Experiment on Righteousness

Rules. Rules. Rules. Rules!

We all get tired of rules every now and then. Rules that remind us we aren't driving on the German autobahn at whatever speed we want. Rules that tell us how tall we can build our fancy houses. Rules that make us pay extra at the check-out line (yes, those pesky taxes). Rules that put noise limits on our celebrations, otherwise guess who shows up at your door?

All these rules are certainly in place for a reason. If speed limits were not in place, accidents and deaths would occur at a greater rate than they already do. If we built wherever and however we wanted, we would also fall to our deaths faster--designing unstable buildings at dangerous heights (no bueno). And if there were no rules on taxes (imagine optional tax?!), our society would not be funded and we wouldn't get paved roads or functioning street lights.

So these rules are good for something!

The same goes for the rules God put into place for us. Laws on how to treat your neighbors, on what thoughts are permissible, on what marriage means, on what kind of person we should be.

I was thinking about these rules, laws, precepts, statutes last night as I faded to sleep. Why don't I adhere to these better? Why do I make the choice to follow some rules and disregard others? Aren't they for MY benefit?

If I choose to drive at 100mph, people would look at me crazy and worry for my safety. If I choose to entertain thoughts that are not pure, true, noble, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8), my outlook on life, my perception of people and my actions start to reflect these negative, hurtful thoughts. Isn't that dangerous?

And David comes to the same conclusion: I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life (Psalm 119: 93). The rules and laws of God are to help us, never to harm us; to give us a bright future, one that He has planned since the beginning of time.

So, I am going to try something. I'm not perfect, yet so I have lots of room to grown. Let's try moral excellence for size. 21 days of diligently following God's precepts: my experiment on righteousness, and we'll see what the results are after those 21 days.

And one of the ways I'll know His statutes is by reading the word, hearing the word and studying the word.

Each day, I'll document what precept I learned and how I lived by it. I'll keep notes on my computer and share progress results every few days (God help me). Not in my strength, but in His strength alone because we all know that being human is such a struggle!

Independent variables: God's laws, i.e. the Bible
Dependent variables: My progress

Constant: Reading the Word at 9:30 am every morning and spending at least 10 minutes in prayer in the mornings. Wooo. LORD, help me. Give me the dedication and the commitment (which I'm not very good at yet...surprise surprise).

Alright, I'll take it one day at a time. That's life, right?

Here's to this experiment!

Much love, peace and elbow grease,

Ife "Quipayan" S.

Love: Unfailing

Well, good morning partner. Howdy there?

At 45 degrees the next morning, the snow was all gone. No trace.

         The snow fell to the Earth quite heavily the other day and after running into CC, we concluded that this was perfect weather for sledding. We borrowed some food trays from our favorite cafeteria on the North Side and hurriedly made our way to the slopes. We fell, tumbled, face planted, rolled and got back up many times that evening. And on our way out, a young woman, fully covered with appropriate snow gear, walks by and says "Howdy?" At least that's what I thought she said. In all actuality, she was inquiring of our experience: "How was it?" Though my response was "Hi!", it made sense to me when two of my friends respond with a "It was great!". I caught the mistake later.


             It seems that there are many times in our lives that we  hear the wrong things and this in turn affects our actions and what we do/say. After reading Psalm 13:1-6, I realized I haven't been fully comprehending what God wants from me. He says "Love me." I love and love and love until I pass out and can't get out of bed for the morning church service. The feelings of guilt start to pile up even further as I spend less and less time with Him in regular devotion in the morning. I shake my head and let it hang in embarrassment at my lack of dedication.

           Although God deeply desires that I love Him with ALL that I have, He knows that there is no way that I'll ever love Him fully and perfectly. "But I trust in your unfailing love..." That word 'unfailing' can only be applied to Him.

He says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matt 22:37) I heard "If you can't love me perfectly, you are a failure."

        But what He's really say is "There is no on righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10) but "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor. 12:9) In my imperfect ways, God is perfect.

In my unfaithful ways, God is faithful. He never fails. 

        So, the more I listen to God, the more I realize, sometimes I just miss what He's saying and that makes all the difference. Now, I don't have to beat myself up when I don't do things perfectly, but simply trust in Him to get me to where He wants be to be and know that He's still working on me and will continue to until the end of time. That is my forever (unfailing) Love. <--A great song!

Until next time with much love, peace and unfailing grease,


Ife 'Quipayan' S.

In Christ Alone

Yo, homies and homettes (is that even a word?)!

I'm writing you today to talk about my relationship...with Jesus.
Through reading 2 Corinthians 5:21, which says...

         God made Him who had no sin, be sin for us so that in Him we might become  the righteousness of God.


...and I thought it was super powerful because it emphasizes the fact that my righteousness is only through Christ. All of what I may have tried to build my life upon is solely based on the decision that God made to sacrifice His only Son so that I might be blameless before His sight.

God will not stand sin...and neither should I, but I do this because of the person of Jesus Christ; for in Him alone my hope is found.