"Union with Christ"
...No sin is greater than the sin of unbelief..

Lawful blessings are the secret idols, and do most hurt;
the greatest injury is in the having,
the greatest good in the taking away.
In love divest me of blessings that I may glorify Thee the more;
remove the fuel of my sin,
and may I prize the gain of a little holiness
as overbalancing all my losses.

How the Word should IMPACT us, not just inform us

What would reading the bible sound like if it were only information? That is, if it were not meant to impact how we live, what we think, what we say, what we do, how we feel (our affections)?
Sadly we often read it that way, or at least that is the case functionally.

VoV "Christ is All" got me thinking about this.
it says, "Bold in this thought I defy my adversary, tread down his temptations, resist his schemes, renounce the world, am valiant for the truth." i.e. having bold thoughts about gospel truth should IMPACT our lives.

And what is the thought we are to be "bold in"? Go back to the top of the prayer:
"May I read the meltings of Thy heart to me
in the manger of thy birth
in the garden of thy agony
in the cross of thy suffering
in the tomb of thy resurrection
in the heaven of thy intercession. "

We are to be bold in the thought that the work and obedience of Christ represent "the meltings of God's heart to me", to us. It's not just some dry forensic legal act of justification - it is the melting of the heart of God toward sinners, toward those who hate Him.
When we are bold in that thought, then change happens!!

Who are the "ungodly"?

[14] It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, [15] to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” [16] These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.
(Jude 1:14-16 ESV)

More from The Rare Jewel...

notice the many references to "ungodly" in v.15 above, then the first trait of the ungodly is "grumbling"
THAT HURTS - it is so easy to see in others, but hard to notice it in me. Is that wrong?

Contentment

This isn't from Valley of Vision, but from reflecting on The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment - ch 7

Contentment in the mundane routine things of life is an evidence of a heart that is worshiping God. When we murmur and complain (Phil 2:14-16) we are showing that we don't really trust and worship God from the heart even if our external religious behavior looks good - Matt 15:8

In what condition would secret reviews
of my life leave me
were it not for the assurance that with Thee
there is plenteous redemption,
that Thou art a forgiving God,
that Thou mayest be feared!

"The Lord's Day Eve"
If we honestly reflect on what a secret review of our lives would mean then we would see our need for a Savior. As a freshman in college a review of things made me realize that i was in trouble with life; that lead to my actually reading the Gospel of John and coming to faith in Christ. I'd thought of Him as an example, but then I saw that I needed a Savior.

I changed the name and the URL address, not that anyone cares. The new name reflects that most of the posts will be my reflections from the Valley of Vision devotional.