Thirty Years Ago
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
-A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
-A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
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For some reason when I woke up today, I had this idea on my mind. Thirty years ago, I was 23-years-old, newly married, with so much life ahead of me. I laugh at how fitting it is to use these opening lines from A Tale of Two Cities as I remember those days. It pains my heart a little because I was completely ignorant of God’s heart for me. I was so sure I knew what I was doing, but it was more a tale of living two lives.
At this point It’s both cliché and unhelpful to wish I knew then what I know now, but I can tell you what I’ve learned, and it starts right here:
At this point It’s both cliché and unhelpful to wish I knew then what I know now, but I can tell you what I’ve learned, and it starts right here:
___________________________
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
-Psalm 1:1-3 (ESV)
-Psalm 1:1-3 (ESV)
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God’s word must be your greatest influencer. Evaluate every other source of information or entertainment by what God’s word says. If it doesn’t align, then know, the more you allow it into your life, the more it will lead you away from God. This is how so many can honor God with their lips but have hearts that are far from him. God is patient and full of grace, but trying to live on some middle ground between God’s Kingdom and this world’s culture is miserable. Son, I want you to experience God’s love fully, now, and every day.
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Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. Barnes & Noble Classics, 2004.
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