Iron Bowl & FB Football Comments

Black Friday 2010 ... Will live in infamy as a day for one of the most amazing and instant classic Iron Bowls! Midway through the 2nd quarter, the score was 24-0, Bama. Boo. Final... 28-27 AUBURN!!! War Damn Eagle!!! My Auburn Tigers outscored those Bammers 28-3, an amazing feat in any football game, holding the opponent to 3 points for thirty minutes! As the victory was secured, the home front looked like a snowy, wintery day! And then, in classic Auburn fashion, the faithful Auburn family welcomed the team back to the Plains late Friday night!

The VICTORY sounded/looked a bit like this...

Headlines read like this ...

"Sports Sound Off: Nick Saban has explaining to do after Alabama's Iron Bowl meltdown" ... if you were at the game or watching, you saw Saban throw a temper tantrum on the side line, like a little girl!

"Cam Newton rides clutch passes, fourth-down calls to a comeback to remember for Auburn" ... not his most outstanding game, props to Bama defense, but still impressive, overcoming a 24 point deficit to lead Auburn to a timeless classic!

"Cam Newton leads Auburn back from 24-point deficit to beat Alabama"

The following are all quotes from FB...

The Good

• Auburn wins, & Boise St can't stop a formerly mostly harmless team. Too bad Thanksgiving was Thursday.
• The air is a little freshers, food tastes a little better, & the sun shines a little brighter after an iron Bowl victory.
• I don't think it has hit me yet that Auburn is 1 win away from the Nat'l Championship
• Saw an amazing comeback with Auburn yesterday & woke up to Boise having lost to Nevada. What a weekend!!!
• Nevada! Wow! Take that, Boise!
• I just want to say that Alabama is by far the best 3 loss team in the country
• War Eagle! Iron Bowl Victors, and Boise St goes down! What do you have to say now Herbstreit? WDE!!! I love college football!
• That kicker should be put on suicide watch...
• BOISE STATE! BEST ONE LOSS TEAM IN THE NATION? HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA
• The most complete team in the nation? Boist St???
• Boise's win streak broken! Bout time!
• bahahaha ... missed 2 field goals? Nice Boise!!
• STATE CHAMPS!!! Weagle weagle!!!
• It's great to be an Auburn Tiger!!!
• Wait this is supposed to be a challenging matchup for Boise St? They have beat Nevada 9 times in a row. What other BS are we supposed to believe about non-AQs?
• Congrats on beating the refs and bammers! War Eagle!
• Hundreds gathered at complex to welcome our team back! The Auburn Family, like none other!
• If you wanted to win Bama, sou should have scored more points
• 12-0. That's whats on my mind. No matter what happens between now and the end of the season, or even in the 1st 11 games next year ... nothing can take away from the fact that we will be Iron Bowl champions for the next 365 days. War Eagle!
• Can finally breathe again. War Eagles.
• War damn.
• Auburnnnnnnnn!!!! Aaaaaaaaahhh!!! War Eagle baby!!!
• My man Cam!
• It's GREAT to be an AUBURN TIGER!!! War Eagle!!!
• Go Tigers, go Tigers, go Tigers go! Ramma jamma, yellow hamma, go to HELL ALABAMA!
• I truly believe in Auburn & absolutely love it!!!
• Watch out Auburn Univesity ... I'm on an offical chest bumping spree! Free chest bumps for everyone!
• Auburn... I's only 26. Don't need a heart attack. Awesome win. War Eagle!
• WHAT a game and what a TEAM effort for the AUBURN tigers!!! Lets go ALL the way! War Eagle!
• this jsut in ... RCR ... Roll CAM Roll!!!
• War Damn Eagle! 'nuff said. I love our resilient team!
• Thus ends the greatest day of my life. War Damn Eagle!
• My boys come back from 24 down!!! 28-27 Final. War Eagle forever!
• WAR EAGLE! 12-0! Newton = Heisman!!!
• I genuinely feel bad for McElroy right now.
• CBS is using orange and blue lines for the line of scrimmage and first down lines. just FYI.
• So nervous I could throw up. Its WARRRRRRRR EAGLE game day
• Just drove through downtown Tuscalooser holding my 6 ft Auburn flag out of my sunroof ... got flicked off 3 times, got yelled at by an old lady, & got a F*** you by a bammer with 7 teeth ... BUT the best part was the Auburn car flags outnumbering the bammers on McFarland ... Its Iron Bowl time!!!

The Not So Good

• BREAKING NEWS: Auburn University paid Boise St's Brotzman $200K to throw away the game.
• Cant believe Alabama gave way the Iron Bowl. Just ridiculous.
• That win could have been worth $200K dontcha think?! JK War Eagle.
• I've really grown to dread this day & game...
• Dear Auburn Defense: Can you please make it for the 2nd half of the game? That would be great. PS. Would you pass the same message along to the offensive line too? Thanks.
• Keep on keep on rollin' tide
• So'n'so is saying rtr baby!!!

The Stupid

• What you gonna do now Scam Newton? (ignorant, thus on the "stupid" list)
• Auburn - 0. Alabama - 14 (note: thte game was nowhere near over, don't speak so soon, thus on the "stupid" list)
• WMFE (classless Auburn fan, thus on the "stupid" list)

Thankful.

I did not want to leave my post from early this morning alone by itself. I am very grateful for so many blessings in my life poured out over me because of the work of Christ on the cross, in the grave, and most importantly beyond the grave, on this side of His resurrection!

So here's the truth. Because I tend toward a more melancholy & pessimistic personality, I struggle on this day annually. Today is a day of great rejoicing as we choose to deliberately take note of all the overflowing blessings in our lives. But for me, I find that - although I am deeply grateful - the external excitement or joy that I feel should accompany that gratefulness inside, is almost always lacking. So, I tend to dog myself a little bit (surprise surprise, I am being hard on myself again)! Thanks for always reminding me of this Fleener-face, seriously! Its just that I feel its one thing to say "thank you," and another to live it and be it. But here too, grace abounds. Because even if my external joy in gratitude seems lacking, the Lord knows my heart, that I am indeed thankful and I trust He honors that. So, I move one, but with a very thankful heart.

I thought after my little rant in my previous post, that I would follow it up with what I hope is a fairly balanced, over-arching list of the blessings the Lord has poured out in my life. I am listing them under the title of material, relational, and spiritual blessings (which progress from good blessings to BEST blessings ... of course all of them carrying a significant weight, some more than other though). The following is list is far short of all that the Lord has blessed me with in my life, but its an effort to express my gratitude.

MATERIAL

These are the most evident, visible, but the "least" of God's abundant blessings, not that any are "least."

• Food, more than enough
• Clothes, a surplus ... these first two are the promises of God's provision for us (Luke 12), meaning the rest are just above & beyond what He promises, an overflow of the richness of blessings made available to us in Christ...
• Shelter -  a nice, spacious house with cushy furniture and beds, with bathrooms, with AC and heat, with a beautiful yard & pool, plus some 
• Monetary blessings galore ... to the extent that I can afford to "play" and "experiment" growing tilapia and greens
• Fours cars, most of which are nice and run without question
• A paying and consistent job, week in and out
• Books and glorious study materials that provide enough reading/studying for a lifetime
• Gear, bikes and toys to play in the wondrous creation of God
• and dare I leave out HEALTH! ... but in my case this falls under all three categories!
• Comfort, ease, and a life (by worldly standards) which is care-free 

RELATIONAL

This category provides a rich depth and endless store of wealth in the form of family and friends that will continue into eternity. Next to Christ, nothing matters more, oh how I want to live with that mindset at all times!

• A wonderful family! And where to begin? Parents who have loved, nurtured and fulfilled their charge to raise my brothers and I under the instruction of Christ! A present, patient, and selfless father who gives so well of himself and all his resources. a father who has slain himself as far as selfishness is concerned, because if even I needed an earthly figure to demonstrate Christ selfless love, my father has done so. For my mom who has literally lived out 2 Cor 12:15, having spent herself to see my brothers and I raised right! For a mother who is the fulfillment of a Proverbs 31 woman. A mother who is godly and deeply faithful as to be unmovable in Christ, so full of Him as to ooze with His presence! Two brothers who I know love me, who I can share life with no matter how far removed from each other we may be. For brothers who have been and are and will be my friends though each of us are so different from each other in many ways, which gives richness, joy, humor, encouragement & challenge.
• For Zeke, Lucy, Jweave, Jim & Tyler friends who I can tell anything, knowing the response will be, "So what, I love you." These friends are as brothers to me.
• For a network of friends and family all around who love me so well, stretched from Asia, Africa, Europe, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, California, Colorado, the entire Southeast US, Auburn and Birmingham, people who I share an eternal inheritance with, my brothers and sisters in Christ ... and those too who are yet to know Him as Savior ... O I plead, COME TO CHRIST!
• For a church home who cares that I become the best Gospel minister I can be in Christ, who will and is pouring their resources, time and talents into me. A church who speaks boldly without backing down a radical Gospel, the true Gospel!
• For friendships with missionaries all around the world, who i have the honor of keeping up with, praying for, and watching God use weak, leaky vessels to usher in His kingdom in Christ's name to the ends of the earth.
• For the godly men the Lord has placed in my life (Tom, Bill, Gary, Jim, Paul, George) to speak wisdom and hard truths into my life!
• For a netword of people who prayed hard for me nearly 7 years ago while I was in dire straights for new lungs, as death's breath stole my own! For those same friends and family who are still praying for me as my life develops farther into what God has called me to.
• For my donor family, who gave so selflessly of their family right around Christmas 2003, so that I could receive the gift of life at their expense. A life for a life.

SPIRITUAL 

How can I begin to address the endless and eternal blessings, they are beyond description. But I will attempt to do some meager form of justice here!

• I feel as though the best, most appropriate and most simple way to say this, is as such, "In Christ" All and any blessing - especially SPIRITUAL - is "in Christ"
• Because Christ has humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross as a criminal, because He bore the crown of God's wrath and drank the cup, because He died after bearing the weight of God's punishment for man's disobedience and yet still rose again having fully paid the penalty, and thus by rising again defeating death once and for all, and all the dark evil powers of satan and hell ...  because of this, and this alone, I am graced to be the beneficiary receiving grace upon grace and all spiritual blessings from God in Christ! 
• Any blessing, any good thing, any bad thing, any good circumstance or bad situation it is all straight from God or allowed by Him in Christ! (James 1:17, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift if from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." and Roman 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.")
• Redemption is in Christ (Rom 3:24)
• In Christ we are made alive to God (Rom 6:11, 1 Cor 15:22) & given eternal life (Rom 6:23)
• In Christ, we are not condemned (Rom 8:1) & set free from the law of sin and death (8:2)
• In Christ, we can never be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:39)
• In Christ, we boast (Rom 15:17, 1 Cor 1:31)
• In Christ, we are loved and have love (1 Cor 16:24)
• In Christ, we are triumphant (2 Cor 2:14)
• In Christ, we are new creatures (2 Cor 5:17) 
• In Christ, God has reconciled us to Himself (2 Cor 5:19)
• In Christ, we are justified by faith (Gal 2:16)
• In Christ, the blessing of Abraham came to the world (Gentiles) (Gal 3:14)
• In Christ, we are saints (Eph 1:1), we receive every spiritual blessing (v3)
• In Christ, we are seated with God in the heavenly places (Eph 2:6)
• In Christ, we know the surpassing riches of God's grace in kindness toward us
• In Christ, we are forgiven by God (Eph 4:23)
• In Christ, God meets all our needs (Phil 4:19)
• In Christ, we are made complete (Col 1:28)
• In Christ, we give thanks (1 Thess 5:18)
• In Christ, we will be with God in His eternal glory (1 Pt 5:10)
• I fear, although based entirely in Scripture, that my list falls far short of doing any form of justice, for how can I know the blessings of eternity while still in this mortal body? but oh how grateful I am for the sure and unwavering promises and blessings of God in Christ Jesus! Amen.

Thanksgiving from a Cynic

Pretending aside, I am writing this with a lot of cynicism and a bit of what may sound like condemnation. If it turns out to be offensive, I apologize ahead of time, but these thought have tumbled around in my noggin for a few days now. Meaning, I want to get them out. So here you are.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. 

A great holiday, a wonderful chance to sit quietly and be mindful of all we - as affluent Americans - have to be thankful for, be it material, relational, or spiritual blessings. But let me ask, how many of us will do that? Instead, how many of us will rather laze around over-eating all day, watching worthless parades and football (note, I did not qualify the football as worthless)? How many of us will gorge ourselves with more food than we can possibly - reasonably - handle in one sitting, go sleep it off, and then when we wake up go back for more? Have we truly degraded our "thanksgiving" to a simple little prayer before we dig in to our big dinners?

I am asking myself these questions, cause I am so guilty of this! It makes me sick with myself, with my self-indulgence and over-indulgence!

So, how many of us acknowledge tomorrow for what it truly is? If I had to guess, I would say we do not remotely do justice to acknowledging the multitude of blessings in our lives! Instead of thanksgiving, its just a special day for a continued trend of over-indulgence in the States. What a sad, and stark reality.

Then let me ask this, even if you or I were indeed mindful to set aside some time for thinking and thankfulness in prayer, how many of us would wake up Friday - BLACK FRIDAY - and forget about all the blessings (mainly material) and go out to buy more?! A large majority! How many of us just go spend money with no hesitation, no question in mind as to whether purchasing this item or that one is a necessary one? How many of us go shopping for the purpose of meeting needs, verse meeting the ever growing and demanding wants of the culture we are so proud of?

My qualm basically boils down to this: We say we are thankful when we are not. I believe that our actions of Black Friday indicate the lack of thankfulness in our hearts, as we go out to buy more crap to satisfy our ever growing appetite for stuff! In my mind, Black Friday stands for so much that I am against, which is why I refuse to shop then (and hopefully at all other times). I think it speaks loudly concerning our society's materialistic nature, about our belief that things satisfy us. Our actions show that we ultimately believe we can meet all our hearts could ever desire by forking out some cash for more stuff, which will wind up lost in the bottom of some storage-dedicated closet or at the thrift store.

Here is my plan. And if I go through with this to the degree I have been telling myself I would, then - honestly - I will be surprised, and very pleased. But this is my plan. STOP. ESCAPE. THINK. PRAY. BE THANKFUL ... all by myself, and I would love to even have a time to sit with my family and just share what we are thankful for! Its so simple ... but its so easy to let the day go by, and it end up just being a day where I eat too much.

I want to be mindful of my friends in Costa Rica and Nicaragua who have SO much less (materially) than I, but who know true richness in Christ in ways I don't. Surely I should be envious of them, not them of me. I think it is that way. I want to be mindful that every $50 I spend is the equivalent to many Nico families' monthly living expense! Do you see now where I am coming from? This blows my mind, because what is $50 to anyone of us? NOTHING. Pocket Change. And what is it to some Nicaraguan friends of mine? LIFE. Food. Drink.

At a local coffee shop, the on-going daily average ticket ranges from $4.50 to $5.50. Remember that living on $50 a month thing? Every day the same people come in, spend on average $5 on coffee ... daily they are spending a 1/10th of someone's monthly living costs without even a bat of the eye, without a hint of a thought about it! This is what is killing me.

And I know its not wrong! I am not saying that. I am simply making the point that I cannot justify this in my heart. We need to be aware of those around us - in our neighborhoods, cities, states, country, and around the world - who are struggling to survive the day. It might cause us to question how we thoughtlessly dish out cash! But I am guilty of the same. Maybe not on fancy, fru-fru coffee drinks. But there are other things. But I am working on being more aware of how I spend on worthless items. I am trying to stop altogether.

All I am saying, is maybe for our own sake, we should give tomorrow its fair due of extended, quiet thinking/praying with an attitude of thanksgiving. And perhaps, before we all rush to the stores to buy the next best thing that will be obsolete in two months, we should think about how we can use our abundance of resources to help the hurting among and around us, both locally and globally!

What if we all took just 10% of what we might normally spend on Black Friday and gave it to some end that would help feed the hungry among and around us?

God be gracious & merciful to us for our absent-minded over-indulgence on ourselves.


PS - I don't want to be a self-proclaimed cynic, thats not my goal. But this I think sounds pretty cynical, thus the title.

Surrender

What does that mean? In its most basic sense, what is the action of surrendering?

Apple dictionary defines it this way, "to cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority." In a conversation with some guys the other day, this topic came up. One of the gentlemen stated, "You know, in the military sense of the word it means to stop fighting (cease resistance) and to give over all of one's possessions to the conquering side (submit to their authority)." I like both of these definitions.

Definition two segues right to where I would naturally go in an attempt to describe this word. I hear surrender and I think military. What do you think of? And as this word becomes more personal its applied to my life in relation to Christ's overarching reign of all, and reign over my life. So, what does surrender mean?

Most definitely it mean to cease resistance to Christ. As sinners we are ceasing to resist our greatest Foe, Christ. Because as sinners (without Christ's redemption) we are His enemy, and He ours. John states it this way, "If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world ... is not from the Father, but is from the world." (1 John 2:15-16). And James proclaims, "You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4). So, outside of Christ we are enemies. Therefore, when Christ comes and reconciles a depraved heart to Himself through His death, burial, and resurrection, we - sinners - cease to resist our enemy and we begin to submit to His authority in our lives. But this is where it is just starting to get good.

We don't just give up. We don't stop living and become worthless due to no longer resisting God's will in our lives. We do stop fighting against Him, but instead of simply ceasing to resist, He joins us to His own forces. We quit fighting a loosing battle, we submit acknowledging Him as Sovereign, and then the glorious happens! The heavens and all power and resources of God's become ours by the nature of the perfect Christ, for He tells us, what is His is also ours! We do not just surrender, we commit treason against our former master, satan and death and join with Christ and life!

One of the mental imagines I thought of during all this was a paddler attempting to paddle his way up stream. If you have ever tried that, even in a slow stream, its not easy. But in the river of God's will, its no small or slow stream ... its the eternal flow of history from before time to eternity beyond time. Try paddling up that river. Redirect. So, when I surrendered to Christ, its as if I gave up the hopeless up stream battle, He turned my boat around and now I get to fight and navigate the tricky rapids of life. Beyond here it the analogy ceases to be of any use.

So thats surrender.

But there is more. We surrender, submit, are outfitted to battle for Christ's glory and the souls of men for eternity, but what does that look like. What is being outfitted in battle attire mean for us in our day to day lives? I think the military analogy carries us along well, still. So, what does a soldier do once outfitted? I presume he gets his orders and ships off to his outpost. At his outpost he receives arms and details defining his mission, objective, and goals. Beyond this, as is a soldier's call, he goes out willing to sacrifice his life to complete his mission. Harm's way is his path and he faces it square in the eyes and laughs at it, confident that - although there is the chance he may die - he is backed up by an entire military force. So he marches on.

I think our lives, as Christ-followers, must by necessity look a bit like this. So we are outfitted, equipped for battle with the Word, prayer, and the very presence of God tabernacling with us, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ! As we grow in Him, we understand how and where we are called, where our spiritual battle outpost is. For some it is home, the ole US of A. For others, its the darkest, evilest parts of this world. But each of us must march on confident that - although total surrender to Christ may get us killed (which is actually life) - we have been made a part of God's side, we have been made to participate with Light, and that Light, Jesus Christ has secured our victory when He defeated death! So we march on.

Day to day life, with this call to reckless abandonment in mind is what is tricky for me. I want to live totally abandoned to Christ, but there is so much in me yet to submit to Him, to be tamed and utilized for His purposes. I long deeply for the day when my pondering of Christ throughout the day lead to victory readily in the small battles of everyday life. I want to live out Pro 4:23-27, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you. Let you eyes look directly ahead and let you gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil." I think after "look directly ahead and let you gaze be fixed straight in front of you" that it could be followed by the words, "ON CHRIST!" I am growing more and more convinced that this is the only means by which I can be righteous to some progressive degree in this life. It is by living "in Christ" as Paul often writes that victory, power, and maturity in Christ come. So, as I learn, as I fall, as I gaze away from Christ, as my feet find paths to the left and right, as He picks me up again and again and again I want to grow strong in redirecting my gaze at all time to my Christ!

I march on for His grace truly is enough!

Eyes & Feet

The eyes and feet are some of the most important parts of the body, for by these two parts much of our lives are defined; in all realms of life - physical, mental, emotional, & definitely spiritual! Here is why...

Keep you heart will all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Put way from you crooked speech, and put devious talk from you.

Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.

Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.

Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot from evil.

Proverbs 4:23-27 (NASB)

Now, I know this passage lists the heart and tongue (which James would argue is the most important), but I am only going to address the eyes and feet. With our feet we find all sorts of trouble and evil that we do not have to. We walk by it, then we stand watching whatever evil it may be, and then we find ourselves sitting in the very presence of that temptation, & partaking of sin (Ps 1:1). With our feet, we find ourselves ensnared to evil, to the devil ... "My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only He will release my feet from the snare" (Ps 25:15, NIV). The NASB uses the word "net" instead of "snare" and both are great visuals. Imagine the snare, it makes me think of a bear trap catching the foot and therefore taming & capturing the massive beast! Or a net, I have had my feet entangled in strings and ropes before and the entangling process is so fast, and before you know it ... you could be on your face, tripping all over yourself and the net! Its just so vivid. So, you can see how with our feet - both literally and metaphorically - our feet lead us in righteousness (Ps 119:1, 101-102, & 105) or down the path of self-destruction (Pro 1:16).

With our eyes we find the most dangerous and deadly of all things, and God knows this, "Your eyes will see strange things, & your mind will utter perverse things" (Pro 23:33, NASB). Consider Job's visual covenant, "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?" (Job 31:1, NASB), or David's plea, "Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;and give me life in your ways" (Ps 119:37, ESV). These two men of great faith knew how dangerous the varied objects for viewing in this world can be, and Job was the most honest to admit that it was typically women, thus his covenant not to look upon them lustfully. With our eyes we are tempted to materialism, jealousy, envy, and when these traits work themselves out, often time they lead to hate (Pro 27:20, 1 John 2:15-17).

Still, Christ goes on to declare quite plainly, "The eye is the lamp of the body, So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light" (Matt 6:22, ESV, also see Luke 11:34-36). Our eyes dictate so much of what is in our hearts, inner man, and at the core of our souls. After all, we do say the eyes are the window to the soul! And thats certainly true! Have you ever seen someone who has been abused, and the ache their eyes give away against their own will? Have you ever seen someone so in love with Christ that their eyes cannot but give away the ultimate soul-satisfying secret of their heart, JESUS CHRIST?!

So then, where does all this leave us? Are we not to use our feet and our eyes? Are we to cut them off and pluck them out? In some sense, Yes! But in others no. The answer I believe is given us in the same Proverbs passage I started with. There are two commands, "Ponder the path of your feet," and "Do not swerve." The first, to ponder is a call to a proactive mind, a discerning spirit, and of sound Faithfulness, holding fast the promises of God's Word, & proclaiming and living in the promises of Scripture. And all that sounds good, but how do we do that? The more often I ask myself the "How?" question, the more often I am finding the answer to be the same. The answer is Christ. The answer is the Word of God (John 1:1). 

As we fill up our minds and hearts with Christ, with the Word then we are set up to live a victorious life in Him, by God's grace. When we can slay all the lofty speculations raised up against Christ, with the Word of Truth, then we cannot but expect great victories! If we bank everything on the promises of Scripture, and go to Christ with great expectations ... I am confident that we shall never be let down, we will never be put to shame. Paul had a bit to say about this, "I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death" (Phil 1:19-20).

The second command, "Do not swerve," I think - and I could be off - but I think this is an outworking of the first command. When we live purposefully in the name of Christ to live continually with the promises of Scripture in mind, then it affects to external. It affects our real lives. We will then not turn to the left nor to the right!