Basics & Principles

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The Basics

Only God is holy.
Only God is good.
Only God is sinless.
You are not God.

But, you become more like Him as His life becomes your life and as you enter more fully into His life.

You are not a problem that needs to be fixed. You are a person who is on a journey with God.


The 12 Guiding Principles

#1 God is in my crap. If He wasn’t He wouldn’t be in my life at all.

#2 I am more crappy than I’ll ever know. If the holy person, St. Paul, knew he was “chief of sinners” let’s assume holiness gives me a clearer picture of my sinfulness. Being far from holy, I can’t see my sin very well.

#3 I will always “feel” crappy. My goal is not to feel less crappy, but to discover God in my crap.

#4 I don’t have to clean up my crap before God will love me. It’s a waste of time and effort to try to perform better or look pure. God loves me as I am.

#5 Only by the grace and mercy of God can my crap become less crappy. I can’t clean up on my own. As God’s energies freely work in me, I have hope of transformation.

#6 Jesus Christ is my life, salvation, sanctification, cure, and hope. His life in me provides what I need to deal with my crap. Apart from Christ, I can do nothing.

#7 I’m aware of Christian leaders and other Christians who look squeaky clean, have Christianity figured out, and know all the answers. It’s unfortunate that most Christians operate from their ego. I’m careful who I listen to and follow.

#8 Humility is the Queen of virtues. Up is down; down is up. Above all, I seek to become humble.

#9 I try to not let my passions get the best of me. I seek to battle them with everything I’ve got including prayer, scripture, perseverance, and companionship.

#10 I take God seriously but not myself. God matters. What I think or say about Him matters little.

#11 In Christ, when I am weak, I am strong. Weakness is a sign of strength.

#12 I am nothing; God is everything. I will let my nothingness drive me to seek God with my whole being.