Good News About Ourselves

Today is Wednesday, July 5, 2017. Day 21,664.

“You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocket ship underpants don’t help.” ~ Bill Watterson, who turns 59 today.
Goodreads

Bonus quote: “I haven’t slept for ten days, because that would be too long.” ~ Mitch Hedberg
The Quotations Page

The word of the day is gobsmacked, a mostly British adjective, meaning, “utterly astounded; astonished.”

Today is Bikini Day. Don’t blame me, it’s the only choice they gave me. It’s the anniversary of the invention of the bikini, in 1946, by a Parisian fashion designer, named Louis Reard.

Yesterday was mostly a nice day. I made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up about 5 things that we forgot about when we sent our order to Instacart, then picked up Sonic drinks, followed by Taco Bell for lunch. Earlier that morning, C had thrown some ingredients in the crock pot for a cheeseburger soup, which we had for dinner. It was okay, but not great. The fire-roasted tomatoes that were called for in the recipe seemed to have a sweet taste to them, and none of us really cared for that. That, along with the fact that you have to brown the ground beef before putting it in the crock pot probably make this a non-repeater, as we typically have crock pot dinners on work days.

I played Fallout: New Vegas for most of the afternoon (my reward for going to the store and getting lunch), and we watched some TV while we ate dinner. Then the fun came. It wasn’t actually as difficult to get to sleep as we thought. However staying asleep was a different story, altogether, as someone in the neighborhood thought it would be fun to toss firecrackers around, at intervals of at least thirty minutes, up until around 2:30 AM. I mean, seriously, it was as if they had some kind of monitor to tell when we had just fallen back asleep. And it was always just two or three, not a lot of them. They finally stopped, though, but sleep was restless, pretty much the rest of the night. I’m not angry (as I’m sure some people are), but feel that people who do these kinds of things (along with people who perpetrate road rage) are seriously deranged and need some time in a mental institution.

Tonight is bowling night, but the team we are supposed to bowl against will not be there. They bowled their games last Wednesday, after our normal league time was over. The good thing about that is that we should get through early tonight.

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL AND PRAYERS
All Scriptures are from the ESV unless otherwise noted

(From The Divine Hours)

Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! 
With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
Psalm 98:5-6
Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Psalm 33:20-22
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 
If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.
Psalm 139:17-18
The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.”
Psalm 132:11
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 
and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 
She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
John 11:25-27

(From Living the Message)

One of the ways that the gospel is “good news” is that it is “good news about ourselves.” This reality within us is just as important as any world news that we might take in every day. Even if world peace existed, and all economies were fair and stable, we would still have to deal with the reality of ourselves.

It doesn’t matter how nice my house is, how well-educated I am, or how secure I feel within my job or family. It doesn’t matter how competent and happy I appear. If I am “filled with anxieties and guilt and hopelessness,” I can’t make it. If I cannot escape the conviction that my life has no meaning, it’s bad news. We all need “a sense of integrity and purpose. We need to count, to mean something, to be important to somebody, to make a difference.”

It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20b (The Message)

Father, help us to see the good news about ourselves in the Gospel. The good news that we don’t have to try to impress anyone, any more, not even you! Christ is in us, and we need to strive to live the kind of life that Christ would live if he were us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Grace and peace, friends.