At roughly an hour a piece, I've finished sermon 43 of 46 that John MacArthur has preached on 1 John. For 11 weekdays in a row, I've read 1 John; am I any further from the starting line? Nope! Ahh, so characteristic of God's Word!

This ties into what I want to accomplish as part of my New Year's Resolutions.

As part of my 30-month, weekday reps run through the New Testament, I've chosen to listen to every sermon MacArthur has on each scheduled passage. Since his ministry began in 1969 and he has principally applied a verse-by-verse approach, there is a LOT of content. It definitely charges me up! <insert a Rick Flair "woo!">

Speaking of MacArthur, I like these answers by him and Sproul regarding, "who seeks whom in the process of salvation, and how does American contemporary evangelicalism get it right or wrong?"

YouTube Link

This morning, I found delight in the reading of this summary as it reminds me why God has chosen me and what this means for my life:

But God is glorifying his name through the redemption of sinners. He has purposed to "make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory" (Romans 9:23). Christ, "raised from the dead by the glory of the Father," has "welcomed" us in the gospel of grace "for the glory of God" (Romans 6:4; 15:7). In Christ, we bring glory to God now by trusting in his promises (Romans 4:20). What's more, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2), a glory that will be given to us with the redemption of the body, and a glory that is nothing less than cosmic in scope (Romans 8:18, 21; cf. 8:23)

Waters, Guy Prentiss. "Romans." A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament: The Gospel Realized. Ed. Michael J. Kruger. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016. 193. Print.

For the future that awaits the believer, I was stoked as I listened to this sermon today: How to Recognize an Overcomer, Part 2. This really blows my mind. And again, I cannot comprehend why specifically I'm invited to be a part of it all...when I dwell on this, I lose my appetite for sin; worry falls off of me. It is an INCREDIBLE gift, one of those awkward ones where I don't have ANYTHING to give in return!

It is a wonderful thing, something in which I want to strive daily to keep my destination ahead of me. My salvific focus is not about what has happened in the past; rather, my life is out there on the horizon.

What is 22 years from now—or, if I live beyond my parents and become like my Lithuanian grandfather, I've got 50 left in the tank—what is this in comparison to an eternity? I look at this body of mine with the stories imprinted on my hands: this body will be glorified and be with me forever—I'll just have an upgrade with these Rice Krispies knees! In fact, if I'm gonna be caught up with Jesus in the air, it sounds like I'm gonna be an X-Men! I SO DO NOT deserve this! May we never again let the world and all strife therein be the totality of our existence. May we refuse to chase after what the world values, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life (1 John 2:16-17). That mindset would give people's personal "brands" and Instagram usage a serious hit!

I don't say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.

Philippians 4:11-12, HCSB

When you walk around with the realization that you are an immortal being in the context of Romans 8:28, well, in the words of The Bourne Supremacy, "It changes things, that knowledge. Doesn't it?"