Not a Work in Progress

I am not a work in progress

I am the final product

Crafted by the master and shaped by the son

Dipped into death and raised to life

Given to Christ as His perfect wife

My righteousness cannot improve

I cannot be better

I cannot get worse

His work was finished on the tree

The blood of the Son justifies me

My flesh accuses me of failure

Guilt condemns me to prison

Curse and judgment lead to death

Slave to sin and forever trapped

But in Christ the chains are snapped

I soar above the roar that is law

The written code binds me no longer

Chains of condemnation broken

Death has died among the chosen

Only life and blessing are now spoken

Even when I fall back into flesh

I repent return reunite

For in the Spirit there is no fight

Only life and peace and flight

Walking by faith and not by sight

I do not ask for peace or patience

His Spirit promises all spiritual blessings

A new creation bearing sweeter fruit

Joy in abundance follow suit

There is no work to be done

Only bear the fruit that is to come

That's what God has prepared in advance

For those who trust not in circumstance

I gain access to the final product by faith

And the only change I desire

Is to fully comprehend

The unquenchable love for his people

For which no obstacle can block the way

Comments

A Dad's Review of Passport 2 Purity

[3,100 words, 11 minute read] The sex talk is one of the most dreaded conversations parents anticipate having with their children. To make things easier, an entire industry exists to help parents with sex education. Dozens of books have been written to help parents navigate this treacherous topic with their progeny. One of the best known among evangelicals is called the Passport 2 Purity Getaway package . It is produced by FamilyLife, a division of Cru (former Campus Crusade for Christ) and consists of a five lecture CD package including a journal and exercises designed as a weekend retreat for a pre-pubescent child and his/her parent(s). Passport 2 Purity was not my initiative. Our trip came about because Judy had heard from several home-schooling mom friends how they had taken their daughters on a road trip to go through the CDs. She even heard how a mom took a trip with husband and two sons to through the curriculum. So a couple months ago, Judy suggested we take our two older boy...

Asian American Divorce Rate

I can't find recent data. Most of the stuff is at least five years old but by these estimates, the Asian American divorce rate is about 5%. I've got research from 2002 , 2008 for Asian Americans, and 2008 for Chinese Americans. The latest census data do not break out by race. In any case, a 5% divorce rate is about half the national average. Less divorce is a good thing. I would imagine that divorce does not bode well for personal fulfillment and many studies have shown it has a negative impact on children (too lazy to cite all the sources here). Of course, as one source argues, a lower divorce rate does not equate to a healthy marriage. There can be all kinds of abuse, dysfunction, and strife within marriage. All in all though, a lower divorce rate is one advantage of late marriage for Asian American men (and women). However, I believe a lower divorce rate is correlated with later marriage and there is no causation between the two. People who tend to be conservative, ...

Why Asians Run Slower

My brother got me David Epstein's book The Sports Gene . It is a fascinating quick read. If you're interested in sports and science, it will enthrall you. I finished it in three days. Epstein's point is that far more of an athlete's performance is due to genetics than due to the so-called "10,000 hour" rule promulgated by books such as Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin (both which are very good). The 10,000 hour rule states that any person can reach expert level of performance in a sport if they devote 10,000 hours of deliberate and intentional practice. That's a lot of hours. Most people aren't capable of anywhere close. And that's precisely Epstein's point. Someone who devotes 10,000 hours of sport-specific practice is likely genetically gifted for the sport in extraordinary ways AND genetically gifted in their ability to persevere and benefit from practice. Therefore, a person who can pra...

Rant of the Exiles

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