area of your life that God is not satisfying then that is immoral, because God Himself is all-satisfying<3

Expository Long Answer:

believe it or not, God gave us the ability to seek and feel pleasure. God cannot create anything better than himself. He cannot create anything more loving, pleasurable, glorious (“bad-ass”), humble, wiser, righteous, mightier, more good, more etc. God is holy, infinitely perfect. (btw His purpose of creating a super-powerful Satan is to express that anything outside of God is insanity and suicide).

God’s standards and laws as written in the old testament are impossibly high for any human to achieve, we are hopeless in doing anything ourselves in our hearts, minds, and in the body that is worthy or deserving of pleasing him. Howeverrrrr,

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-11

Love covers a multitude of sins, God is Love. Therefore, everything you do in the heart, mind, and body is ultimately very personal between you and God. God did the greatest act of love by freely sending His Son to die on the cross John3:16 and pay for what you and i deserve (eternal separation from God) to bring us to Him. How ought we to respond to such a great gift? where else can we search for satisfaction? God is the first and the last

"Don’t let your happiness depend on something you may lose."

C.S Lewis (St. Augustine)

(Source: yearslater, via rudyfab)

"The stronger our desire for some satisfaction, the more vulnerable we are to being deceived about what is right and wrong in the way we try to satisfy that desire."

John Piper 

Little boy lost at Comic Con.

izoonick:

fight4y0urlife:

theskyisreallyfalling:

At Comic Con a little boy had lost his dad in the crowd, and was scared until he saw the Flash and Wonder Woman. He went up to the Flash to asked for help, because he knows him.

Adorable.

so freaking skajfagdasdffgghjkl

Omg So cute….

(via danyotran)

just some stuff i got from listening to some late-night Christian talk radio:

no two Christians are the same.
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unity in mind and purpose is necessary; not unanimity 

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the key to unity is humility,
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the key to humility is thinking highly of the other’s person’s interest over your own.
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also to not even think of yourself.

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your joy is dependent on your purpose. Paul the apostle sustained his joy grounded on his purpose of glorifying God while he was waiting his execution in jail.
 

"We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to embrace what is true rather than what feels good."

Carl Sagan (via nirvikalpa)

(Source: evanholm, via itsjonvu)

eved-adonai:

It’s not about who you are but what God did and does and will do.

straight up

"If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full."

― John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life Study Guide

People > stuff

God doesn’t want stuff, such as mere law compliance & playing nice… He desires you!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
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Check it out, He made the holy laws&rules having full knowledge that every single human being would break them. Why did He do that???? Those laws&rules are actually our God-given tutor/guardian that leads us towards our greatest Love of all, Jesus… let’s go to school! (Galatians 3:24)

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Ten Commandments are:
1. No other God’s besides Me

2 No putting idols/things before Me, (Me first <3)

3 No misusing my Name

4 Obey the Sabbath

5 Honor parents

6 No murdering

7 No cheating on your partner

8 No stealing

9 No lying

10. No coveting people’s stuff 

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Hope you’re not bored yet! Did you notice something? What’s the inside purpose of these laws?? It’s all about your relationship with God and with others!
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We all absolutely deserve hell because we’ve broken ALLLL of the laws by breaking just one. (James 2:10) Harsh? I believe it is fitting; once upon a many-times I’ve traded God for a something he created.
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The Son of God suffered an ultra-undeserved punishment that we were supposed to get. This is why we sing AMAZING GRACE!
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Let’s join God in gratitude and brokenness-complete in loving Him and His people more than stuff <3

(Source: lovenhonor, via eved-adonai)

every single thing you own and don’t own comes from the hand of God.

time, knowledge, wealth, health, sexual desire, our human nature, stuff, ability, disability, friends&family, appearance, members of your body, calamities, memories, future, angels&demons, nature, this post you’re reading … is in his design……… even his ultimate gift of Himself through Jesus Christ in love <3. What could be more ultimate?   

we don’t own a single thing; we are simply managers of these things.

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what will you do with Jesus? <3

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Sources- Romans 11:36, John 1:3, Colossians 1:16

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

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Always

(Source: eved-adonai)