First (er Second) Paper submission Reflections

So I just submitted my final paper for New Testament 2 and I just wanted to write down some recurring themes that kept coming at me:

1) "Jon you too young and ignant to be even in the discussion with these scholars, much less writing a paper about all this stuff" (some aren't alive btw)
2) Either my brain is fried or I really don't know as much as I thought lol.
3) we're really prone to reading into the scriptures instead of letting it just speak. you can even read good theology into the scriptures (it's not a win).
4) i just want to go outside and play ... (kidding ish)
5) eh, my writing needs work haha.

Overall, I know I could have done better with this paper. I don't believe it to be slop, but it's not nearly as good as I thought I could have made it had I not been so eh with time management.

The funny thing about writing papers in seminary as opposed to my undergrad years is that it really isn't so much about the grade I'll get but 1) how much I actually learned 2) how much effort I'm willing to put in to learn as much as I can.

Oh, the topic was "Works of the Law in Paul" ... and all that that entails.

Don't forget.

One of the most influential truths I've come to learn in recent years is to see repentance as a gracious invitation.

I have forgotten that truth it seems.

[No Title]

Being self-absorbed, self-pitying, self-illusioned really makes gospel opportunities impossible to see. Who knew that pure self-interest was the harshest kind of slavery?

I frequently forget the message. The weight. The truth. The freedom purchased. Father, help me remember. Help me see rightly again.
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It's really funny (ironic?) though. As a guy aspiring to be a pastor, I sometimes let myself become disillusioned to the truth that life here really is fallen ... to the point that even the most beautiful and precious things in all the world are longing to be set free. It's hard to take in and confront sometimes. But there are conversations with people, statuses you read, relationships broken that remind you that people simply need Jesus. He really is the only hope we have. Spirit, magnify the good news of the Son.

"The Bible tells us sad things in the end to make us glad."

"For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow."
-Ecclesiastes 1:18
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“Lord I’m tired
So tired from walking
And Lord I’m so alone
And Lord the dark
Is creeping in
Creeping up
To swallow me
I think I’ll stop
Rest here a while

And didn’t You see me cry’n?
And didn’t You hear me call Your name?
Wasn’t it You I gave my heart to?
I wish You’d remember
Where you set it down

Chorus:
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give

Bridge:
I didn’t notice You were standing here
I didn’t know that
That was You holding me
I didn’t notice You were cry’n too
I didn’t know that
That was You washing my feet”
-"All I Can Say" by David Crowder Band