Dragon's Land Book 1: Lost and Found

This is from Chapter 5... Enjoy! Give Feedback! 

Dawn light burst through the thin cloud layer, lighting the new day with rays of warm sunshine, and although the days were getting colder, Cael’s heart couldn’t have been warmer. He strode in front of his two companions and looked over past the rolling landscape towards the hub city of Airtein, the City of Stone. It was a beautiful sight.

 Its foundations had been built long ago in the uneven, shifting earth that sat at the bottom of the inland sea, but Airtein could not be moved, even by the winter storms that caused the normally calm waters to churn. The city itself was actually three cities, with each section having a long bridge connecting it to the main section. Each part had its purpose, the eastern city having the military hub where the Clans met and did their part to survive the ever-growing onslaught of dracionic foes. The western side was where the Council, the ruling body of all of Orcion, imprisoned, judged, and executed criminals, while the middle city held the Grand Forum, where the Council deliberated.

            Cael glanced behind him as Brenna and Soran crested the hill. Brenna gasped as she sighted the city, Soran was impassive as ever but Cael could see his good eye widen as he saw Airtein. “Stop staring you two.” Cael said cheerily. “We need to get going; we’re wasting time just looking. Besides,” Cael’s eyes sparkled mischievously, “It’s even more amazing on the inside."

 With that tidbit he winked at them and started running down the hill towards the gigantic front gates. The outer walls towered over the companions as they approached the heavily guarded gate, for although there hadn’t been many dragon attacks this close to the capital, these were times of uncertainty and danger, and complacency meant death.  

            Brenna thought all this as she, Cael, and Soran passed by the guards and into the city. The guards didn’t even notice Cael, and they passed through without harassment. Brenna gasped as they entered through the long stone corridor that lead from the gates and into the city, Cael had been right, Airtein was even more impressive inside. There seemed to be no dark colors, everything was built from white stone, cut with an artisan’s skill, and mined from the mountains to the west, far back in the annals of history.

  The arrangement of everything seemed to branch out from the Center Road, in almost perfect symmetry; this had obviously been painstakingly planned and built. The main road led out from the gates and up. The city seemed to be on levels, with the highest level being the Council’s headquarters of Pathon, and the roads leading to the bridges to the military base of Ballum, and the inescapable prison of Carcerous.

            The first thing Soran noticed was the guard on the wall; they were well armed, and highly trained never to let their guard down. Dragon attacks were becoming increasingly bold and frequent, so even Airtein wasn’t safe. “And yet, two, heavily armed men, and a high-ranking MacKenna walk into the city without so much as alerting their interest.” The thought almost made him smile, but that would ruin his image of being a silent brooder that he had so carefully crafted for his new companions over the past two weeks of travel, so he hid the smile behind his ever-present scarf.

            Cael noticed the momentary change in Soran’s disposition and the attempted concealment of his emotions, and smiled. He had once tried to be like that, always hiding his feelings, but with someone like Cael, emotion had the tendency to slip out. He shook his head to clear it, those were not times he wanted to remember, instead he gazed past his companions to the many shops that the market district boasted.

 The sounds and the smells were enough to make one’s head spin and one smell in particular caught Cael’s undivided attention. A meat seller, Cael could smell the meat smoking and being cured or dried. The aroma seemed to carry him towards the shop. Cael loved meat, almost too much, Cael’s love of meat bordered on obsession, and he didn’t know why, all he knew was that he was hungry. Soran and Brenna stared quizzically at Cael as he sauntered towards the meat shop, a dreamy look on his face, and with a shrug they both followed.

            “Cael, aren’t we going to look around for some leads?” Brenna asked, Cael nodded absentmindedly and stopped in front of the shop owner. “We’ll start looking as soon as I’ve eaten.” He said. “Why don’t you guys find something to eat as well? We’ll meet over by that fountain when we’re done.”

He pointed past them and they followed his finger to one of the large, and rather ornate fountains that lined the center of the Center Road, there was a different fountain every two hundred feet or so, the one Cael pointed to was the depiction of three men standing tall and holding their weapons aloft. The fountain glittered with spray and seemed to sparkle in the sunlight; it was a beautiful piece of masonry, and all-in-all a good meeting point.

*******

            Brenna arrived at the meeting place about an hour after they had left each other’s company. She had been impressed with the sheer amount of diversity among the shops in the market district. She sat on one of the stone benches around the designated fountain and waited for her companions. She took her moments alone to do some hard thinking.

            “Am I really this naive?” she asked herself, “To trust two people who I barely know to help me find my brother?” Her thoughts trailed off. Lost in the darkness of her own mind she didn’t hear someone behind her and only noticed his presence when he grabbed her arm and muffled her mouth.

            “Don’t scream, that could make things difficult for me.” A harsh voice whispered in her ear, then she felt something strike the back of her head, and all was darkness.

Freedom from your Chains

Freedom is the concept that many in the Western world take for granted. Indeed our "freedom" is flaunted and boasted of from high places, and vaunted by all, from the highest political power to the citizenry.

But can we who have never truly been enslaved understand freedom?

Well first of all, we are all slaves... Yes, that's right, we are all slaves to someone.

"Who?" You may ask indignantly. Who would dare take our vaunted freedom? Is it not an unalienable right? Well my friend, you cannot be indignant when you yourself have given up your own freedom...

You, and I, all of humanity from the beginning (After Genesis 3 of course) have been enslaved to ourselves, our own hearts, our own desires, our own sinful bent of will that is all we know because of our initial rebellion in the Garden of Eden.

So from henceforth we have been under a cruel and deadly yoke of slavery. But the deadliest part, the part that will damn* our souls, is that we are willing slaves.

We want to be enslaved to our desires, it feels good, for a time to be seemingly free to go after whatever we want with little to no direct consequences in this dark world that has begun to call good evil and evil good.(Isaiah 5:20)

So here we are, in chains, in slavery. We do not understand our plight, for again, it feels good to do whatever we want, as long as we stay within certain bounds there is little to no consequence for our self-indulgence, or so it would seem...

Every lust of our flesh, every dark desire of our hearts, even the seemingly innocent pull us ever closer to hellish fire. And yet we still continue, alright with our enslavement, though it kills us more daily, and damns our souls to the eternal and perfectly Righteous wrath of the Most High God. (Romans 1:18-etc...)

So we stand in horrible deathly slavery, and loving every minute of it. There we would have remained, were it not for Divine intervention. For we loved our sin far more than God, indeed we were haters, enemies of God. We wanted only what we saw with our eyes, but the physical can never satisfy the heart that was created to be satisfied by the eternal.

And you may say: "But dear friend, I have never been enslaved to anything!" If you have uttered this thought, or something similar either in word of mouth or intention of the heart, I call you a grave and damned* liar! For "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)

If you are brave enough to continue to test the Word of God, just insert the word "MY" where the "The" is at the beginning of the verse. Still feeling confident?

How about this one: James 4:1-2; 4 "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain so you fight an quarrel... You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

Let me ask this: Was there ever that one thing you just could not resist? It could be anything, down to eating a piece of candy whenever the urge took you. Do you ever have that nagging feeling whenever you go without something? Maybe it is something extreme like sex or pornography, or maybe something smaller like attention from people or food. The result is the same...

Anything that nags at your heart and eats at your soul when you go without it is a lust, and a lust can be a good desire gone wrong, like the perversion of the natural, God-given desire for sex inside marriage leading to horrible, perverted, sinful, disgusting things. (50 Shades anyone?)

And anything that you are willing to sin to get, (sin against God's law and natural order, not the world's twisted one, or your own twisted, fabrication) is also a lust.

So can you still say that you have never been enslaved? Is there that one thing you always walk towards when the urge takes you? Big or small it all leads to the same thing: Enslavement to sin means a close walk with Death. That's right, the Old Reaper himself, for:

"The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23)

So here we stand, chained hand in hand with Death and Sin. Constantly the slave and servant of our own devious and deviant hearts, enslaved to our own desires which lead us each day closer to the hellish Pit.

These burning chains cannot be removed by human hands, oh no, they must be removed by someone who is free, who has never been enslaved. Can anyone on this earth boast of that? Can anyone say "I have never been enslaved to anything"?

If you raised your hand, you are closer to Hell than the lot of us, for you have deceived your already wicked heart and debased mind. But I tell you now, even for you... God has made a way.

Allow me to finish that verse from earlier: Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Hear that word? Free, the "gift" is free, not only of charge against you, but the "Gift" who is the person of Jesus Christ, is free as well, perfectly free, never enslaved to anything, no passion of the flesh, no shameful bent of mind. Nothing, completely innocent and free from all sin.

So then, let me share more from the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Roman church: Romans 6:16-22 "Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life." 

A long passage, but one we must keep close! Hear me Christian, if you are in Christ then you are set free from the chains and bonds of sin! No more forced to obey its passions and naggings of your heart. Instead now you are meant to serve a new master, the Lord Jesus, who died for you, who gave up his freedom to ensure your forever!

Do not forget this! For many it seems, will. Galatians 5:1 has this warning from the Apostle Paul: "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." And again in verse 13 of the same chapter: "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh."

Paul again warns wayward believers from taking advantage of their freedom: Romans 6:1-2 "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who have died to sin still live in it?"

Let the Word of God bear witness! We are now slaves to righteousness and to God, not to death and sin. But now the dire warnings have been delivered... So those of you who wish truly to leave sin behind and be free from your chains, listen to the glorious grace of your Savior, and take refuge in His love!

I give you two things from the mouth of Jesus Christ Himself. Our Savior said these things to encourage our hearts when we feel the weight of the chains, for we are still sinful, even now, and our Enemy the devil is always trying to pull us back into slavery. I give you these things from Scripture to encourage you.

First: Recall that under the slavery of sin all you had to look forward to was damnation* and death, but here is what Jesus tells you, that your soul may be comforted:

Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

Second, and I beg you to remember this one Christian, for it will be life in this world of death:

John 8:31-36 "So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' They answered Him, 'We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone.  How is it that you say 'you will become free?'' Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'"

Free indeed! Not just free, "free indeed"! Do you realize this Christian? Your Savior said those words to YOU, He wanted you to know that HE saved YOU from slavery so that YOU could become HIS forever!   

You can never be snatched out of His hands! You are free forever from slavery to sin! Don't ever go back to your chains when the freedom Christ offers you is ever before your face, seek His face, and rest in the freedom He has bought for you.  You are free indeed!

No more in chains!

--The Scribe.

Our Invincible Defense

We know very well that in this life we have an enemy, and a dire enemy at that. One who should not be taken lightly or made light of. Of course for my fellow Christians and I, I speak of the devil, the first Rebel, the one who introduced sin into the human mind. So that the human heart would from there choose to follow its own way, allowing Satan a foothold not only in our world, but in our hearts.

He is a master deceiver, he knows every one of our weaknesses. He has lived alongside us as the present ruler of this world for centuries and knows how to make us trip and fall. 

He is a wily fox, a tricky serpent, a roaring lion, and a wrathful dragon.

But for all his power... He was defeated.

Jesus Christ on the cross smashed the head of the Old Serpent, and crushed Death once and for all, freeing us from the devil's influence. 

We are no longer bound to do as he pleases, but now when once we were enemies of God, we are now faithful sons and daughters. But the devil isn't done trying. From this day until the Return of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the devil will try in any way to make us stumble, fall, turn away, or rebel in our sin.

So now we are on God's side, but He has not left us to fight this dire Enemy alone, O Christian! Know the power of your Lord and the grace He gives you to fight an enemy who has more power than you can know! We cannot take the devil lightly, but neither should we fear him, for his skull is crushed, the killing blow has been stuck, the nails in Jesus' hands and feet and the wound in his side has freed us forever, and forever defeated the power of the devil.

So what then, are we given to fight the Foe of our souls since the beginning? 

Ephesians 6:10-20 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak."

There you have it! God has given us a rock hard defense to use when Satan attacks us to make us wander away from God, and if you know anything about armaments, (which I do) then you should see how gloriously well God has provided for our protection. And, if you know little, then fear not! I shall explain in due course.

First we must look at the waist, the crux of the body's movement in battle, and what holds together the upper half, and the lower half of both the body, and the armor. We have been given a Belt of Truth, which I take to mean the Truth of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, for if the very crux of our faith is the cross upon which Jesus died, (see what I did there?) then it is essential for the holding together of our protection from the"cosmic powers over this present darkness" to believe in our very souls that that cross is the most important, crucial moment in history, and we must daily put our faith in the death Jesus died to make us alive together with Him.

Second, we see the Breastplate of Righteousness. This piece is crucial to protect the vital organs from deadly blows, for even a small wound to one of them can be a mortal wound. So then, are we protected by our righteousness? No indeed Christian! And may the thought not enter your minds, for that is already an attack by the devil. No, that righteousness that is Christ's perfect righteousness imparted to us when He took upon Himself the judgement for our sins, giving us the perfection with which He lived before the Father while He was on earth, that in God's eyes we might be made clean, righteous before the Most Holy One.

Third, the shoes, for while the feet may not seem to be vital points to protect in a battle, they are crucial. For if your foot is wounded, you cannot maneuver as you must to avoid the attacks of your Enemy. So then, we have the Shoes of the Readiness of the Gospel of Peace, that is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for us. So with the Gospel kept near, we are given swiftness, able to dodge and counterstep any of the angry blows of our Enemies.

Fourthly we have the Shield of Faith, faith in God, faith in Christ, faith that He will fulfill in us His plan for our redemption and sanctification. And this shield must be indeed strong, for it can "extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one" a shield was commonly used to protect a warrior against long range attacks from bows, or crossbows, and to ward off blows from an attacking enemy. So this Shield we have we must "in all circumstances" use to defend our souls against the darts of the devil that would pierce deep and spread the poison of lies through our veins. 

Fifth, we have the Helmet of Salvation. The helmet is the most essential part of armor one can have, for a blow to the head, however light, can do serious damage. So we have this Helmet of Salvation to protect us from killing blows aimed at our heads by the crafty Enemy, who will exploit any weakness, or attack any weak-point. Our faith in our salvation in Jesus Christ is essential to defend against the lies of this present age, lies that the devil himself has perpetuated (being the father of lies). This piece of holy armor we must have at all times.

Before I speak of the last piece, I wish to say something important...

Armor does not protect you from all injury... It is only meant to keep you from receiving a mortal blow. Do not take our struggles with the present powers of darkness lightly, for you will fall, not to death ultimately if you are in Christ, but you will fall to the schemes of your enemy if you take this war of souls lightly. 

Now then! let us rejoice! For we are not merely given armor to take the beatings of the devil and not given grace to fight back, for here we are given the Sword of the Spirit, the very power of the Holy Spirit to use the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures to fight back. Jesus Himself used this mighty blade in Matthew 4:4-11 to combat the lies of the Enemy, and won triumphantly. And we see further in  Hebrews 4:12 that "For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." 

We have so great a weapon given to us, that if we will study how to use it as we are commanded, then the Spirit Himself will guide our attacks against our Enemy, and through Christ we will be made victorious!

So what do we take away from all of this? I submit to you, three things.

One: We have a strong Enemy, who we cannot take lightly as we struggle with him for our souls.

Two: Jesus Christ has already won the war, we must now merely fight in the daily battles, and we have been provided for and are protected through every one by our Faithful Savior and our Loving Father.

Three: Our struggles will not last much longer, for we have before us the weight of an eternity of peace in the presence of God and in the arms of our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. 

As the hymn writer once said: "And the great Church victorious will be the Church at rest."

Victory has been won, fight hard until the Day,

--The Scribe

The Long Road Between Hate and Love

Being that it is Saint Valentine's Day, I thought it wise to do a relevant topical post.  Thus I will be discussing hatred in the Christian's life, and how to fight it with grace!

Two things I must get out of the way: First, I will be using the terms "hate", "anger", and "wrath" in their various forms and different contexts, for they each will have different meanings depending on the context so do the mental work and pay close attention.
The second thing is that there is one instance where hatred is not a sinful bent of the human heart, and I am speaking of course of God's hatred for sin, for idolatry in the human heart that steals away our affections from Him.

Now then, with that out of the way, let's get started....

Sinful hatred first entered the world at the same time sin did, and God's hatred for that sin existed with Him from the beginning, (this is a divine mystery having to do with God's perfect foreknowledge and His perfect plan for the world He created).

Hate is the opposite of the Virtue known as Love, and while that may seem like a weak statement, or a childish one, recall that a bitter spiritual war has raged since the Fall between the Divinity of God and the Sin of the devil (the original hater).
Hate is the prime suspect behind murder, for it is a powerful enough emotion on its own, but when combined with a selfish and sinful soul, it can so easily become deadly.

The first murder, the murder of a brother came about because of this intense anger, this Hatred. Genesis 4:5-8 "...but for Cain and his offering He [God] had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell....Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother and killed him."

The first human act out of hate... A brother murdered a brother in cold blood. The Lord said this in Leviticus as He was giving His Law to His people Israel. Leviticus 19:17-18 "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I AM the LORD"

This is what God has to say about this vile hate that men nurse in their hearts, and vengeance we see is another avenue that hatred can carve in your heart, if you let anger stay there.

You see my friends, anger is the root of hatred. It all starts there, perhaps it seems innocent for a time, but if anger is allowed to rest in your hearts, it will take root and grow, just as any other sin. Sin doesn't stop small, it wants to grow and devour your heart and soul. and it will do anything to do that. Anger that has festered and broiled in the heart turns into bitterness, and bitterness will eventually become hate, and as we have seen, hate leads to death, be it your own, or someone else's.

So what about God's hate? His hatred for sin, for evil. What does that lead to?
I have many Scriptures that I could share, but I will show only a few.
Jeremiah 44:4, the context here is that God's people have again rebelled against Him, returning to their idolatry and evil. God speaks thus: "Yet I persistently  sent to you all my servants the prophets saying 'Oh do not do this abomination that I hate!'" 

So God hates the abomination, that is, (in this context) the idolatry of His chosen people Israel.

Zechariah 8:17 "Do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate."

So again, God hates dishonesty and plotting of evil against another.

Here is where I will use another term, that is, Wrath... The wrath of God against our sin. Romans 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth."

Here it is more broadly, and here we see the same vein of thought, the same truth in all three passages.

God hates evil... I will say it again, GOD HATES EVIL.

And we ourselves are evil creatures, born into sin, growing to love it, and to hate God. Ah! There is that word again, but it is directed against God this time. As we were before, in our unregenerate states, we hated God, we were at odds with Him. Indeed, we were His enemies, and wanted to be thus, thinking in our sin that we knew the better way.

But we didn't. The only way we knew, was the way to Death and hell. We were under God's divine, holy, righteous, and perfect wrath and hatred of our sin, and we were destined because of it to be tossed into eternal torment when our sinful lives ended, and nothing we could do could save us...

Until Jesus came. For as you well know, He bore our curse, the wrath of His own Father against our sin upon Himself, that we might be reconciled to God in grace, by the blood of His cross.

You know Christian, that He was hated for our sakes? God treated Him as though He had lived our sinful, idolatrous lives, though Christ Himself was completely innocent of any sin. And in return in the mystery of His divine mercy treated us as though we had lived Jesus' sinless, perfect life.

Listen closely... Isaiah 53:3-5 "He [that is, Jesus] was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken. smitten by God and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed."

So there you have it. Jesus bore the holy wrath of God that we would not have to, and through His blood we are no longer enemies of God, but beloved sons and daughters.

Psalm 30:4-5 "Sing praises to the LORD, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name. For His anger is for but a moment , and His favor for a lifetime." 

Praise Jesus that He has forever won the favor and assuaged the wrath of God the Father!

But now we become more practical, for for the time being we are still sinful at heart, and we will be until Christ returns. So what then do we do when anger, bitterness, or hate rear their ugly heads?

I shall show you a more excellent way!

There are two instances of anger (wrath, hate) a Christian must fight daily. The deadly sin in one's own heart, and the anger or hate of those around you.

First, how do we deal with anger in our own hearts? Proverbs 16:32 "Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city." 

It is a daunting task to take control of one's own heart, one's own spirit where this sinful emotion will grow. Indeed it is an impossible task with The Holy Spirit, who not only intercedes for us with God, but helps us become more like Jesus. This is an intense spiritual warfare, and one we must take very seriously.

We may think that a bit of anger in the heart is okay, but here is what Jesus says: Matthew 5:21-24 "You have heard it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgement.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement; whoever  insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the alter and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift at the alter and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift."

We see two things here, first, that In God's eyes, any bit of anger against another is sin, indeed, liable to the same judgement as a murderer. and second, we see that one of the things we must do to fight the sin of anger in our lives is to seek reconciliation quickly. Indeed another passage that says thus: Ephesians 4:26-27 "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil."

Your enemy will use any chink in your armor to cause you to sin, to fall. A little bit of anger that you allow to stay in your heart is like a giant gate to the devil, and you can be deadly sure that he will exploit it.

Give him no opportunity Christian! Be reconciled quickly!

The second way we must fight anger in our hearts is this: We must put off all of our former works of darkness, and replace them with God's works, His fruit, His Way.

Galatians 5:19-24 "Now the works of the flesh  are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."  

The second instance of anger and hatred we must deal with living for Christ is the hatred and anger of others...

How do we deal with this? The Proverbs tell us: Proverbs 14:29 "Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly." 

And again in Proverbs 15:1 "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh words stirs up strife."

And once more in Proverbs 19:11 "Good sense makes slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense." 

So how do we deal with anger or hate in the hearts of those around us? The simple answer is this: we must be slow to get angry ourselves in response to others' anger and we must be quick to forgive, regardless of whether reconciliation is attained.

Romans 12:17-21 says this: "Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good."

There is nothing that someone else does to you that warrants you to lash out in revenge. Are you perfect? Can you say that your are completely righteous and without sin? Can you do something to repay injustice that God cannot do? I think not my friends! Patience in the lieu of another's anger in essential, for God will repay every injustice in the end.

And finally... I saved this one for last, because this is the most powerful way you can fight against hatred, both inside and out.

Put on Love... 1 Corinthians 13:7 says this: "Love is patient and kind; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

SO the next time you are tempted to anger, or the hate, or bitterness, or resentment, or annoyance, or irritability, remember these things that I have brought forth from the Word of God. It is my authority, and my joy. May God bless my writing, and may He abundantly bless you through it. This is my prayer.


Anger gives way to Peace,

--The Scribe.

Down in the Deepest Sorrow...

Often times in this dark world we find ourselves in a situation where nothing but tears will suffice.
This is called the depths of sadness, or sorrow. Pain and sorrow go hand in hand, and while we live in this world there will inevitably be times of deep sadness and pain.

I have narrowed down the major sources of this deep ailment of the heart. Now I say this: this is not a comprehensive list, it is just the few that seem most applicable to me.

The things that most cause us sadness and most draw us into the valleys and deep trenches of heart-wrenching pain are these, in the order I will go over them, as well as our response to them:

Often times we feel the most sorrow because we have been disillusioned or jaded to the world around us. Sometimes, when things are going well, we forget that we live in a sinful world, and that we walk among sinful people. And thus, if we live with a happy-go-lucky attitude there will invariably come the situation, the trial, the pain that shakes us out of our happy dreams and shows us what it is like to live in a sin-torn world.

This can lead us to sorrow, and deep bitterness or resentment can build in our hearts towards the people or things that shocked us from our dreamy state and made us remember that life is pain, and that to live life means facing up to the pain.

This most often comes from a wrong, or unwilling mindset about the world in which we live, for if we begin to believe that this world is alright, then obviously we won't see how harmful it is until it gets too close, and too often by that time, it is already too late, the damage is down, and we are left battered and bruised by every new trial or tribulation.

The second thing that causes us sorrow is Death. And I don't simply mean people who are close to us dying, I mean the very essence of what death represents, and this is the one that I believe all others fit into, for the aura of Death, is that all things fade, all things must end. And whether that is the life of a dearly beloved, the loss of something important like a job or property. All things disappear, and anytime we are tempted to put our faith in things that disappear we are bound to be left holding nothing but thin air when it is finally gone.

So our tears begin to stain the ground, we feel the loss deep in our souls and cry out to God, asking why, when it is very clear to us the reason.

My friends, if you are not in this place yet, but you feel that there is something in your life that you can't live without, whatever it may be, car, home, job, spouse, family, friends, anything. You may have already started down the path that will lead to only sadness and pain from the loss, C.S. Lewis put it like this: "Don't let your happiness depend on something you might lose."

The third thing that leads us down this dark road is sin... O sin, our old enemy, and the devil also, for he holds sin's chain, and uses it to lead God's children astray.

Anytime we value or desire anything more than God we are committing idolatry, the same deadly sin that sank deep into the heart of God's chosen people Israel and incurred God's righteous wrath against their rebellion.

Christian, you have heard this much, but if ever you have listened to it, listen again now...

An idol makes a dirt-poor god... They are only things, or people, and they will fail us every time. The futility of following them amounts to going to a broken cistern to drink, knowing full well that it cannot hold water. Jeremiah 2:12-13 says: "Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate , declares the LORD, for My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." 

Whatever it is that you go after besides God... It will never satisfy the hunger or thirst in your soul, because you were made to be a reservoir for the only Divine, the only Living God. Drink deeply from His streams of grace, for they never end, and you will never leave God's presence thirsty if you seek Him with all of your might...

So, before I speak of the last one, (which is special, as you'll see). I wish to speak of how we combat these sorrows, how do we stand when we are laid out on the hard ground, drowning in sadness and pain?

I will tell you a more excellent way...

When we become disillusioned or jaded we must recall that our minds are meant to be set higher. As Christians we have seen the divine, and we must always search for the Light again when we see the false colors and the facades and personas drift away on the winds of change.

Colossians:3:2 "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."

With this we must renew our minds, and if you ask how we are to do that, the Scriptures have a ready answer: Romans 12:1-2 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

So then, we must return our jaded minds and thoughts to things that will never change, that is, the Scriptures, for our God will never change, He will never fail us, and we can never become disillusioned from absolute perfection and purity, which only God can boast of. Our Good Lord will never fail you, so if you are in the deep throes of sorrow over being shown that this world is sin-twisted and vile, turn your eyes to the only one in it all who remains pure, our Lord Jesus Christ who walked through the mire of sin, with complete perfection and died that we also might be free.

Pull back the veil: 2 Corinthians 3:18 "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

Now, for the dark of Death, and the sorrow the Old Reaper brings...

How can we be pulled from his cold hands? Simply by reminding ourselves that Christ has torn from Old Death every power but the power to bring us to Jesus' side when our time is done. Acts 2:24 says "God raised Him [that is, Jesus] up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it."

Death's vast power in this world is to make all things fade, but when we place our hope in Christ, who could never be held by death, we also become conquerors in Christ's holy name, for just as He was raised, so also like Him, we are raised.

And finally, sin... The sadness that sin brings is of the damage it does to the world around us, to our loved ones, to our lives, and indeed, to God. For even He wonders at what could entice us away from Him, when He freely offers us all things. But our Gracious God made a way, and just as we are freed from Death through Jesus, so also are we freed from the chains of Sin.

Romans 5:8-10 "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."

And indeed further in Romans 8:1-2 "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death."

So then, we have nothing to keep us in that sorrow, no chains holding us down, and every barrier torn away by Jesus' blood.

Now finally, I wish to discuss one more source of sorrow, and this is the only one I believe it is alright for Christians to have, and keep.

The sorrow of being Worn... Have you ever seen the pain and sorrow around us, felt it perhaps, and thought only of what heaven will be like when all wrongs are righted and all sorrows are gone, replaced by everlasting joy?

This is a sorrow we must cultivate, but only if it causes us to look forward to heaven, where God dwells, awaiting us with outstretched arms to welcome us into glory.

So then, here are a few parting words for your comfort when you are in the midst of sorrow.

God knows every tear we ever cry, and will recompense every wrong done. Psalm 56:8 "You have kept count of my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not written in your book?"

And someday, He will wash away every tear, forever. Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."

Sorrowful no more,

--The Scribe

Anarchy

Anarchy:
Nature’s Little Rebellions


The Capitol was abuzz.
Every Representative and Senator were present, and Congress was about to meet in special session to discuss the Constitutionality of recent scientific discoveries, and whether they were worth the risk of allowing them to continue.
The Speaker of the House took the floor, his speech, as well as his stance on the issue, already well prepared.
“My fellow Representatives.” He began, “I think we all know why this special session has been called. The recent scientific discovery of so-called ‘Anarchy Nodes’ have changed the way we view the world around us.” Here he paused to let the thought sink in, “Now I know many bills have been introduced to deal with these discoveries, and I know that many of you have constituents who would love to see these bills passed, but in my estimation these new discoveries are too dange---“
The source of his pause was seen by all, for a new speaker had taken the floor, a well-dressed man in a well-fit pin-striped black suit with a large over-coat that had fur lining the neck. He carried a cane in his right hand, and his left… Was gone, replaced by a theatrical hook that glinted in the brightly lit room.
Silence reigned, the Representatives and the Speaker all looked around and began mumbling at once many called for security to take the man away, but a single strike of the man’s cane on the House floor killed the protests, and silence took over again. The man brushed back his surprisingly messy black and white hair, revealing eyes that glowed in the bright light and glinted more than his hook of a left hand.
“My dear Representatives, and Speaker,” here he paused to issue a polite bow to the Speaker, “You are gathered here to discuss the new discoveries of this past decade, and I am here to give you the happy news that you are also here to witness the dawn of a new age, and I will be the shepherd of this new age!”
He threw up his arms in grand theatrical fashion as if expecting great applause and adulation from the dumbfounded Representatives. One by one, they began to laugh, until the whole hall was filled with the noise. But the Speaker wasn’t laughing, for he saw the change in the man’s face. He was still smiling, but a deep anger had entered his glinting eyes, and once more he smashed his cane to the floor for silence.
“I see you don’t quite understand yet.” With this he drew his hand up and a small black object appeared there, growing in size. “This is the advancement you thought was so dangerous Speaker, with good reason.”
He readdressed the gathered men, who were no longer laughing as security rushed down towards the floor to capture the man, this was no longer a funny incident with an insane man, this was a threat to the United States Congress.
“I rather hope you survive this Speaker, I want to see how your country reacts to this new terrorism I’m concocting.” The man smiled one last time and brought his hand down.
The guards on the ground outside heard only a rumble, and then the whole Capitol came crashing to the ground. Rubble and shards of masonry flew everywhere killing half of those still outside, crushing cars and splitting the grounds.
The destruction quieted to a hush as dust began to settle a single man walked away from the destruction unscathed. The man with the hook sauntered out of the wreckage and surveyed his handiwork. “Now my little sheep, what shall you do with this new world?”

When Fear Encroaches

Why do we fear the dark? The Psalms, while wrought in joy and blessing, are often tinged with fear, fear of rejection, fear of loss, fear of judgement, fear of pain, fear of death... The list goes on, the fact is:
Humans are fearful creatures...

It takes only a single night alone and isolated in a dark woodland to make even the strongest, or bravest man tremble in fright at the smallest sound, so why do we fear? Simply because this world, sin-stained, and sin-torn as it is, there are many things to fear, the list I gave above are among the most prevalent, or perhaps relevant of human fears, things we all fear no matter how much we protest.

Fear is a weight on the heart, it indeed feels in the moment to be a physical phenomena, but it is ultimately a heart issue, as many things are fundamentally. All human fears come with a heavy burden of sorts that must be carried whenever one is exposed to a fearful object or situation. But, in my humble opinion, all fears can be summed up in the human fear of the dark.

Darkness evokes in every man a sense of isolation, a sense that he is alone in the world, and darkness brings with it a host of other fears. The dark is our every perception of what is not right from the albeit sin-twisted image of God that remains stamped upon us as His creations. It is isolation, it is the oppressive feeling of separation and loss.

You may say to me then: "But I do not fear the dark!"

Well my friend, have you ever felt the pain of being alone? The horror of being isolated, or separated from those you love? Have you ever felt the cold touch of Death, or the fiery grasp of Pain? These things the darkness of this world amplifies, and at our deepest cores, our very souls know why...

We were made to be creatures of the light.... We were not made to be in isolation, or separated from love... Indeed, I wish to quickly state that darkness in and of itself isn't bad (God created it, as well as light) but our perception of it is the culmination of everything we fear.

God created us to be constantly within the light of His Divinity, and all of His Attributes that come along with it. So what happened? Why is this world so filled with dark horrors and shadowy fears?

Genesis 3 tells us plainly, we were ejected from the source of all light and love when we sinned against Him in the garden of Eden, darkness became our constant companion and yet our greatest fear, for now, for the first time, humanity felt what it was to be separated from God.

We had been cast from His presence, doomed to an eternity without Him, and under His righteous wrath for our rebellion. So now we walk in darkness, hopeless and fearful of every shadow, every phantom...

But for one thing...

Is that not always the way a good story works? Darkness reigns for a time, and then from nowhere it seems, a great light shines to put the darkness back in its place?

Isaiah 9:2 (cited in Matthew 4:16) - "The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a great light has dawned."

And indeed again in John 1:5 "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

So to those who fear the darkness, hear these words. For those still dwelling in the darkness of sin and death, let this bring light to your soul:

The words of Jesus Christ, John 8:12 "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"

The Scripture has myriads of other examples, in Ephesians, and 1 and 2 Corinthians, and also Colossians and some many other places, the truth is this:

We have been rescued out of the kingdom of darkness and brought into His marvelous light! Jesus Christ came down into our dark world, endured the darkness of loneliness, rejection, pain and in the end died, succumbing for three days to the darkness of death, and then rising again in glorious dawn!

Is it any wonder the dawn brings with it relief? For the advent of light reminds us that we no longer must go on walking in darkness and fear, but now, because of the blood of Jesus can walk freely in the light, fearing nothing and no one but God Himself, who is worthy of all honor and glory and praise. Amen!

So when the darkness weighs you down, when fear encroaches, remember Jesus, who endured every darkness to bring the Light, He, Himself is that light, and you will never again have to fear.

Listen to this Christian, from the Psalms, Psalm 27:1 "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

There is no fear that you can have that has not been utterly de-fanged, or de-clawed by Jesus Christ! Loneliness? He gave us the church, a constant community of brothers and sisters bound together by His blood.
Pain? We must fight through pain to become more like Him, and we are promised great reward for faithfulness and perseverance, and indeed even promised ultimate relief from all pain in heaven with Him!
Loss? "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not with Him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32)
Death? 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 "...it is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is your victory? O death where is your sting?'"

Our fears are often rational and good, fear keeps us from what may harm us. Fear of God keeps us from sin, which is the most harmful thing for our soul, for it separates us from Him, but often we have other fears, my "Fear of the Dark" scenarios, and all of these and more are swallowed up in the majesty of what Jesus Christ has done to rescue us from the dark, and you know what Christian?

As dark as the days get from here on out, and make no mistake, they will be dark and horrible, terrifying and evil, but the darkness has already been defeated by the Savior. His death on that cross drove the nail through the heart of sin. His blood poured out choked the life from the devil, and even old Death is merely an usher into eternity now, for all of his power is taken away, to be used only at the end...

The Darkness will never again overcome the Light. That is why I write fantasy my friends... To explain that awesome truth through more subtle means, for Good has won, Evil is dead.

Praise be to the Almighty King of Light, to Jesus Christ ascribe all glory, honor, and dominion forever and ever, Amen!


Basking in the Light of my Glorious Savior,

--The Scribe

The Manifold Glory of God in the Depth of His Word

Psalm 19 is but one of over 140 Psalms in the Bible. But within it is some of the greatest truths about the Bible that can be found anywhere in the whole of Scripture. So here today, I intend to share with you some of my observations on this particular Psalm, may God watch over my work, and keep me from error! Amen!

The first part of this Psalm is well known for proclaiming God's glory in creation, His general revelation, or, in layman's terms: The part of God that everyone can see, the world around us, nature and all its workings that are beyond our understanding, the heavens and the billion stars that we will never reach. 

All of these things declare God's glory, even if some try to ignore it, or pass it off as mere chance or a lie, they cannot deny the simple fact that the world around us is amazing and beautiful, and that only a Good, and Awesome Creator could have brought it into existence, and if the world's complexities are out of our reach, then His complexities must be all the more unfathomable, and glorious.

Psalm 19:1-4 says this: "The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world..."

Such is the manifold glory of our God in His creation! He "sets a tent for the sun" (verse 4) and it rises according to His will! Day and night are His, and the stars as well as the earth are in His hands! 

So then, why do some still ignore this glory? Only the nefariousness of sin can have wrought this in the human heart, especially considering that we were created to not only revel in this Glory, but give God the glory for How awesome He is! So, now that sin stains human hearts and causes them to abandon their truest purpose for existence, God made another way, a way to return to knowing Him. He gave us His Law, His Word. (And this Word is manifest now through Jesus Christ, His Son John 1:1-18)

Psalm 19:7-9 "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure,

making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether."

So, this is God's Way, His way to reach us through the darkness of sin, a specific revelation, His Word, the Holy Scriptures, and while some may be tempted to doubt their truth, it cannot be denied, and this Psalm gives the truth to those who will hear it.

The Law of the Lord is perfect:What does this mean? Perfect is a word to describe flawlessness, meaning that God's Word has no fault that any can find, it has no weakness to exploit, it is as smooth as the surface of a perfectly cut precious stone, and beautiful in its flawlessness. And it revives the soul, it brings back the knowledge of God (again, through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Living Word), thus bringing the dead heart back to life, and refreshing the soul that follows Him already, enabling that soul to continue through any hardship to be with God in eternity. 

The Testimony of the Lord is sure: This word "sure" seems simple, but I believe we misuse it often. It is a strong word, a word that symbolizes absolute, and resolute conviction of a certain truth. A certainty that goes beyond mere conjecture, and a rock-hard, steadyness of belief. So if this testimony of our Lord is so sure a footing, than we can stand upon it, though all the legions of hell array against us, and all the world attempts to shake our foundation, this testimony cannot be shaken. And it makes the simple wise, wise to the knowledge of God, and wise in life as well, returning the sin-delirious mind to its proper state, a sharp tool used for the glory of its Creator God.

"Hammer away, ye hostile hands, your hammer breaks, God's anvil stands!" (Unknown author)

The Precepts of the Lord are right: Found with this Word are precepts, rules by how we ought to live, and sin bids us rebel against these precepts, saying in a lying tongue: "how can these be right, for they seem to take away your joy?" Such lies from the pit!

For when we follow these precepts we live as we were always meant to, but this means denying ourselves many pleasures, treasures, and supposed rights to follow God's Way. But we find, in following this Way, that we indeed find real joy, true joy in living according to God's precepts, for He does not keep us back from good things, only things that He knows will hurt us, though we are often too stubborn to see this. His precepts rejoice our hearts, because true joy is found when we walk on the path, as sure-footing is only found on a path through a bog.

The Commandment of the Lord is pure: Purity is a word similar to perfect, but with a different bent. Pure is meant to evoke an inwardness of perfection, it means to be spotless, and without blemish. So that no one can point to a single thing in God's Word and say: "that is not right" or, "that is not good". For if God Himself is absolutely pure in every way, so then, is His given Word. And this Commandment enlightens the eyes blurred by sin, it shows where the lines of good and evil fall, and call wayward hearts to the light of God's purity. 

The Fear of the Lord is clean: The Fear of the Lord is something that is expounded on in the Proverbs, but its basic meaning is to hate evil. To fear the Lord is to hate evil, for evil is anything that is opposed to God, any sin, lust, greed, anger, envy, laziness, and the like. To be allied with God (through the blood of Christ) we must love His Word, and hate evil, we must fear God, and keep His commandments, for anyone who fears the Lord rightly, will desire nothing beyond pleasing Him, for to do anything else would be to make oneself any enemy of the Almighty, who can throw both body and soul into hell (Matthew 10:28). This is what it is to be clean before God, to follow His Words means to abandon any evil pursuits, and this cleanliness endures forever.

The Rules of the Lord are true: Truth is the antithesis to a lie, and there are many lies about us, what this verse says is that everything written before it, every bit of God's Word is true. To fight the lies that this world will try to force on us, and that our sinful hearts will try and feed us, we must have a real truth to fall back on, and the truth of the Holy Scriptures are our final standing ground in the fight against the lies, and it is our final authority for any decision, so that we are not deceived by fallen men. These rules, these truths are righteous altogether, every word, every dot was put there for God's righteous purpose, and it will never return to Him without accomplishing His purpose.

So now we see, I pray, with clearer eyes the book many of you now hold, or will sometime in this day, what this Word is, what it is for, and Who gave it to us. But now we must turn to the climax, before we reach the conclusion. What are we to do with this Word, how are we to react?

The Scriptures have a ready answer: Psalm 19:10-11 "More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward."

We must desire to know God through His Word more than gold, more than anything that seems to have great value, for in truth in pales in comparison to God's revelation, and these truths are to be considered sweeter to the soul than honey is to the mouth, for these promises and precepts sustain us through the harshest trials in this fallen world. And then we see one of the most precious promises of Scripture, for the Psalmist says: "By them your servant is warned;" so we know that God intended for us to follow His law faithfully (which we are enabled to do because of Christ's death for our salvation) and that "in keeping them there is great reward." 

So then, we do not follow without reason, for we are promised great reward in keeping true to God's Word, and this reward is simply that to know God more means more joy, more peace, more satisfaction for our souls than we will ever want or need. 

But we must be diligent in keeping them, and we cannot do this of our own accord, so let the final words of this wonderful Psalm ring in your ears as I hope you pray the same for your soul:

Psalm 19:12-14 "Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer."

Delighting in the Law of my Lord,

--The Scribe