Journals, Computers and Doctrine...Huh?

You may think the the three things mentioned above are not related in any way...well they're not. But they apply to my life at the moment.

For years now I have wanted to start journaling. Everyday or so, write down life experiences, thoughts, ponderings, what I'm learning from the bible, lyrics...you know, whatever comes to mind. Well I finally bought one. I am quite excited about this. Maybe, every once in a while I will post a particularly interesting or insightful journal entry here. But probably not too often...too personal.

In August, my iBook computer of over 6 years finally crashed. So, since then, I have been saving up to buy a new Mac. Well, today I finally bought one! It is an iMac with a 20 inch display, 2 GHrz processor, 2GB RAM, and 320 GB hard drive. It will be AWESOME...but not as awesome as what I am going to say next!

So I have been studying some fairly deep theological issues as of late, and it is so great! There are lights going on in my brain everywhere. For example, I have been studying the imputation of Christ's righteousness. What an amazing doctrine! Basically, it states that through our faith in Christ, we are connected to Him and through that connection, His righteousness has been imputed on to us (if you are a Christian). So, our standing before God has nothing to do with us actually being righteous, because we are counted as righteous through an alien righteousness that is not our own...namely, the righteousness of Christ. That is why he lived a perfect life. To count His righteousness as ours through our faith in Him! How awesome is that? And how secure should that make us feel? Our righteousness does not rise when our faith is strong and fall when our faith is week. Why? Because it has nothing to do with us! It isn't our righteousness. Our righteous standing before God is based on the rock solid foundation of Christ's perfect righteousness that has been counted as ours! And Christ's righteousness never waivers or falters.

Man, if anyone ever tries to tell you that doctrine is over rated and not important and not essential to our Christian life, slap them in the face! It is precisely doctrines such as the imputation of Christ's righteousness that give us hope and joy and security. It is amazing when you actually understand theology. Oh, how deep your faith can become! I am not trying to say these things to puff up my own knowledge and understanding. I am only trying to show the joy and importance of digging in and tackling the deep doctrines of the bible. The rewards are huge!