One midterm down...two to go

Well, this morning I got one of those frustrating things we call midterms done. Well, actually, my professor called it a quiz, but with the amount of information I had to know and the amount of time I put into it, I would most definitely consider it a midterm. So, two  more to go: math and theology, one right after another, on Friday. So the plan for today is: Chill for about an hour, practice voice for about an hour, Joy practice, then WAWA run! I feel like I'm living for the WAWA run at this point, haha.

On a more serious side, today I have been contemplating the depravity of humanity. Everywhere I look, I see the effects of the total depravity of human kind - even in my own life. I am totally depraved!!! I'll be honest, it's not every day that I think and admit that I depraved at heart. Usually I am too prideful to come to that conclusion. Yet, I see in my own life fear of man, pride, hate, laziness, and just a general apathy for everyone else and their problems. Then when I look around I see selfishness, judgment, gossip, hatred, slander, and the list could go on and on. I just talked to a girlfriend who has made a decision which, in the long run, is not healthy for her or the people around her. Yet, she is set in her decision, and nothing and no one will sway her. This is the depravity of the heart, and it saddens me. It saddens me to look around and see my friends and family, acquaintances and strangers, and finally myself acting in ways which hurt myself and others. It is very easy to become overwhelmed almost to despair. BUT, and here's the big but, I am reminded that even though I am completely depraved, it doesn't have to stay that way. I read the verse that is the heading of my blog. I have been saved and placed in God's kingdom. We all know that God cannot be in the presence of sin. So God made it possible for me to be without sin. I don't have to be innately depraved.Because of Christ's work on the cross, my sin nature becomes His and I am given His perfect record. The Bible tells me that, because I am saved by Christ, because He is my Savior and I have trusted Him in faith and repentance, I am no longer depraved. Also, because my innate nature is now perfect, I do not have to live in a depraved way! Yes, I am most definitely tempted to live like I am still a depraved person, but I have to the ability, the power, and the responsibility to live like my new nature - striving for perfection. What hope that truth  brings!