dumb sheep dave

Promoting Jesus Dependency

  • The root sin is not unbelief or pride,

    but CONFIDENCE I know what’s best.  Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good or Bad.  Impossible for me to be critical, willful, fearful, prideful, discouraged, self-absorbed, judge of others/self, unless I’m confident I know what’s best for me and others.  So I don’t ASK Jesus about everything before me throughout my day.  Independent. …

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  • I’m better than the Pharisee

    and better than the nonbeliever. And better than the fundy and the try-harder believer. All blind to the extent of their sin. I’m one of the good guys. I’m a grace-junkie. Gospel-centered. I love feeling superior to everyone. Even fellow grace-junkies. I USE others. To feel good about me. While I’m very skilled at appearing…

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  • The watching world is bored

    with Christians because they see in us what mere humans can do.  Human power.  Jesus makes no remarkable difference in our lives.  We are circumstance-dependent for our joy and peace, just like they are.  We do not operate in out-of-character-for-for-us kinds of ways.  We are not more humble than they.  Not more loving.  Not less…

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  • Why do I identify with the good guys

    as I read the Gospels?  Why don’t I identify with the bad guys, the Pharisees?  Because, I suspect, I wanna feel better than them, good about myself.  So I need to live in denial about the extent of my sin/idolatry/independence/dysfunction/weakness.  Suppress.  Ignore. I’m one of the good guys. The Pharisees rejected Jesus and His worthiness…

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  • The Pharisee imagined himself to be

    a spiritual success, but Jesus pointed out his unfruitfulness, seed sown on soil that did not reproduce, to show him his spiritual failure, and the Pharisee hated Him for it.  ShepherdDave imagines himself to be a spiritual success, a good guy, because the outside of his cup is clean, he has his act together, feels…

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  • Shocker: I’m the unmerciful servant.

    I who have received amazing grace, have not extended amazing grace to others, not even grace.  I’m not a grace-giver but a grace-robber – robbing others of grace by obsessing over their flaws, as a strategy to feel superior to them, so I feel good about ME.  I’m stunned, sobered, contrite, at such a huge…

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  • The worst thing about judging others,

    is also judging myself.  Impossible to judge others without judging myself.  Conditional love to others, always means conditional love to ME.  When I don’t perform up to expectations, the failure/self-contempt weirds me.  Strengthens my suppressed emotional commitment to avoid the pain of failure at all costs, which strengthens my performance idol, which strengthens the conditionality…

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  • Jesus saves, using a Gospel friendship + suffering.

    Jim Moon is a man who has been inspiring me by his friendships with nonbelievers since I first began receiving his prayer updates maybe ten years ago when he was a church-planter north of Atlanta.  I had something of a mentoring relationship with him by email during those years, but the past two years we’ve…

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  • Searching for weakness in others,

    is what I do, every waking moment of the day.  Why?  So I can feel superior.  Why?  Evidently I feel worthless, but suppress my feelings of worthlessness, and focus instead on the weakness/sin/idolatry/failure of others.  Lately I sometimes catch myself obsessively analyzing everyone, critiquing them, judging them, finding them unhealthy in some way, shape, or…

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  • How to love your neighbor from a place of weakness.

    I’ve prayed for Drew and his relationship with all his pre-believing neighbors for years, and sometimes advised him.  This is the inspiring story of Drew Angus loving one of his pre-believing neighbors well.  Great example of what a Gospel friendship looks like.  Thank You, Jesus, for Your work in Drew and through him to others!…

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