I guess you could say I was a little bit of a "nerd" in school.

I guess you could say I was a little bit of a "nerd" in school. (It's not true, I tell you, but you could say that if you want). I made straight "A's", mostly enjoyed school (except the getting up early part) and never really had to do much homework till I was in college. I even liked taking tests most of the time. That is, with the exception of one teacher I had in high school. He was a little "sly" with his testing. He always gave multiple choice tests which, on the surface, would seem pretty easy to take. Four answers. You've got a 25% chance of getting it right even if you didn't study. The problem was, his answers were never clear cut. There would be the traditional four choices but, on some occasions, there would be four, very good answers. The only thing separating them would be the spelling of a difficult scientific term or the number of days it would take for a scientific process to run its course. You really had to know your stuff when you took his test (guess that's why he made them that way, huh?)

I thought about him today as I was reading Deuteronomy 11:26. God says there, "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse..."

Can't get much easier than that, can you? Two, very clear options--a blessing and a curse. One choice to make, one fork in the road. We can either follow His plan and know the unmerited favor of a God who is outrageously benevolent or we can choose our way which leads to brokenness, frustration, discouragement, and death. Seems like such an easy test--a true no-brainer.

But most of us fail. Not just once or twice. We fail more often than not. God gives us clear cut direction from His word (His study guide, if you will) on how to take this test and "ace" it every time. We just can't seem to make the good choices. We want to make it more complex than it is.

Don't do it. Don't let culture or companions or confusion or chaos or selfishness (sorry, couldn't come up with another "c-word" there) keep you from seeing your way clearly. Take God's word at His word and use it to live life rightly. You'll come to know the unending, mind-boggling love of our God.

RIDGIES: please continue to pray for our staff retreat as it continues through Tuesday. I really value your prayers for the guys who lead RCC. And let me just say what an amazing group they are. I LOVE being at RCC and these guys are just one reason why.