@CSLCHSnMore The NIV was the first translation I read end to end though and it does read nicely - but it has some very troubling translation choices which betray an agenda, sadly. I’ve noticed it used increasingly by political activists masquerading as Christians.

There must be no vestige of sin remaining in us. Righteousness that is absolutely perfect. And of course the moment we realise that, then we see that it is something we ourselves cannot do. We must therefore recieve it as helpless paupers. We must take it entirely as a free gift.

Righteousness to them means just being decent and moral up to a certain level.

But righteousness ultimately means being like the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the standard. If we want to face God and spend eternity in His holy presence, we must be like Him.

And when one tells them that one has to receive this salvation as a free gift, because WE SHOULD BE like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself if we should be fit to stand in the presence of God, they say ‘now that is making it impossible for us’.

This one Beatitude deals with the two commonest objections to the Christian doctrine of salvation. Two objections most often found in the same people.

First of all, when told salvation is altogether of grace, fully undeserved, they say ‘salvation cannot be as easy as that’.

This Beatitude is exceptional because it provides us with a perfect test which we can apply to ourselves. It is a wonderful test of our doctrine, and a very thorough-going, practical test of where, exactly, we stand.

Chapter 8. Beatitude 4: The Tests of Spiritual Appetite.

Hungering and Thirsting after Righteousness.

Chapter 7 dealt with this verse in general, but more can be said, because we can never exhaust this great statement. It is also one of the most vital of all.

#MLJbeatitudes

@EhzNow @YouTube I know what you mean. Steer clear then because his life story was a tragedy, proving that you can have everything yet still be desperately unhappy.

@EhzNow @YouTube Have you ever read Laurie Verchomin’s memoir of her time with Bill? What a tangled life he had. If all you know of him is his music, this will be a real eye-opener. How he managed to achieve what he did despite his lifestyle I will never know. t.co/vE2q6nZHN…

Jeremiah 1:4-5. A strong start. bible.com/bible/59/jer.1… t.co/vUlFo8WUG…

Isaiah 61:11

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. bible.com/bible/59/isa.6… t.co/QRlcDeBev…

Isaiah 65:17 and 20.

Not a description of the eternal Kingdom, nor a description of a millennial new Jerusalem… you’d not find death or sin in either… but hope and inspiration for the believer, perhaps, that things can and will get better. bible.com/bible/59/isa.6… t.co/x7ls6gveW…

The article in full. t.co/jdwcHiGSb…

“And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet.” Mark 13:7 bible.com/bible/59/mrk.1…

⬇️ Not an encouraging headline, even for an Opinion piece.

From one of Britain’s mainstream broadsheets, The Daily Telegraph. t.co/wuwaFSlQ0…

Ironically however, the most sucessful of her own records was a cover of Goffin & King’s wonderful ‘Up on The Roof’. Her version is just sublime. Always makes me want to be on THAT ROOF, right smack-dab in the middle of town… youtube.com/watch?v=ibOpVh…

One of the greatest and most underrated singer-songwriters ever - Laura Nyro. She wrote this when she was 16, and was 19 when it was recorded and released in 1966. Many will know her songs through covers by the Fifth Dimension, Three Dog Night and others. youtube.com/watch?v=8B7naJ…

@EhzNow My favourite Cranberries song, by my favourite Chinese singer. Great version. This is in Cantonese, I believe. From the Chungking Express soundtrack. youtube.com/watch?v=tngRAa…

@tedgioia @EhzNow Nice to see a picture of Bill Evans smiling!

@EhzNow 😂

@HoneycombHermit @AuthJamesFowler @CSLCHSnMore Twitter nerdiness at it’s best! 🤣😂

@virginia_garret @TexasSimpleDude It is very very sad. Obviously I was just joking, but terrible damage is being done in the name of conformity to rigid gender stereotypes. No space for being a tomboy or a sensitive man these days. Kids have become pawns in adult agendas 😞

@CSLCHSnMore #HealthyFaithChat A8. Only one man walked this earth with a perfectly straight path, and His name was Jesus. We can only ever hope to approximate his walk. If we go wrong, He is there to steer us back towards His way.

@CSLCHSnMore #HealthyFaithChat A7. An absolute obsession with the self. A refusal to acknowledge when behaviour is damaging either to the individual or society as a whole. Thinking that people alone, and politics have all the answers. The belief that all religions worship the same god.

@virginia_garret @CSLCHSnMore #HealthyFaithChat Thank you Virginia. The true magnitude of Christ’s grace is probably the hardest thing for me to wrap my heart around… I do get it intellectually, and it’s something that I remind myself of daily. It helps to be reminded that His grace is His gift, not mine.

@virginia_garret @TexasSimpleDude You can these days Virginia! t.co/gvBUVlGlY…