It is the grace of God that helps those who do everything that lies within their power to achieve that which is beyond their power.
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
"The Plague Of Bad Habits"
To make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy...we must make automatic and habitual, as early as possible, as many useful actions as we can, and guard against the growing into ways that are likely to be disadvantageous to us, as we should guard against the plague.
William James
William James
"Things Above. Not Slippery Happiness"
That is but a slippery Happiness with Fortune can give and take away.
Thomas Fuller
Thomas Fuller
"Assured Pledges Of Thy Love"
Lord, why should I doubt any more when Thou hast given me such assured pledges of Thy love?
First, Thou art my Creator, I Thy creature,
Thou my master, I Thy servant.
But hence arises not my comfort,
Thou art my Father, I Thy child; "Ye shall be My sons and daughters," saith the Lord Almighty.
Christ is my brother, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, unto my God and your God;
but lest this should not be enough, thy maker is thy husband.
Nay more, I am a member of His body, He my head.
Such privileges had not the Word of Truth made them known,
who or where is the man that durst in his heart have presumed to have thought it?
So wonderful are these thoughts that my spirit fails in me at the consideration thereof...
this is my comfort, when I come to Heaven,
I shall understand perfectly what He hath done for me,
and then shall I be able to praise Him as I ought.
Lord, having this hope, let me purify myself as Thou art pure,
and let me be no more afraid of death,
but even desire to be dissolved and be with Thee,
which is best of all.
Anne Bradstreet
First, Thou art my Creator, I Thy creature,
Thou my master, I Thy servant.
But hence arises not my comfort,
Thou art my Father, I Thy child; "Ye shall be My sons and daughters," saith the Lord Almighty.
Christ is my brother, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, unto my God and your God;
but lest this should not be enough, thy maker is thy husband.
Nay more, I am a member of His body, He my head.
Such privileges had not the Word of Truth made them known,
who or where is the man that durst in his heart have presumed to have thought it?
So wonderful are these thoughts that my spirit fails in me at the consideration thereof...
this is my comfort, when I come to Heaven,
I shall understand perfectly what He hath done for me,
and then shall I be able to praise Him as I ought.
Lord, having this hope, let me purify myself as Thou art pure,
and let me be no more afraid of death,
but even desire to be dissolved and be with Thee,
which is best of all.
Anne Bradstreet
"Come"
Come, my Light, and illumine my darkness.
Come, my Life and revive me from death.
Come, my Physician, and heal my wounds.
Come, Flame of divine love,
and burn up the thorns of my sins, kindling my heart with the flame of your love.
Come, my King, sit upon the throne of my heart and reign there.
For Thou alone art my King and my Lord.
Dimitri of Rostov
Come, my Life and revive me from death.
Come, my Physician, and heal my wounds.
Come, Flame of divine love,
and burn up the thorns of my sins, kindling my heart with the flame of your love.
Come, my King, sit upon the throne of my heart and reign there.
For Thou alone art my King and my Lord.
Dimitri of Rostov
"How To Keep From Slipping Back"
Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball of string which one is carefully winding up, a single slip undoes more than a great many turns will wind again. Continuity of training is the great means of making the nervous system act infallibly right.
Williams James
Williams James
"We Are Sifted"
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22: 31-32).
There are several things to notice in this interesting aside between Jesus and Peter. One is that Ephesians 6 is not whistling Dixie when it says there is spiritual warfare in high places going on over your soul. This is no poetic drivel. As Francis Schaeffer said in True Spirituality, the supernatural world, though not normally seen, is as real in our lives as the person sitting on the other side of the door from you right now.
Another observation is that Satan asks permission to sift us. For His own reasons, God allows His favorites to undergo this abuse; indeed, He once sent His anointed Son into the wilderness for the express purpose of enduring everything Satan threw at him, that He might be battle-hardened for the ministry He was about to embark on.
The word “sifting,” when applied to men, sounds gruesome. It reminds me of the little hand sifter my mother had when I was a kid. This contraption consisted of a metal cylinder with a metal mesh stretched across its circumference toward the bottom of the inside. Just above the mesh, a thin whip turned by an outside crank would noisily scrape the sides of the cylinder and the metal mesh. Mom poured in the flour, and it came out the other end all fluffy in the bowl under the sifter, and a residue of unwanted matter left on the mesh. In other words, sifting involves fragmentation.
The demoniac at the tombs was a man fragmented by Satan. Jesus asked him his name and he said “Legion.” The man’s body had become little more than a trashed playground overrun by demons who amused themselves by having him cut himself and run around naked a screaming.
A wonderful observation from our verse is that Jesus prays for us while Satan sifts us. Speaking for myself, I can put up with the sifting of Satan only if I know that the praying of Jesus is going on simultaneously. As a matter of fact, I have been “sifted” lately, and it was during that time that this verse of which I write today came to mind.
It is very interesting to me that in the short run Satan seems to win. Simon is going down—for the moment. Jesus prays that Simon’s “faith may not fail”—and it fails! It at least stumbles. What about me, am I dispirited when my prayers at first seem to go unanswered, to be of no avail? Should I not take the long view like Jesus did? (Just think how long Jesus impassioned prayer for the unity of all believers is taking [John 17:21-22]).
Who is better qualified to help his brothers than the one who has been through sifting and “returned” by the praying of Christ? I know several such people—former homosexuals, former drug addicts. I find it very comforting indeed that Christ’s expectation is that the sifted Christian of yesterday is the strengthener of brothers tomorrow.
Andree Seu
There are several things to notice in this interesting aside between Jesus and Peter. One is that Ephesians 6 is not whistling Dixie when it says there is spiritual warfare in high places going on over your soul. This is no poetic drivel. As Francis Schaeffer said in True Spirituality, the supernatural world, though not normally seen, is as real in our lives as the person sitting on the other side of the door from you right now.
Another observation is that Satan asks permission to sift us. For His own reasons, God allows His favorites to undergo this abuse; indeed, He once sent His anointed Son into the wilderness for the express purpose of enduring everything Satan threw at him, that He might be battle-hardened for the ministry He was about to embark on.
The word “sifting,” when applied to men, sounds gruesome. It reminds me of the little hand sifter my mother had when I was a kid. This contraption consisted of a metal cylinder with a metal mesh stretched across its circumference toward the bottom of the inside. Just above the mesh, a thin whip turned by an outside crank would noisily scrape the sides of the cylinder and the metal mesh. Mom poured in the flour, and it came out the other end all fluffy in the bowl under the sifter, and a residue of unwanted matter left on the mesh. In other words, sifting involves fragmentation.
The demoniac at the tombs was a man fragmented by Satan. Jesus asked him his name and he said “Legion.” The man’s body had become little more than a trashed playground overrun by demons who amused themselves by having him cut himself and run around naked a screaming.
A wonderful observation from our verse is that Jesus prays for us while Satan sifts us. Speaking for myself, I can put up with the sifting of Satan only if I know that the praying of Jesus is going on simultaneously. As a matter of fact, I have been “sifted” lately, and it was during that time that this verse of which I write today came to mind.
It is very interesting to me that in the short run Satan seems to win. Simon is going down—for the moment. Jesus prays that Simon’s “faith may not fail”—and it fails! It at least stumbles. What about me, am I dispirited when my prayers at first seem to go unanswered, to be of no avail? Should I not take the long view like Jesus did? (Just think how long Jesus impassioned prayer for the unity of all believers is taking [John 17:21-22]).
Who is better qualified to help his brothers than the one who has been through sifting and “returned” by the praying of Christ? I know several such people—former homosexuals, former drug addicts. I find it very comforting indeed that Christ’s expectation is that the sifted Christian of yesterday is the strengthener of brothers tomorrow.
Andree Seu
"Jacob's Ladder"
Man is the link between God and nature...As God has descended into man, so man must ascend to God.
Jili
Jili
"When You Care Enough To Send The Very Best"
The best aid to give is intellectual aid, a gift of useful knowledge. ...Nothing becomes truly "one's own" except on the basis of some genuine effort or sacrifice...The gift of material goods makes people dependent, but a gift of knowledge makes them free.
E.F. Schumacher
E.F. Schumacher
Sometimes It Takes One To Know One
The awareness of their individual blemishes and shortcomings inclines the frustrated to detect ill will and meanness in their fellow men. Self-contempt, however vague, sharpens our eyes for the imperfections of others. We usually strive to reveal in others the blemishes we hide in ourselves.
Eric Hoffer
Eric Hoffer
"This Blessing Be Upon Your House"
O God, make the door of this house wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship,
narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and strife.
Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children,
nor to strained feet, but rugged and strong enough to turn back the tempter’s power.
God make the door of this house the gateway to your eternal kingdom.
On St. Stephen's Wallbrook, London
narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and strife.
Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children,
nor to strained feet, but rugged and strong enough to turn back the tempter’s power.
God make the door of this house the gateway to your eternal kingdom.
On St. Stephen's Wallbrook, London
One’s prayer life is a useful index of one’s level of faith. If your prayer life does not contain a certain amount of outlandishly improbable scenarios for the advance of Kingdom of God, for your children’s salvation, for your own sanctification—if, in fact, your imagination has never even been stretched to entertain such requests—maybe you can join me in this daily exercise too: “Lord, I believe that nothing is impossible with You! I believe that You can (fill in the blank with your personal impossibilities).” ...There are two ways of looking at everything that life throws up at us. We can always be “reasonable” (but watch out for low expectations of God masquerading as reasonableness) or we can say, “With God all things are possible.”
Andree Seu
Andree Seu
I have a purpose. Through the vicissitudes of job changes, the death of a spouse, and a nearly empty nest, I am tethered by the unchanging purpose of bringing glory to God. And in particular, God has left me here so that I may declare the praises of the One who called me out of darkness into his light (1 Peter 2:9). I don’t need Jack Daniels to anesthetize purposelessness on the weekends...I have a sense of meaning...Paradise is the last exit, and that it makes the present bumps on the road bearable.
Andree Seu
Andree Seu
"Scan The Room"
...when you walk into church on Sunday...Instead of worrying about whether your seat is taken, or if you look good, you scan the room for people who appear to be lonely or miserable...chances are there is someone in your congregation who could use a little random act of love.
Andree Seu
Andree Seu
"Two Kinds Of Fools"
There are two kinds of fools: one says, 'This is old, therefore it is good'; the other says, 'This is new, therefore it is better'.
Dean William Ralph Inge
Dean William Ralph Inge
To Him Shall More Be Given"
Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours.
C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis
"Nature Declareth"
There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and mercy of God to the whole world.
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton
"What Benjamin Franklin Asked Himself Upon Awakening And Sleeping"
What good shall I do today?...What good have I done today?"
"Lover Or User?"
A good person loves people and uses things, while a bad person loves things and uses people.
Sydney J. Harris
Sydney J. Harris
"Robbing Peter To Pay Paul"
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
"The Secret Of Genius"
The secret of genius is...first, last, midst, and without end, to honor every truth by use.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"All Truth A Treasure"
Look upon the man who tells thee thy faults as if he told thee of a hidden treasure.
The Dhammapada
The Dhammapada
"Friendship"
Friendship is a strong and habitual inclination in two persons to promote the good and happiness of one another.
Eustace Budgell
Eustace Budgell
"Be Gentle, Yet Frank, Frank."
I am for frank explanations with friends in cases of affronts. They sometimes save a perishing friendship, and even place it on a firmer basis than at first; but secret discontent must always end badly.
Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith
"Shape Your Future"
The future must be shaped or it will impose itself as catastrophe.
Henry A. Kissinger
Henry A. Kissinger
"Make No Mistake About It"
The fool mistakes power for virtue, acclaim for merit, nonconformity for dangerousness, conviction for truth, revenge for justice, license for liberty, and kindness for weakness.
Anonymous
Anonymous
"Impossibility, Bow Down To Him And Call Him Lord"
The third wise man of Hindustan says, “No, brothers. ’Tis evident to me that the book of Ruth is not primarily about God’s outreach to Gentiles nor about God’s zeal for Land and Inheritance. The theme is surely this—that nothing is impossible with God.”
The proof of it (quoth the wise man) is found in the author’s arrangement of his textual material in Chapter 1 into a Gordian knot for God to untie: dead husband, two dead sons, two useless Moabite daughters-in-law, one aging widow.
For those still too doltish to feel the weight of the impossibility, the author reinforces the point through the words of Naomi: “I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown?” (1:11-12).
These are fighin’ words for God, especially as Naomi has said them publicly before her daughters-in-law—and the principalities and powers. Shall we not expect God to do something for His great Name? Are we so jaded that we cannot hear the shepherd David’s response to Naomi, as if present? “Who is this that defies the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17.) Are we so poor of memory that we forget God’s answer to Sarah when she said nearly the identical thing as Naomi, that she was too old to have a baby: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14.)
By the end of four chapters, God has unraveled the strands and made Impossibility bow to Him and crown Him Lord. Naomi, who thought it hopeless that she could ever have a son, is cradling her new son and heir.
It is interesting to me that though Naomi is very verbal throughout most of the book of Ruth, she is given nothing to say in Chapter 4. I take it as a gentle rebuke, even as the priest Zechariah was hushed up for nine months in chastisement of his unbelief at the good tidings of the angel (Luke 1:20). Whenever God does something impossible for me after I have been wallowing in unbelief, I also feel like being quiet.
Andree Seu
The proof of it (quoth the wise man) is found in the author’s arrangement of his textual material in Chapter 1 into a Gordian knot for God to untie: dead husband, two dead sons, two useless Moabite daughters-in-law, one aging widow.
For those still too doltish to feel the weight of the impossibility, the author reinforces the point through the words of Naomi: “I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown?” (1:11-12).
These are fighin’ words for God, especially as Naomi has said them publicly before her daughters-in-law—and the principalities and powers. Shall we not expect God to do something for His great Name? Are we so jaded that we cannot hear the shepherd David’s response to Naomi, as if present? “Who is this that defies the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17.) Are we so poor of memory that we forget God’s answer to Sarah when she said nearly the identical thing as Naomi, that she was too old to have a baby: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14.)
By the end of four chapters, God has unraveled the strands and made Impossibility bow to Him and crown Him Lord. Naomi, who thought it hopeless that she could ever have a son, is cradling her new son and heir.
It is interesting to me that though Naomi is very verbal throughout most of the book of Ruth, she is given nothing to say in Chapter 4. I take it as a gentle rebuke, even as the priest Zechariah was hushed up for nine months in chastisement of his unbelief at the good tidings of the angel (Luke 1:20). Whenever God does something impossible for me after I have been wallowing in unbelief, I also feel like being quiet.
Andree Seu
"It's Still About Territory"
pIn the New Testament, by the way, it is still all about Land. God’s zeal for expansion is not diminished. The concerns and promises of the Old Testament are spiritualized in the New. Woe to us if we think the days of territorial conquest are now over: The glory of God must cover the earth like the waters cover the sea. The sword is the gospel, the warrior are you and I.
The territory is also supposed to be passed down generationally today as before. Gains made for the kingdom must not be allowed to revert to the enemy camp. Yale was once a training center for revivalists. Now it is a launching pad from which to mock them.
Andree Seu
The territory is also supposed to be passed down generationally today as before. Gains made for the kingdom must not be allowed to revert to the enemy camp. Yale was once a training center for revivalists. Now it is a launching pad from which to mock them.
Andree Seu
"Our Blunders"
Error is always in Haste
Thomas Fuller
Admitting Error clears the Score
And proves you Wiser than before.
Arthur Guiterman
Any man is liable to err, but only a fool persists in error.
Cicero
Thomas Fuller
Admitting Error clears the Score
And proves you Wiser than before.
Arthur Guiterman
Any man is liable to err, but only a fool persists in error.
Cicero
"Be Filled Instead With The Spirit"
None so empty as those who are Full of themselves.
Benjamin Whichcote
Benjamin Whichcote
"Yes. We. Can"
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Theodore Roosevelt...Whenever we do what we can, we immediately can do more. James Freeman Clarke
"What's Your Story?"
It does no good to exhort one another to be more bold and public with our faith if we have very little sense of the presence and power of God in our own lives. If we say to neighbors, “Come to Christ and He will change your life,” and if they then ask a follow-up question about how Christ has changed ours, we had better have something to answer.
One cannot give away what one does not have. Jesus instructed the former demoniac, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you . . .” (Mark 5:19), and the man had something to tell. I am not at all saying that our conversions and lives should all be as sensational as the Gadarenes man’s. But my impression from Scripture is that we should all have some kind of narrative of the Lord’s dealing with us (See Psalm 40:1-3), whether it’s more like a Chopin nocturne or a turbulent Wagnerian opera.
The seriousness of our plight becomes evident when we realize that it is the joy of the Lord that advances the Kingdom. King David knew that, and so he was eager that his joy should be restored after the Bathsheba fiasco:
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation . . . then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you” (Psalm 51:12-13).
Andree Seu
One cannot give away what one does not have. Jesus instructed the former demoniac, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you . . .” (Mark 5:19), and the man had something to tell. I am not at all saying that our conversions and lives should all be as sensational as the Gadarenes man’s. But my impression from Scripture is that we should all have some kind of narrative of the Lord’s dealing with us (See Psalm 40:1-3), whether it’s more like a Chopin nocturne or a turbulent Wagnerian opera.
The seriousness of our plight becomes evident when we realize that it is the joy of the Lord that advances the Kingdom. King David knew that, and so he was eager that his joy should be restored after the Bathsheba fiasco:
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation . . . then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you” (Psalm 51:12-13).
Andree Seu
"Hope Deferred"
From time to time a great event, ardently desired, does not take place because some future time will fulfill it in greater perfection.
Jacob Burckhardt
Jacob Burckhardt
"Light The Fire"
Prayer is the incense of a holy heart
Rising to God from bruised and broken things,
When kindled by the Spirit's burning breath
And upward borne by faith's ascending wings.
A. B. Simpson
Rising to God from bruised and broken things,
When kindled by the Spirit's burning breath
And upward borne by faith's ascending wings.
A. B. Simpson
"In Life's Roadtrip"
Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.
Franklin P. Jones
Franklin P. Jones
"Lift An Eyebrow"
The most delusional fantasies can be made to masquerade as sanity if you've got the political power to reinforce them.
Penny Skillman
Penny Skillman
"A Healthy Perspective In Baseball And In Life"
I have no expectation of making a hit every time I come to bat. What I seek is the highest possible batting average.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Why We Teach Them Young"
The Law of Primacy...states that the earlier an experience the more potent its effect since it influences how later experiences will be interpreted.
J. A. C. Brown
J. A. C. Brown
"Spare Yourself The Second Kick"
There's no educational value in the second kick of a mule.
American Saying
American Saying
"Why Do People Lie?"
Falsehood is invariably the child of fear in one form or another.
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
"Sink Or Swim. With Faith"
I am one of those who would rather sink with faith than swim without it.
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin
"The Only Star"
Mystery on all sides! And faith the only star in this darkness and uncertainty.
Henri Amiel
Henri Amiel
"God's Ways: Inscrutable Yet Perfect "
Summertime and the living is easy, except for a resumption of hostilities in the backyard where Mr. McGregor is determined to snag wily Peter Rabbit this year, liberating his green peppers for humanity. My dad is a relatively gentle captor, preferring banishment to execution; the local state park has absorbed into its ecosystem not a few furry transgressors formerly residing at this address.
I don't know how it all works, this ecosystem business. Take a prairie. Bunnies eat the grass; wolves eat the bunnies. No grass, no bunnies. No bunnies, no wolves. If wolves disappeared, rabbits would rule, but it would be a short reign. They would devour all the grass and then starve themselves to death. If rabbits disappeared, there would go our grass trimmers, and trees would take over the world.
And so the weary world wags on. Wolf and Sheepdog, aka Ralph and Sam, show up at the sheep meadow each morning, lunch box in hand, exchange pleasantries, punch their time cards, and chase each other for all they're worth. At whistle shriek, they freeze in their tracks, punch out, and wave goodbye. Tomorrow will be the same.
God has an ecosystem of another kind, but no one has figured it out. He says so in Isaiah 57:1: "The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands." We have had many deaths of righteous men and women in our local church congregation lately. "Senseless deaths," as they say. All way too young, most by cancer, no scientist yet having discovered some curative chemical in a mosquito that would justify its place in the circle of life.
The unbeliever scoffs: "How could a good God . . . ?" We who from time to time are forced to cull our herds (when I hit a deer in Michigan, the mechanic called them "forest rats") find fault with God's culling methods. We have no idea. Dr. James Gills says in RX for Worry that the human "brain stores the equivalent of 25 million books [and] it can function at ten thousand trillion computations per second." We let that go to our heads, but the designer of the computer is greater than the computer.
We who want to control history, and who can't even predict tomorrow's NASDAQ, ought to mind our Star Trek lessons. In "The City on the Edge of Forever" (1967), the intrepid time travelers do something to change history for the better, so they think. Finding themselves thrown back to 1930 at the 21st Street Mission, Kirk pushes the beautiful Edith Keeler out of the path of an oncoming car. She is good-hearted and noble, and it is "senseless" that a creature so fine should die.
But Kirk and Spock soon learn, to the smitten captain's chagrin, that they must go back and undo their saving work. If Ms. Keeler is not allowed to be killed that day—as planned by an unseen Hand—she will go on to organize a powerful pacifist movement that will delay the country's entrance into the war, giving Hitler time to develop the atomic bomb before we do, and to achieve world domination, resulting in much death and servitude of multitudes.
It is because of God's delicate ecosystem that the tares are left to grow with the wheat until harvester angels with sickles bring an end to the confusion (Matthew 13:24-30). God's children need auto mechanics, Christian or no.
Another factor not generally considered is that the early rapture [death] of the righteous, while sad for us who sigh over their photographs, is not so tragic from their present perspective. "For the righteous man is taken away from calamity; he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness" (Isaiah 57:1b-2). What do we call this unconditional prejudice of ours for longevity on planet Earth that clouds our better judgment—"Earthism"?
Simon Peter wanted to rewrite the script and cut the crucifixion scene. It elicits the only harsh remark from Jesus toward His disciple in the recorded gospels. No crucifixion, no reconciliation with God. No reconciliation with God, no point to life. No point to life, and my dad may as well let Peter Rabbit do his thing because the whole thing's senseless anyhow.
Andree Seu
I don't know how it all works, this ecosystem business. Take a prairie. Bunnies eat the grass; wolves eat the bunnies. No grass, no bunnies. No bunnies, no wolves. If wolves disappeared, rabbits would rule, but it would be a short reign. They would devour all the grass and then starve themselves to death. If rabbits disappeared, there would go our grass trimmers, and trees would take over the world.
And so the weary world wags on. Wolf and Sheepdog, aka Ralph and Sam, show up at the sheep meadow each morning, lunch box in hand, exchange pleasantries, punch their time cards, and chase each other for all they're worth. At whistle shriek, they freeze in their tracks, punch out, and wave goodbye. Tomorrow will be the same.
God has an ecosystem of another kind, but no one has figured it out. He says so in Isaiah 57:1: "The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands." We have had many deaths of righteous men and women in our local church congregation lately. "Senseless deaths," as they say. All way too young, most by cancer, no scientist yet having discovered some curative chemical in a mosquito that would justify its place in the circle of life.
The unbeliever scoffs: "How could a good God . . . ?" We who from time to time are forced to cull our herds (when I hit a deer in Michigan, the mechanic called them "forest rats") find fault with God's culling methods. We have no idea. Dr. James Gills says in RX for Worry that the human "brain stores the equivalent of 25 million books [and] it can function at ten thousand trillion computations per second." We let that go to our heads, but the designer of the computer is greater than the computer.
We who want to control history, and who can't even predict tomorrow's NASDAQ, ought to mind our Star Trek lessons. In "The City on the Edge of Forever" (1967), the intrepid time travelers do something to change history for the better, so they think. Finding themselves thrown back to 1930 at the 21st Street Mission, Kirk pushes the beautiful Edith Keeler out of the path of an oncoming car. She is good-hearted and noble, and it is "senseless" that a creature so fine should die.
But Kirk and Spock soon learn, to the smitten captain's chagrin, that they must go back and undo their saving work. If Ms. Keeler is not allowed to be killed that day—as planned by an unseen Hand—she will go on to organize a powerful pacifist movement that will delay the country's entrance into the war, giving Hitler time to develop the atomic bomb before we do, and to achieve world domination, resulting in much death and servitude of multitudes.
It is because of God's delicate ecosystem that the tares are left to grow with the wheat until harvester angels with sickles bring an end to the confusion (Matthew 13:24-30). God's children need auto mechanics, Christian or no.
Another factor not generally considered is that the early rapture [death] of the righteous, while sad for us who sigh over their photographs, is not so tragic from their present perspective. "For the righteous man is taken away from calamity; he enters into peace; they rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness" (Isaiah 57:1b-2). What do we call this unconditional prejudice of ours for longevity on planet Earth that clouds our better judgment—"Earthism"?
Simon Peter wanted to rewrite the script and cut the crucifixion scene. It elicits the only harsh remark from Jesus toward His disciple in the recorded gospels. No crucifixion, no reconciliation with God. No reconciliation with God, no point to life. No point to life, and my dad may as well let Peter Rabbit do his thing because the whole thing's senseless anyhow.
Andree Seu
“Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!”
I am glad to learn from this Psalm [41] that it is important to be willing to “wait patiently” for his answers (verse 1), but also that I may be bold enough to ask the Lord to “make haste.”
The psalmist has waited patiently in past troubles, and has found that God comes through. We know this because he testifies in verses 2 and 3 about past experience with prayer results: “He drew me up from the pit, out of the miry bog.” If God can do it once, He can do it twice—and a thousand times. And it is the memory of past deliverances that helps us to hang in there with present afflictions. But we can never have those empowering memories unless we begin now to walk in faith in present troubles.
It is beyond me why the Lord tarries. But one thing is evident: The Lord is interested in making us into habitual prayers. Immediate answers and rescues do not make for inveterate life habits of continuous prayer; they make for amnesia. And they make for a God-as-my-personal-valet mentality. You can’t deny that we hardly remember answers granted too quickly.
A Peruvian pastor told me that on New Year’s Eve, a pastor he knew had his parishioners write their major personal prayer requests on a piece of paper and put them in a sealed envelope and keep them safe. One year later the pastor asked them if they could remember what was written on the paper. Most of them could not. Prayer requests that we are not invested in with much daily prayer leave no footprint in the mind.
It is not for His sake but for ours that God delays answering prayers. He likes the effect it has on us. We learn how to surrender more and more of ourselves and our agenda and our will. We may start off praying like this: “Lord, please give me a new job; this one stinks.” When nothing happens after a few weeks, we may start praying like this: “Lord, please teach me what you are trying to teach me by keeping me in this job.” A little more time passes and we may pray like this: “Lord, help me to be content and show me how to honor you while you have me in this job.”
It is obvious that the psalmist has been holding on for a long time, and doesn’t know how much longer he can. He has, in the meantime, perhaps unknown to himself, created a deep groove in his soul, running from his mouth to God’s ear; he prays constantly. Paul Miller writes in A Praying Life: “Instead of trying to suppress anxiety, manage it, or smother it with pleasure, we can turn our anxiety toward God. When we do that, we’ll discover that we’ve slipped into continuous praying.” Imagine “slipping” into praying all day long. It is wonderful, and feels normal and right.
And when we have done that, we have become like Jesus—which is God’s big idea anyway. Did you really think He was as interested in you keeping your job as in your trusting Him through the loss of it? Did you really think God was as interested in your present comfort as in the growth of your faith in Him? Did you really think He was as interested in you having a good reputation with everyone as in your trusting Him through the pain of a bad reputation?
Andree Seu
The psalmist has waited patiently in past troubles, and has found that God comes through. We know this because he testifies in verses 2 and 3 about past experience with prayer results: “He drew me up from the pit, out of the miry bog.” If God can do it once, He can do it twice—and a thousand times. And it is the memory of past deliverances that helps us to hang in there with present afflictions. But we can never have those empowering memories unless we begin now to walk in faith in present troubles.
It is beyond me why the Lord tarries. But one thing is evident: The Lord is interested in making us into habitual prayers. Immediate answers and rescues do not make for inveterate life habits of continuous prayer; they make for amnesia. And they make for a God-as-my-personal-valet mentality. You can’t deny that we hardly remember answers granted too quickly.
A Peruvian pastor told me that on New Year’s Eve, a pastor he knew had his parishioners write their major personal prayer requests on a piece of paper and put them in a sealed envelope and keep them safe. One year later the pastor asked them if they could remember what was written on the paper. Most of them could not. Prayer requests that we are not invested in with much daily prayer leave no footprint in the mind.
It is not for His sake but for ours that God delays answering prayers. He likes the effect it has on us. We learn how to surrender more and more of ourselves and our agenda and our will. We may start off praying like this: “Lord, please give me a new job; this one stinks.” When nothing happens after a few weeks, we may start praying like this: “Lord, please teach me what you are trying to teach me by keeping me in this job.” A little more time passes and we may pray like this: “Lord, help me to be content and show me how to honor you while you have me in this job.”
It is obvious that the psalmist has been holding on for a long time, and doesn’t know how much longer he can. He has, in the meantime, perhaps unknown to himself, created a deep groove in his soul, running from his mouth to God’s ear; he prays constantly. Paul Miller writes in A Praying Life: “Instead of trying to suppress anxiety, manage it, or smother it with pleasure, we can turn our anxiety toward God. When we do that, we’ll discover that we’ve slipped into continuous praying.” Imagine “slipping” into praying all day long. It is wonderful, and feels normal and right.
And when we have done that, we have become like Jesus—which is God’s big idea anyway. Did you really think He was as interested in you keeping your job as in your trusting Him through the loss of it? Did you really think God was as interested in your present comfort as in the growth of your faith in Him? Did you really think He was as interested in you having a good reputation with everyone as in your trusting Him through the pain of a bad reputation?
Andree Seu
"The Wise Man Builds His House Upon The Rock"
If you build your house on a crack in the earth, it's your own fault.
Anonymous
Anonymous
"Brightness Yet Within Me"
All about me may be silence and darkness, yet within me, in the spirit, is music and brightness, and color flashes through all my thoughts.
Helen Keller
Helen Keller
"What Is Your Angle?"
It is not always by plugging away at a difficulty and sticking at it that one overcomes it; but, rather, often by working on the one next to it. Certain people and certain things require to be approached on an angle.
Andre Gide
Andre Gide
"God Bless The USA"
Our fathers' God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.
Samuel F. Smith
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King.
Samuel F. Smith
"Eye On The Prize"
Anyone who has achieved excellence in any form knows that it comes as a result of ceaseless concentration.
Louise Brooks
Louise Brooks
"Make The Most Of Your Water Cooler:Speak Of His Faithfulness"
Psalm 40:10 “I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.”
There are four lepers on the outskirts of a town under siege that is collectively starving to death. They stumble on the abandoned camp of their enemy and begin to gorge themselves on food that was left behind in haste. After filling their faces, they are seized with guilt and say to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household” (2 Kings 7:9).
How do we “hide God’s deliverance within our hearts”? We do it whenever we have an opening in conversation, and we hold back because we think of reasons why it is not the right time. We do it when we are more “culturally sensitive” than Holy Spirit-sensitive. We do it when we go for the cheap laugh. Like Paul Simon sang, “There are 50 ways to leave your lover.”
Jesus was not “culturally sensitive” in that respect. If he was “sensitive,” it was to the coming of the darkness and the misery of men plunging headlong into a joyless eternity. If we only knew how desperate people are, and how fast they would jump at even a fumbling presentation of the truth! My first Christian roommate, a Jewish hippy loitering on the Boston Commons, was won to Christ when a Christian walked up to her on the street and said, “Want to meet some normal people?” God is like a Rumpelstiltskin who can weave your straw comments into gold, soul-saving gospel.
No wonder Paul was not hindered by “cultural sensitivity” when he told the gospel all over the Mediterranean. He had witnessed its potency over and over. There is nothing like seeing how well the gospel works one time to make it easier the next time. And so he spoke truly when he said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
Why are we remiss about telling people about Jesus? Horrible as it may seem, we of the saved cop an “I’ve got mine!” attitude. It’s the attitude new sophomores have toward new freshmen once they’ve made it past the first year and are no longer quivering wretches. “In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune” (Job 12:5). What is misfortune but not knowing Jesus or being saved? What is contempt but lazy withholding of a hand up out of hell?
There was a white-collar man who came back to his office on a Monday after getting saved over the weekend. He bubbled over with the news to one of his colleagues at the water cooler. The other man said, “Good. Now we can study the Bible together.” “What! You mean you’re a Christian?” asked the new convert. “Yup,” said the older Christian proudly. “But you were my biggest stumbling block. I watched you day after day, and you were so ‘together’ that for a long time I thought, ‘See, a person doesn’t need Jesus to live a moral life.’”
Jesus spoke up at the “water cooler” in Samaria when He struck up a conversation with a five-time divorcee. He wants us now to make the most of our own water coolers.
Andree Seu
There are four lepers on the outskirts of a town under siege that is collectively starving to death. They stumble on the abandoned camp of their enemy and begin to gorge themselves on food that was left behind in haste. After filling their faces, they are seized with guilt and say to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household” (2 Kings 7:9).
How do we “hide God’s deliverance within our hearts”? We do it whenever we have an opening in conversation, and we hold back because we think of reasons why it is not the right time. We do it when we are more “culturally sensitive” than Holy Spirit-sensitive. We do it when we go for the cheap laugh. Like Paul Simon sang, “There are 50 ways to leave your lover.”
Jesus was not “culturally sensitive” in that respect. If he was “sensitive,” it was to the coming of the darkness and the misery of men plunging headlong into a joyless eternity. If we only knew how desperate people are, and how fast they would jump at even a fumbling presentation of the truth! My first Christian roommate, a Jewish hippy loitering on the Boston Commons, was won to Christ when a Christian walked up to her on the street and said, “Want to meet some normal people?” God is like a Rumpelstiltskin who can weave your straw comments into gold, soul-saving gospel.
No wonder Paul was not hindered by “cultural sensitivity” when he told the gospel all over the Mediterranean. He had witnessed its potency over and over. There is nothing like seeing how well the gospel works one time to make it easier the next time. And so he spoke truly when he said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
Why are we remiss about telling people about Jesus? Horrible as it may seem, we of the saved cop an “I’ve got mine!” attitude. It’s the attitude new sophomores have toward new freshmen once they’ve made it past the first year and are no longer quivering wretches. “In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune” (Job 12:5). What is misfortune but not knowing Jesus or being saved? What is contempt but lazy withholding of a hand up out of hell?
There was a white-collar man who came back to his office on a Monday after getting saved over the weekend. He bubbled over with the news to one of his colleagues at the water cooler. The other man said, “Good. Now we can study the Bible together.” “What! You mean you’re a Christian?” asked the new convert. “Yup,” said the older Christian proudly. “But you were my biggest stumbling block. I watched you day after day, and you were so ‘together’ that for a long time I thought, ‘See, a person doesn’t need Jesus to live a moral life.’”
Jesus spoke up at the “water cooler” in Samaria when He struck up a conversation with a five-time divorcee. He wants us now to make the most of our own water coolers.
Andree Seu
"Do It Well"
If a task is once begun,
never leave it till it's done.
Be the labor great or small,
Do it well or not at all.
Anonymous
never leave it till it's done.
Be the labor great or small,
Do it well or not at all.
Anonymous
"Look For Truth. Find Comfort"
I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort; it begins in the dismay I have been describing, and it is no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. In religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth- only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair. Most of us have got over the prewar wishful thinking about international politics. It is time we did the same about religion.
C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis
"Close Enough To Be Convincing"
An error is the more dangerous in proportion to the degree of truth which it contains.
Henri Amiel
Henri Amiel
"Your Rival"
He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
"The Root Of The Problem"
There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
"Measuring Achievement"
Human dignity... can be achieved only in the field of ethics, and ethical achievement is measured by the degree in which our actions are governed by compassion and love, not by greed and aggressiveness.
Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold J. Toynbee
"Less Is More"
There is nothing better for the nurturing of the heart than to reduce the number of one's desires.
Mencius
Mencius
"Grant Us"
O You, from whom to be turned is to fall,
to whom to be turned is to rise,
and in whom to stand is to abide for ever:
Grant us in all our duties your help
in all our perplexities your guidance,
in all our dangers your protection,
and in all our sorrows your peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
Augustine
to whom to be turned is to rise,
and in whom to stand is to abide for ever:
Grant us in all our duties your help
in all our perplexities your guidance,
in all our dangers your protection,
and in all our sorrows your peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
Augustine
"Like A Tree Planted Firmly Planted By Streams Of Water"
No tree becomes rooted and sturdy unless many a wind assails it. For by its very tossing it tightens its grip and plants its roots more securely; the fragile trees are those that have grown in a sunny valley.
Seneca The Younger
Seneca The Younger
"The Supreme Delight Of God's Presence"
It is in recognizing the actual presence of God that we find prayer no longer a chore, but a supreme delight.
Gordon Lindsay
Gordon Lindsay
"Give It All You Got"
It is not enough to do a good deed. One must be involved in it wholeheartedly. Each action should be performed with life and soul, with every limb, with all one's vitality.
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel
"Obstructed By Illusion"
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance - it is the illusion of knowledge.
Daniel J. Boorstin
Daniel J. Boorstin
"Think Hard (But Not Too Hard) And Long (But Not Too Long)"
There is always a latent tension between what facilitates timely decisions and what promotes thoroughness and accuracy in assessment.
Richard K. Betts
Richard K. Betts
"Walk A Wide Circle"
There are three kinds of deceivers: fools, those who deceive themselves but not others; knaves, those who deceive others but not themselves, and philosophers, those who deceive both themselves and others.
Anonymous
Anonymous
"A Reminder Of Life Every Fresh Morning"
Each day is a little life; every waking and rising a little birth, every fresh morning a little youth, every going to rest and sleep a little death.
Arthur Schopenhauer
Arthur Schopenhauer
"See Him. Know Him. Enjoy Him. Savor Him"
Forgiveness is essentially God's way of removing the great obstacle to our fellowship with Him. By canceling our sin and paying for it with the death of his own Son, God opens the way for us to see Him and know Him and enjoy Him forever. Seeing and savoring Him is the goal of forgiveness. Soul-satisfying fellowship with our Father is the aim of the cross.
John Piper
John Piper
"Churchill And Emerson On Criticism"
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted [Ralph Waldo Emerson]...So long as I am acting from duty and conviction, I am indifferent to taunts and jeers. I think they will probably do me more good than harm. [Winston Churchill]
"Find Your Voice"
Common experience shows how much rarer is moral courage than physical bravery. A Thousand men will march to the mouth of the cannon where one man will dare espouse an unpopular case.
Clarence Dorrow
Clarence Dorrow
"When He Has Tested Me, I Will Come Forth As Gold"
Times of general calamity and confusion have ever been productive of the greatest minds. The purest ore is produced from the hottest furnace, and the brightest thunderbolt is elicited from the darkest storm.
C.C.Colton
C.C.Colton
"The Charm Of Humility"
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call "humble" nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
CS Lewis
CS Lewis
"The Thrill Is Gone?"
...those who are in love have a natural inclination to bind themselves by promises. Love songs all over the world are full of vows of eternal constancy. The Christian law is not forcing upon the passion of love, something which is foreign to that passion's own nature: it is demanding that lovers should take seriously something which their passion of itself impels them to do. And, of course, the promise, made when I am in love and because I am in love, to be true to the beloved as long as I live, commits one to being true even if I cease to be in love. A promise must be about things that I can do, about actions: no one can promise to go on feeling in a certain way. He might as well promise never to have a headache or always to feel hungry.
CS Lewis
CS Lewis
"In Memory Of An Honorable Soldier: The Most Beautiful Lovenote Ever Scribed"
July 14, 1861
Camp Clark, Washington
My very dear Sarah:
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more . . .
I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt . . .
Sarah my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistibly on with all these chains to the battle field.
The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them for so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood, around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar, that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness . . .
But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights . . . always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again . . .
___________________
Sullivan Ballou was killed a week later at the first Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861.
Camp Clark, Washington
My very dear Sarah:
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more . . .
I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt . . .
Sarah my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistibly on with all these chains to the battle field.
The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them for so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood, around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar, that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness . . .
But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights . . . always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again . . .
___________________
Sullivan Ballou was killed a week later at the first Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861.
"The Deep Work Of True Conversion"
When you come to Christ, He doesn’t just patch you up. He renews you. He doesn’t just salve your sins. He saves you. He doesn’t just reform you. He transforms you by His power. Conversion is a deep work. It goes throughout your entire being, throughout your mind, throughout the members of your body, throughout your life—your social life, your business life, your family life, your neighborhood life. You become a partaker of God’s nature.
Billy Graham
Billy Graham
"Always Be, Yourself, In Favor"
Most of the change we think we see in life is due to truths being in and out of favor.
Robert Frost
Robert Frost
"How Could God Let X Happen To Our Country?"
I say God is also angry when he sees something like this. I would say also for several years now Americans in a sense have shaken their fist at God and said, God, we want you out of our schools, our government, our business, we want you out of our marketplace. And God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life, our public life. Removing His hand of blessing and protection. We need to turn to God first of all and say, God, we’re sorry we have treated You this way and we invite You now to come into our national life. We put our trust in You. We have our trust in God on our coins, we need to practice it.
Anne Graham Lotz
Anne Graham Lotz
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