Walking in someone else's shoes

There he stood, a little cherub with corn rows on the top of his head and scuffed up, untied kicks on the bottom of his feet. His name was Traevon. He was the cutest thing I’d seen all day.



And I’d seen a lot of people. Old people, young people. Heavy people, thin people. People walking and people in wheelchairs. People who smelled bad, redolent of stale Pall Malls and wet dogs. It’s not uncommon where I work. After all, Union Mission is the largest Christian mission in the state, dispensing social justice on a grand scale. Indeed, each month The Mission feeds a number larger than the population of the city where it operates.

Naivete at The Mission

When I went to work at Union Mission back in January, everyone sort of chuckled at my inexperience in Mission work (some might call it naivete...and they would be right.)


Their source of merriment was my contention that I was excited for the fall, when pretty much every day is critical to the success of our food giveaways, coat giveaways, benefit concerts, holiday mailings, etc. A lot of that stuff is generated from the development and marketing department where I work. My attitude was "bring it on."


"Be careful what you pray for," the saying goes. No kidding. The pace is picking up here at The Mission, and that means a lot of work ahead.


But you know what? It also means a lot of opportunity. And for that, I'm excited.


Here's a rundown of things coming up this weekend:


Saturday: Coat Giveaway
This has become our first big event at The Mission each year. We collect coats starting in August, then sort them, hang them and give them away to our guests. Our guys at Union Mission Crossroads and the Union Mission Foundations program, along with the women and children at Brookside Family Life Center get first crack, then we invite our guests from Union Mission Family Services to get what they and their children need to stay warm this winter.


Saturday: Blessed Sacrament's annual Cardboard City
A special shout-out to Michelle Patterson, who works with the youth at Blessed Sacrament in South Charleston. She invited us back in the summer to participate in their event, which helps educate their young people about extreme poverty and homelessness. I'll be speaking at the event and participating in a Q&A afterward.


Sunday: Brown paper bag inserts
Do you get the Sunday Gazette-Mail? If so, keep an eye out for brown paper bags with our signature wefeedpeople.com logo; inside, you'll find some information about our Thanksgiving dinner and how you can help.


Sunday: Jeremy Camp's "Speaking Louder Than Before"
Christian recording artist Jeremy Camp is in town, along with Natalie Grant and Bebo Norman, to put on a concert at the Municipal Auditorium. Tickets are going fast, so get 'em now! Oh, and make sure you bring a canned good with you...we'll have a collection site just outside the entrance as well as a booth set up inside to share The Mission with you. We've also been invited to come onstage and tell the audience a little about what we do here at Union Mission.


Sunday: Bethany Baptist Church's Missions Conference
Bethany Baptist has been a wonderful partner to Union Mission over the years, and we're excited to participate in their upcoming Missions Conference. Union Mission President and CEO, Rex Whiteman, is the keynote speaker for their Sunday festitivies.


(I'll say this much: I'm no longer naive at how busy Mission work can be.)

Some favorites from The NINES

If you didn't catch some of the Leadership Network and Catalyst's theNines event, there were some really, really great messages from pastors and church leaders around the country. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you.

Well, two of them, anyway. After all, some of the more popular pastors' videos are listed as "private," and you can't embed them from YouTube. That's pretty disappointing. I hope I'm just doing something wrong rather than some of them not being as forthright in sharing their material on a common site. Oh, I'm sure you could go to their specific websites and watch the videos, but how about sharing some page views, fellas? I dare say you could spare a few!

So here you go with two videos from theNines.

J.D. Greear of The Summit Church in Raleigh/Durham, N.C.




Rich Nathan of The Vineyard Church, Columbus, Ohio

God's Chisel

Very cool...take a look when you have some time.

Want a Free T-Shirt?

Then take a look...

Video Introduction to "The Reason for God"

The following is a video done by Dr. Tim Keller explaining why he wrote "The Reason for God."

"The Reason for God" Media Center

For those of you who will be joining us for Christianity Uncorked, here is a link to "The Reason for God" Media Center. On this page you will find access to the "Penguin Reader's Guide" that we'll be using as a guide to our discussions.


Below is Dr. Timothy Keller's (unless noted otherwise) sermons and study guides to the first seven chapters of the book. For those of you who are interested in digging deeper or conveniently listening to a message on your IPod or in your car, these audio messages and study guides will serve as a great support to the book.

Exclusivity: How can there be just one true religion? Download Audio Study Guide

Suffering: If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world? Download Audio Study Guide

Absolutism: Don't we all have to find truth for ourselves? Download Audio Study Guide


Injustice: Hasn't Christianity been an instrument for oppression? Download Audio Study Guide


Hell: Isn't the God of Christianity an angry Judge? Download Audio Study Guide


Doubt: What should I do with my doubts? (by David Bisgrove) Download Audio Study Guide


Literalism: Isn't the Bible historically unreliable and regressive? Download Audio Study Guide

The Story of Christianity Explains All Others

Doug Powell once asked what John Lennon. Jean-Paul Sartre. Woody Allen. Bertrand Russell. Stephen Spielberg. Peter Singer. Snoop Dog. Aristotle. Garth Brooks. Ayn Rand. Madonna has in common? In responding to his own question he answered, “They are all philosophers. They all try to make sense of reality, the world, of who we are and why we're here. Only some are formally trained in philosophy, but all of them put forward a philosophy in their work” (How movies, music, and art always contain the truth of Christianity).

Let’s consider two examples from popular music.

From their landmark single, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for,” front man Bono began:

I have climbed highest mountain, I have run through the fields,

Only to be with you

I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls these city walls,

Only to be with you

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

This element of seeking for something beyond ourselves is reiterated by Cold Play, in their song “Cemeteries of London” from their latest installment Viva La Vida.

At night they would go walking till the breaking of the day
The morning is for sleeping
Through the dark streets they go searching to see God in their own way

God is in the houses and God is in my head
And all the cemeteries in London
I see God come in my garden but I don’t know what He said
For my heart it wasn’t open, not open

Although the meaning of this song is not explicitly clear, some have contended that it's about someone searching for something, a truth or meaning, “to see god in their own way' it describes their journey” (HoliHallow), while others believe that this song is “expressing some desire to connect with what’s 'out there' a sort of spiritual vibe going on, its mystical and explores a new dimension. When we die we shed our pride we go off to the grave and we are all equal, I think it’s about embracing the next phase and feeling whole again. Kind of envying the dead, but at the same time loving life too” (ItsAbout).

These songs relate the artists search for something beyond themselves, yet not finding what that “something” is. They speak of their search for god in their own way, seeing him, yet not knowing what he said. These songs serve not only as a recollection of the artists search for god; these songs are also shared and embraced by many devoted fans around the world as the story to their lives as well.

So what is it about these songs that allow for so many people to resonate with them? Why are people from diverse backgrounds capable of sharing their story in search for meaning? People from all walks of life are able to resonate with such songs because they reflect an element of Truth in our search for meaning.


J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, believed that myths – stories that attempt to explain our existence or aspect of human behavior – were true in so far as they reflected Jesus Christ, who is the embodiment of Truth (see Powell). C.S. Lewis – who was heavily influenced by Tolkien - argued that, “The story of Christ is simply a true myth: a myth working on us in the same way as the others, but with this tremendous difference that it really happened.” He went on to say that “Christianity is God expressing Himself through what we call ‘real things’ namely, the actual incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection” (see C.S. Lewis’s letter to Arthur Greeves, October 18, 1931)

Man’s search for God is at the very core of our being. Human beings are naturally spiritual creatures who are incurably religious (James Emery White, A Search for the Spiritual: Exploring Real Christianity, pg. 12). Writing in the 4th century, a North African Bishop by the name of Augustine's said of God, "You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are rest-less till they find their rest in you" (Confessions, 1.1.1)

Christianity teaches that mankind was created in the image and likeness of God (see Genesis 1-2, 9). This not only means that our self-worth is found in Him, this means that everyone has been created with a religious zeal. From the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes, we read that God “has put eternity into man’s heart” (Eccl. 3.11). Being created with such innate desires readily explains the existence of religious pluralism – in that throughout all of time and every geographic location we will discover people who worship “god” - and the existence of God (see Art Lindsey, Argument from Desire: Do our desires point to something or nothing?).

From the New Testament, the Apostle Paul said, “And he [referring to God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us” (Acts 17.26-27).

This passage from the Bible insinuates that God not only created us, but also determined when and where we would live with the intent that we would seek out after Him. Although we have been created with this disposition, we come away from these verses that mankind is feeling their way along in the dark, seeking out after the One, True and Living God without knowing the way, even though He is not far from all of us (Doesn’t this sound similar to “Cemeteries of London?”).

You see, Christianity teaches that mankind is born with a “sinful nature.” The presence of sin – which is the “lack of conformity to the law of God in act, habit, attitude, outlook, disposition, motivation, and mode of existence” (J.I. Packer, Original Sin from Concise Theology) – permeates the root of our being. This facet of Christianity is typically called “total depravity” or “radical corruption.”

Even though I typically don’t like to reference Wikipedia, I believe that the authors of this article did an excellent job in defining this doctrine:

Total depravity is the fallen state of man as a result of original sin. The doctrine of total depravity asserts that people are by nature not inclined to love God wholly with heart, mind, and strength, but rather all are inclined to serve their own interests over those of their neighbor and to reject the rule of God. Even religion and philanthropy are destructive to the extent that these originate from a human imagination, passions, and will (Wikipedia, italics mine).

What’s amazing about the message of Christianity is that God did not leave us to our own devices and passions. He has not left us to search out for Him in the dark without a light. He has explicitly revealed Himself to us in His Son, Jesus Christ.

After Paul addressed the religious zeal of his audience, he concluded his talk with these words, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17.30-31).

The plot of Christianity is this message that Paul proclaimed. This message is one of redemption and hope in the life, death, burial, resurrection, and eventual return of Jesus Christ.
If you consider yourself a person who has climbed great heights or ran great lengths to find God, then I ask that you consider the story of Christ in completing this journey and blazing the paths of a new one. If you have been searching for God in your own way, then I ask you to consider reading what Christianity considers to be the self-revelation of God, the Bible. It is within this ancient text that we discover the wisdom that leads us to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ (see 2 Timothy 3.15).

Andrew and I will be the first to admit that we don’t have all of the answers to life’s questions! But we invite you to join with us in searching out the True Story of God, as revealed in Jesus Christ.

Besides, “What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself” (Blaise Pascal, Pensees, pg. 45).

Christianity Uncorked

Sheesh...it's been since March that I've blogged. Part of that is being busy. Part of it is not making it as much of a priority as I should. And a part of it is that since I started working at Union Mission I have been blogging over at blog.wefeedpeople.com.

However, now that my good friend Jesse Wisnewski and I are beginning our Christianity Uncorked series, it's a good time to get back in the swing of things here on the blog. I'll get back to writing regularly, and now Jesse is going to be posting here as well. I'm very excited about that.

Below you'll find the flyer to our bi-monthly "Christianity Uncorked" discussion group. You can also engage the discussion on Facebook; just log on and look up either Jesse or myself and check our event calendar.

Hope to see you soon!

We Feed People: On the Road

I had the great fortune to speak at the church where I grew up this past Sunday morning. It was great to see old friends and family and share Union Mission with them. I hope God directs me to take more speaking engagements, not only because it gets me out of my introverted shell, but it also affords me the opportunity about the good work we God is doing at Union Mission.


I thought I would post the text of my "talk" here. This is the printed text I used; it's certainly not verbatim to what I said Sunday morning, but it's close enough. Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll feel let to participate with Union Mission in Helping Hurting People in Jesus Name.

So, the question is: what am I doing here this morning instead of the pastor? I'm here because I want to take a little time to tell you about where I work, but I want to frame it scriptureally and view it in light of where we are as a culture. Then, hopefully, we'll bring it all around to Jesus. Because if we're not talking about Jesus, then was the heck are we doing here?

I now work at Union Mission. I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with the Mission. You've probably seen our bright green and black trucks with the We Feed People logo on the side. And that's exactly what we do, most visibly through our holiday food drives many of you have volunteered for in the past. What you may not be aware of is the full scope of our ministry. When we say we feed people, we're not just talking about physical feeding. At Union Mission, everyone--every single person--that comes through our door for help hears the Gospel. It's a pre-condition of receiving our help. Want a package of diapers for your kids? We'll give it to you...but you're gonna hear about Jesus. Need a refrigerator? You got it...now here's some Jesus.

All of that brings me to the point of what I want to talk about today, and I want to use some scripture to bring the message home. If you will, please turn with me to Luke 4:18. Also, find 1 Peter 1:3-5.

(You can read those passages here.)

Let's look at Jesus' words in Luke 4:18. If you'll recall, here we see Jesus, fresh out of the desert from his 40-day fast. He's new on the scene; he hasn't even gathered any disciples yet. There's this buzz in the air about this new teacher in Galilee, and Jesus comes to the local synagogue and opens the scrolls there to a passage from what we now call the book of Isaiah, chapter 61. And he reads the words recorded both in Isaiah and in Luke chapter 4.

Here's the Messiah, the Christ, and what does he use as the text of his first sermon? To proclaim the good news to who? The poor. To proclaim liberty to who? Captives. Recovering of sight to who? The blind. Certainly some of what Jesus is saying here is metaphorical and speaks to spiritual poverty, spiritual blindness, spiritual oppression. But that's the beauty of Christ's mission here on earth. He knew, just as we should know and practice, that to be effective communicators of the Gospel we need to combine a message of both spiritual and physical, both earthly and eternal. He preached both.

We know this because we know that salvation is a spiritual transaction. His death, burial and resurrection was a spirtual act, done to result in our spiritual renewal. But we also know that Jesus didn't simply preach a spiritual message for spiritual renewal. He preached to those who were physically downtrodden too?

How do we know this? Just look at those with whom Jesus related.

One of his closest friends was Peter. He was known as Simon the Zealot. And what was a Zealots? They were a Jewish sect that advocated violent overthrow of the Roman goverment. Sound familiar? Peter was, in essence, a terrorist! He was a hot-head, quick to speak, quick to anger. Yet it was this man, a simple fisherman, that Jesus built his church upon.

Who else? Of all of the people, to whom did Jesus first reveal his divinity? It was a multiple divorcee who was in an intimate relationship with a man she wasn't married to and who had come out to that well in the middle of the day probably because she was so ostrasized in her own community that it wasn't worth the headache of hearing the gossip of the other women come to draw water in the morning. Oh, and she was a Samartian, which was the lowest social class in Palestine, at least according to the majority Jewish population. Never mind the fact that she was a woman, and I don't have to tell you what the status of women in 1st century Palestine was like. Yet it was this immoral, Samartian woman to whom Jesus first said, in essence, "I am the messiah."

There's more. Zaccheus was a tax collector who cheated his own people out of their scarce money simply to get rich and curry favor with an occupying empire. Being a tax collector was the epitome of a traitor. Yet it was this man, of all of the throngs of people who had gathered to hear Jesus that day, who our Lord chose to dine with.

Just look at those three people. A terrorist. An adultress. A traitor. These were the people Jesus associated with. It's obvious, from scripture, that Jesus had an affinity for the downtrodden. Sure, we know that. We're taught it from the time we are children. But we often take it for granted and miss the point of just how committed to social justice Jesus was both on earth and in heaven. Let's look at Jesus' associations with fresh eyes this morning to get at the truth he would teach us.

Look, Jesus could have come as a conquering king. He was fully in his rights and powers to do so. But he didn't. He chose to enter human history as an orphan born to a poor family in an occupied country, the son of a woman suspected of adultery, pregnant before marriage. He was never rich, probably never owned a home, never physically wrote a book and chose a career as a carpenter in a land without a lot of wood. That's who Jesus came as, so it's no surprise that he "came to preach the gospel to the poor." As a man, that's what he knew.

An interesting thing is happening in our culture today, and to a large extent the Church as well. The world is shrinking because of new modes of communication like the Internet, and we're more aware now than ever before of the plight of poor people. War is rampant, AIDS is epidemic. TB and malaria kill thousands of Third World children every year.

That's why social justice has become this buzz word in our culture. Everyone is into it. Buy a certain color of clothes from the Gap, and they'll donate money to AIDS relief in Africa. American Idol, that most popular of television programs, has for the past two years raised $130 million for global charities. Many churches are pushing this too, preaching a message of social justice from the pulpit. And that's great, but it raises key question: is social justice without Jesus really worth anything?

Look, social justice without Jesus works. It does. If American Idol raised $130 million, someone's life was better after that money was raised than before it. Locally, I can take you to any number of homeless shelters in downtown Charleston where the Gospel is not being preached, and yet people's lives are being changed because of the dedication of people who are not motivated to practice acts of social justice because of their relationship with God, but because they choose to give of themselves for the benefit of others.

So what's the problem? The problem is this: no matter how successful a person's recovery is, without an experience with Jesus Christ, that recovery and success is ultimately fleeting. Scripture points this out: "For what would it profit a man to gain the whole world and, in the end, lose his own soul." That's God's word. "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal." That's God's word.

What about social justice with Jesus? First of all, being committed to acts of social justice is not a recommendation. It's a commandment. Jesus told us to do it, and because He is a good God, gave us the Holy Spirit by which to compel us to do so. It's why you pay your tithe on Sunday, why you come to a place like Union Mission to sort canned goods during holiday food giveaways. It's why you spend a weekend in a prison, ministering to men regardless of who they are or what they've done.

Of course, there's a caveat here. Does placing Jesus as the focus of our acts of social justice mean everything's gonna be OK? Surely not! One of the biggest failings of the modern church is this absurd notion that believing in Jesus is like waving a magic wand and that all of your problems will go away once you believe in him. It's absurd and borderline blasphemous. God doesn't promise a bed of roses. But he does give us a savior who will stand with us when the going gets rough. And it will get rough. Guaranteed.

There's so much more to life than what we can see with our two eyes. The difference between doing acts of social justice with Jesus and doing acts of social justice without Jesus is the difference eternity makes. See, changing lives through the power of Christ multiplies its effect exponentially. The payoff is literally eternal!

Remember that passage in Peter? Peter is speaking of an inheritance, not an immediate reward. Through Christ, we are the receivers, always the recipent. We are receivers at each and every point of our relationship to him. We are receivers of his mercy despite our sinfulness. We are receivers of his salvation in our new birth. We are receivers in our resurrection at the end of the age. And, finally, we are receivers in our inheritance of eternal life through Him in heaven.

Of course, this raises a problem on the opposite end of the spectrum. Do we, then, neglect this world, knowing our reward won't be fully realized until we arrive at eternity? Absolutely not! It's a shame that too many Christians have come to believe that church exists for them instead of existing to be the structure through which Christ's work is accomplished in the community. Woe be to the church congregation that treats Sunday worship like a country club gathering with no application outside its doors. But if eternity is the ultimate reward, what is the payoff of doing acts of social justice without guarantee of success?

Jesus is our model here. Remember, he merged the earthly with the eternal, the physical with the spiritual. We are to do the same. Every so often--and not all of the time or even most of the time--men and women escape the bonds of addicition and poverty to live a prosperous life...and they find a relationship with Jesus in the process. That's dual salvation, earthly and eternal. And it does happen. We should all commit ourselves to allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us in responsibly confronting social injustice while keeping the focus on the spiritual transformation in the lives of those who desperately need to know Jesus.

My Meeting with McLaren

OK, so it's not really a meeting. I did get to shake the guy's hand and say a cursory hello.

(By the way...that's me on the fourth row aisle seat, looking stoned. I wasn't. I promise. My brother and sister-in-law are to my left.)

Brian McLaren, known in many ways as the father of the emergent church movement, visited my brother's church (Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky) this past weekend, delivering a Sunday morning sermon, holding an informal Q&A during Sunday School and then lecturing on the thesis of his new book, "Everything Must Change." I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in all three activities and certainly enjoyed the experience. Not that I agree 100 percent with his theology, but I think he is raising some important issues for the Church to consider.

(Others didn't agree either, especially during the evening Q&A. This is McLaren's take on the event. I looked across the blogosphere for the guy who challenged McLaren about redemption, eternity and the emergent theology during the Q&A but couldn't find him. I also looked on Twitter to no avail.)

Of course, I could spend hours talking about where McLaren and I agree and disagree. Feel free to peruse posts tagged "emergent" or "brian mclaren" for times we've discussed it before.

Darwin's Birthday...and I'm Late to the Party

I read a fascinating piece the other day while researching ahead of a trip to see Brian McLaren speak out in Louisville on Sunday.


Sure, this is a late response to that particular blog post, but I'm sharing nonetheless.

I'm certainly in agreement that religion has treated science with disdain when the two are not inherently competitive. I'm also in agreement that society has, in large part, sacrificed objective truth on the altar of subjective morality (although I don't think Charles Darwin is solely to blame for this shift in cultural attitudes...post-modern thought didn't arise from one man's scientific theory).

I disagree with Ken that "do unto others as you would have them do until you" is the core of Christ's message. It is undoubtedly an essential part of the Christian theology that Jesus established. It is not The Gospel. To think otherwise is to place man's actions ahead of God's salvation. Indeed, that line of reasoning has it backwards; the reverse, in fact, is true: salvation first, works that result from that salvation is second.

The Gospel is this: in an outpouring of love, God created the universe, and with it, mankind. The first man chose sin instead of a personal relationship with God, and, thus, sin entered the world, separating imperfect humans from a perfect and divine God. Yet God, in his great mercy and love, ever-seeking to restore man's relationship to Him, provided Himself as a sacrifice by coming to earth as a man, Jesus, who lived a perfect and sinless life prior to giving Himself to death.

In that act of sacrifice--and in His glorious, bodily resurrection from the dead three days later--Jesus now stands at man's side as an advoate, saying to God on behalf of those Christ has saved: "This is my child. He/she has asked forgiveness for the sinful acts of their lives that have separated them from you. Yes, this one is imperfect. But I was willing to live the life he/she could not have lived by dying the death he/she should have died. I took this one's place, Father. My perfection provides Grace to them in your eyes, regardless of their worthiness."

That's The Gospel. Sure, gratitude from Christ's sacrifice pours itself out from Believers in acts of sacrificial love; these are reflections of Christ's love for man, stirred in us by Christ living within us through the Holy Spirit. This manifests itself as Christ commanded, through "doing unto others as you would have them do unto you." But that oft-quoted verse is not The Gospel. A component, yes.

I'm not as intelligent as Charles Darwin. I think he came up with a fascinating theory. The minutae of how God, in His omniscence and omnipotence, established Creation, is beyond the limits of my human intelligence. Don't misunderstand. I'm not suggesting that it is somehow wrong to attempt, with vigorous scientific observation and inquiry, to discern these and other matters. What I am suggesting is that mankind is guilty of a collective arrogance in regards to its attempts at comprehending God. That, among other reasons, is why I can't understand the reasons behind some evangelicals' celebration of an agnostic scientist, despite his obvious genius.

So, what do you think? Agree with me? Disagree with me? That's cool...but share your thoughts. Back 'em up.

Take care...

Multi-Media Monday

What? Huh? A new post? Must be joking, right?

Nope...here's hoping I can get back to a regular posting schedule.

Enjoy the video!

History is Made (Again)

Like him or not...think he is "Christian enough" or not...think what you will, but Jan. 20 is going to be a historic day for the country.

And just in case you have nowhere else to watch Barack Obama's inauguration, feel free to tune in right here.

Multi-Media Monday: Logo's Scholar Library Give Away

Christian author and blogger Anne Jackson is doing a pretty cool thing: giving away $630 Bible study software from Logo's. Head over to her blog, FlowerDust, to get the scoop.

I'm trying to win too, of course...so here's a couple scripture verses I love (one each from Old and New Testament).

Psalm 27:4
"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple."

Romans 8:1
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."