If you want to be blessed,

happy, Jesus said you need to hear the word of God and keep it.  How can a human do that?  Only the self-deceived believer thinks he obeys God.   In my experience, the happiest believers — most joy-filled and peace-filled, regardless of their circumstances, have recently been convicted of their sin by the Spirit of Jesus.  The nicest, kindest, sweetest thing Jesus ever does for us, is to freshly convict us of our sin, especially our sin of independence/self-reliance/self-confidence/willfulness/agenda/adultlikeness/shepherdness.  But most believers see conviction of sin as negative, like it’s a black mark on my record of being a holy person.  Ha!  My record is like filthy rags.  There is no one holy, no not one.  The standard for obedience, is perfection.  “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” Jesus said.  Following Jesus is impossible if I also wanna feel good about myself based on my performance.

Jesus has nothing to offer to non-sinning believers, and is therefore not all that precious to non-sinning believers.  He who has been forgiven little, loves little: loves Jesus little, others little, and self little, and is happy only when things go his way, which merely strengthens his control addiction, independence.  The grace of Jesus flows downhill to believing sinners who have been freshly convicted of their sin, are freshly undone, contrite, humble.  Believing non-sinners are not empowered to love like Jesus.  When I avoid the sinner’s place at the foot of the Cross, I avoid the grace of Jesus enabling me to be fruitful with the pre-believers around me.  No wonder we believers are so unfruitful with the lost.

–DumbSheepDave, happiest when he’s been freshly convicted of trying to be ShepherdDave

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