I’m digging this new series =D

I think Speedball is gonna love this.

So, naturally, I’m making my own – from the ground up.  Design, layout, functionality – I’m doing all of it.  I’m about halfway there, and would love any constructive criticism on the design – I probably won’t actually change anything if it’s too massive of a change (due strictly to the nature of the task at hand – it’s not mission critical), but any opportunity to learn more good practices is one that I will take.

Please, let me know what you think! =D

Current Entry page Look and Layout

Server Management Page

Service Management Page

What’s that?  You own “rollerBobot” as a thing too?  Why would anyone ever consider that to be a good idea?!

(Pencil on Bristol)

I like it.  Oh, and it’s not got a robot in it!  That you know of!

India Ink on paper.  Not sure I like it so much – let’s consider it a “first draft” =D

Spiritual Maturity 

The most notable of the more recent thought has been that Christ’s intercession on our behalf is a lot like a car insurance company – or at least, how a car insurance company is supposed to work.  I’m pretty sure that half of you have determined that I’m mad, the other half have moved on and still another half is staring at the screen, wondering what, exactly, I’m going to say next, and why my math doesn’t work.  Let me also emphasize that nowhere in Sanders’ book are the concepts I’m about to expound upon even remotely addressed.  These are my own thoughts and I don’t want to ascribe such ideas to his work.  I also don’t want anyone to think that Sanders’ work should lead anyone to the thoughts that I share here – this is simply my mind doing what it does best: focusing on other things while I want it to remain on that rabbit is jumping in the road, he’s gonna get himself killed!

So, without further ado…

Christ’s sacrifice, His death on the cross and His subsequent return from the dead holding the keys to the grave allows for many things, but for this particular analogy, I’m going to be referring to his ability to intercede.  Were it not for His own sacrifice, we would be liable for our own evil, our misguided behavior, and our wrongdoing – note that I’m not necessarily avoiding the word sin here – but it’s been kind of saturated to the point where it no longer carries the weight that it needs to carry, and until i can come up with a far greater word in our day, every time you read the word sin on here, imagine the largest pile of refuse and filth you can imagine, festering in the three o’clock summer sun.  Now, imagine yourself rolling in that.  There.  That delightful image is what I mean by sin.

But i digress… where was I?  Oh, yes, sin (filth) and intercession (mercy).

So – it kind of comes down to how a car insurance company is supposed to work (to an extent, in a perfect world at least), in that they cover us when we screw up, but let’s look at that a little closer.  I pay my insurance company every month (esurance, and, no, i’m not getting any credit for that link, I just happen to like them), and in return I receive protection from my own behavior.  If I get in a wreck because I didn’t notice a person driving down the road and I turned out right in front of them, the insurance company is going to step in and cover the cost of the repairs, and if I’ve got the right plan, they are going to cover my car’s damage too.

Christ’s intercession on my behalf is similar, in that He steps in when I’ve committed a sin (Refuse.  Stinking refuse, wretched garbage.) and says to the party that I’ve offended – God –  ”here’s the fee for repairs.  Let’s go ahead and make this right.”  There are, however, a few crucial differences.

• I can’t afford the initial down payment on the policy.  It’s “all the things” – everything that I am, that I was, have, have earned, will earn, my life, everything –   something that I am incapable of giving.  So, Jesus went ahead and payed that for me.
• I can’t afford the premiums on the policy.  It’s also “all the things.”  So, Jesus went ahead and payed them upfront – in one large deposit.
• I can’t afford the deductible when I screw up.  Once again, it’s “all the things.”  Every time.  So – Jesus, being the awesome insurance agent He is, goes ahead and pays that for us too.
• I DO learn a lesson from the “accident” though – and afterwards, I get the benefit of having that exposed to me.  If I’m paying attention, that will help me avoid future accidents.  If I’m not, I’ll find myself making them again.

One thing I want to make perfectly clear, though, is even though I am referring to Christ as the ultimate insurance agent (He even stands up for us in court!  How awesome is that?) His insurance doesn’t cover us when we make the intentional decision to sin (putrid, acidic, burning filth) over and over again.

What do I mean by this?  Well, after a believer sins (vomitus. despair. darkness.  skubalon.), they feel regret.  I don’t mean plain “i did a bad thing” regret (though that may very well be the case as well) but more of a need to repent for said behavior.  What is repentance?  In short it’s a desire to move away from the evil of yourself and embrace giving all of yourself to God (here’s some thoughts from Piper).  If you don’t feel anything after having sinned (I think you get it now),  and you claim to be a believer – well, I have something you might not want to hear:  You might not be a believer.

See – we’re sinning all the time.  It never stops.  Every time we think hatred to a driver in the car in front of us, every time we look at and think the wrong way about a member of the opposite sex, every time we decide we’d rather watch TV than go outside into the world and do some good – ok, that one gets a little loose – rest is good too, but you get the idea.  EVERYTHING you do that is apart from God is not of God and if something is not of God it’s a sin.  (James 4:17 ESV, more or less)  We’re building up a debt that is so massive that we will never be able to afford the payments, and that’s where JC’s Insurance kicks in.

So – if you sin all the time, and you don’t feel the need to repent for that sin, you need to do one of two things.

1. Ask God for the wisdom to see your own faults, and expose sin to you fully.
2. Seriously consider whether you are simply wearing the mantle of Christ, or if you have devoted your entire life.

Think of it this way:

Let’s say that I go to my insurance company tomorrow and I say “Hey guys.  What’s going on?  Here’s some money.  I’m gonna go and get in about 500 wrecks in the next day or so – and you’re going to cover those damages.  Oh – and I’m not going to learn anything from  this, so I’ll probably do it later this week, too.  I expect my car to be completely repaired, instantly, after every incident, and I’m not going to pay you a dime over this amount that I’ve been paying so far.  If you have a problem with that, then I really don’t care, that’s not my problem.  Have a great day!”

What do you think is going to happen?  They’re going to drop me like a bad habit – and I’ll probably never get insurance again. I’m not saying that Jesus’ll drop you (He won’t.  Really.), but if you’re doing this sort of thing, you might not have actually accepted that whole insurance plan in the first place.

If you have any thing you want to say about all this rambling, please, don’t hesitate to share.

Yea.

Some of you know that I kind of have a thing for Copic.  I used to love Prismas, and then I realized that they don’t cover quite as well, and well, the whole refill for pennies on the dollar kinda helps Copic win out too. And the ink is superior.  And the pens are easier to hold.  And the… well, you get the idea.

I like them.

So i sketched this last night…