Monday, February 25, 2013

Proverbs and Quotes


[All quotes, unless otherwise designated, by Mark Graham.  I am constantly adding to this site, so come back again.]

The surest way to attain the deepest desires of the heart is to willingly make the sacrifices of Love—the Love of Christ—today and every day.

All people suffer. And any part of you that takes pleasure in anyone’s suffering, no matter how much hurt you have suffered through that person, is not yet sanctified in Christ.
It is however very appropriate that you pray that their suffering will serve to drive them toward Christ so that they will no longer bring suffering to anyone.


Every human is created in the image of God and is Loved by Him. For those reasons alone they should be respected, even if there is nothing else in them that is worthy of respect.

Defending against the the toxic feeling of being the one "at fault" or "to blame" frequently causes one to fail to healthily take responsibility for his/her honest mistakes.

A common evil is to resort to threat, intimidation and/or character assassination when one realizes that he cannot win in the arena of civil discourse, reason and ideology.

We should neither exaggerate nor minimize our own or others’ faults or virtues
.

Unhappiness, like happiness, is an inside job. And once we become adults, it is not caused by other people.

Noticing and thinking are not the same. Children notice a flower or a bug while adults think about their problems. Try simply noticing.

The power of evil is fear and the power of God is Love.

Tasks are rarely as difficult as they seemed beforehand from the standpoint of procrastination.

Freedom is when you no longer feel compelled to hide your dysfunction. "All have sinned [lived dysfunctionally] and come short of the glory of God [our full potential].  "No one is righteous [fully mature and healthy]; no not one." Rom. 3:10, 23

"The bigger the government the smaller the citizen." Dennis Prager
"Politics job is to foster the healthy sovereignty of the individual." Jordan Peterson

Love is a challenging, life-long process. It is not something that you fall into, like a pit, or attain once and for all. Without an awakening from the Holy Spirit, we don't even know what it is.

Life's challenges evoke the potential that God has put within us.

Life is  difficult. And important things are extremely difficult.

"Treat yourself like you're someone you're responsible for helping." Jordan Peterson

"We mistakenly try to delay consequences, by lying for instance. Ultimately no one gets away with anything." Jordan Peterson

God is described in the Bible as a consuming fire [Heb 12:29] that burns away the  dead wood, stubble and hay, refining the gold in us. 

A common error in relationships is an emphasis on trying to get one's mate to love him/her better rather than focusing on loving one's mate better. The need to be loved can dominate and overshadow the ability to love. Early deprivation generates a vacuous need to be loved that can preclude the ability to love. Philippians 4:19 speaks to this. 


The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the church is famishing for want of His Presence. The instant cure of most of our religious ills would be to enter the Presence in spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in God and God is in us. This would lift us out of our pitiful narrowness and cause our hearts to be enlarged. This would burn away the impurities from our lives as the bugs and fungi were burned away by the fire that was in the bush.” A.W. Tozer  

Morality and freedom are inextricably linked. And Christianity is the primary generator of voluntary morality.

The more a man is ensconced in power the more out of touch with the reality of the common man he becomes.

Those in power always assume that they know best how to employ it. And there is a tremendous tendency, avoided only by the most mature, to get lost in it.

Socialism employs power to try to enforce equality. Democracy confers freedom and relies on morality to supply equality. As morality declines, power ascends. It can not be otherwise.

"Is there anything after this?" asked the dying caterpillar. "Don't you worry about a thing" said the butterfly sailing peacefully by. 


“That hand which multiplied the loaves, which saved sinking Peter, which upholds afflicted saints, which crowns believers, that same hand will touch every seeking sinner, and in a moment make him clean.” Chas. Spurgeon

 "Honor is an intangible quality, It is not obligatory. It has no written code. It reflects an inward compulsion, free of self interest. It fulfills a cause, not a personal ambition. It represents what a society lives for beyond the necessities of the moment. Law makes life possible; honor ennobles it." Henry Kissinger, From John McCain's eulogy.

If you do not believe that Truth exists, it is a certain that you will never know it. And even if you believe that it exists and do not love and desire it above all else, you will not discover its freedom. Jesus said, "Everyone that is of the Truth hears my voice." John 18:37. He also said that it will set you free. John 8:32

Perhaps the best thing about having a good reputation is that it generates for that person a certain community accountability; it gives him/her something  to try to live up to. The wisest ones know that they rarely do.

I think it is wise to simply stop listening to anyone who is propagating hate. The exception might be that you have the hope of hearing whatever it is underneath that hate that needs healing and enlightenment. Be very careful, however, in the presence of hate; it is extremely contagious.

You don't have to do life perfectly; just a little better today than yesterday in some of the ways that have eternal significance.

Calvin Miller : “The world is poor because her fortune is buried in the sky and all her treasure maps are of earth.”

Aristotle: "Criticism is something we can avoid easily by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing."

"Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter." Francis Chan

I think it is a matter of grave concern that American society is generally not interested in the Christian message, or more precisely, in Christ Himself. This is certainly due to a number of factors, but generally people seem to be caught up, like lemmings, in the onward rush of  external advancement, neglecting the more foundational and necessary level of spiritual advancement. This results in Christianity being relegated to the margins of society, which is repulsive to youth who want nothing less than to be marginalized, resulting in churches full of elderly people watching sadly as society withers from lack of Living Water while their children worship human idols or get lost in the darkness of addictions, depression and meaninglessness.  Christianity becomes then like a hard-shelled seed, containing Life, but lying on hard ground that cannot receive a root. As in nature, where some seeds require a fire to open and grow, society may require a "fire" of social ails in order to become fertile for the healing, life-restoring power of  the Love of Christ. There is in the Bible an infinite treasure of wisdom, prudence and understanding regarding all affairs of life. Yet we see people generally ignoring it, passing by the dusty copy on the shelf [or failing to Google it, which is a wonderful opportunity we now have!] as they swing from branch to vine like a monkey through the forest of daily life.

Wealth and prosperity are measured in terms of relationships.

You don't have to push anyone back in order to move ahead.

Christianity may be defined as a group of people who have come to believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was and is the Messiah, God incarnate, and who seek to abide in His Holy Spirit of love for all humans and faith in the one God of this universe Who is Love and Who communicated His Spirit and Truth to humankind through His only begotten Son, Jesus. It exists on one end of a spectrum, the other side of which is characterized by brutality and lust for power. All cultures exist somewhere along that spectrum.
The humility that comes from honest introspection and leads to contrition and confession is the only doorway to Truth and Grace and Freedom.

Even after two thousand years there is not a single teaching of Christ that sounds or feels obsolete. That fact alone speaks volumes regarding the eternal Source of those teachings.

Faith ultimately solves all problems. Fears and the "worries and cares of the world" are persistent and insidious; but faith always wins the day.

One who will not submit to the Truth condemns himself to live in the outer darkness of unconsciousness. He does not recognize that he is living in darkness. He is blind and does not know that he is blind. As Jesus said, "He does not know what he is doing." He who does, however, submit to the Truth, finds amazing Grace, peace, acceptance, and power to overcome all the dark and oppressive forces of this world in the Love of God manifested through Christ our Lord.

In Christ, we have never been, nor will we ever be, outside the shelter of the God of this universe Who is Love. Nothing in the universe, seen or unseen, can separate us from His Love in Christ.

Watchman Nee: "Outside of Christ, I am only a sinner, but in Christ, I am saved. Outside of Christ, I am empty; in Christ, I am full. Outside of Christ, I am weak; in Christ, I am strong. Outside of Christ, I cannot; in Christ, I am more than able. Outside of Christ, I have been defeated; in Christ, I am already victorious. How meaningful are the words, 'In Christ.'"

The Truth is good whether we realize it or not. All our suffering comes from not realizing the Truth. God is calling us into the Truth that sets us free, as Jesus said. Jesus opens us to this Ultimate Reality.

You can spend a long time unconsciously living under a curse that someone put on you without even knowing that they were doing it. You can find out if you're living under a curse by paying attention to what is in your mind. If you are arguing with someone in your mind, or criticizing them; if your heart is hardened against them, you are living under a curse.  You are creating unnecessary suffering for yourself and probably others also. 

The human heart is steeped in selfishness. We see others through the paradigm of our own personal agenda. We like them if they facilitate our agenda; and we ignore or despise them if they don't.
In this light, it's very important to know what your agenda is.

The Bible is unquestionably the best selling book in the world.  Why not read it? All those folks can't be wrong.

Exercise always seems like a good thing to do----at some time in the future.

If we can be here at all--if the earth can be the magnificent nurturer and sustainer of life that it is; if there can be such things as beauty, love, music and humor--why can't all our beautiful dreams of what life can be, and even of eternal life be true? Jesus says that they can be; and He shows us the way--He is the Way.

A certain honest skepticism is necessary up to a point, after which it becomes like driving toward heaven with the brakes on.

The Scripture without the Holy Spirit can be used to contrive and falsely justify all manner of evil.  History gives ample evidence of this.

Bless me, O Lord, in spite of myself, that I might be a blessing to You and to Your Kingdom.


Our devotion to Christ and involvement in His body, the Church, is like water and fertilizer to all that is good within us.  Christ gives us discernment regarding the weeds and toxic plants that, nevertheless continue to take root in us and He motivates and empowers us to weed them out. Our spiritual growth work is never done. We don’t want it to be.

O Lord keep me mindful of the truth about myself, that I might not stray from humility.

The prayers of the self-righteous and unkind are as monotonous and fruitless as a frayed flag flapping over an abandoned fort. But the prayer cries coming from a contrite soul who is aware of his weakness and wretchedness stir the heartstrings of God’s Love. He justifies that man, giving him Grace and forgiveness, enabling him to hold up his head, not in pride, but in gratitude and in obedient love for his fellow man.

Whatever hits we take along the Pathway of Christ—whatever setbacks and sufferings—we can rest assured that we will arrive in heaven, and that we will create the best life possible on Earth.  We embrace all future tribulations, therefore, without fear; even with cheerful hearts, because He has already overcome them.

“If one regards himself as a skeptic, it is a good plan to have occasional doubts about one’s skepticism.” Sigmund Freud

“The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion.” A W Tozer

“We taste Thee O Thou Living Bread and long to feast upon thee still
We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead and thirst our souls from Thee to fill.” St. Bernard

The most important and beneficial gift to give to non-seekers is the understanding that their lives would be infinitely better if they were seeking.

Quantum physics recognizes that the observer’s presence and expectations affect the physical reality.
Create your day!
The challenge and opportunity of every day is how to love with Christ’s intelligent and powerful Love. Be creative in this endeavor.

Stop thinking and talking so much and EXPERIENCE the omnipresent GOD of LOVE! Live in that LOVE which is universal TRUTH—the TRUTH of CHRIST! Be still and KNOW!

You do the little acts of good to appease your conscience while committing the big sin. Root out all sin. It is Satan’s death grip within you. It diminishes, not enhances your life. Receive Grace in the process; but do not presume upon it. Never stop turning away from sin into righteousness. Laziness is giving in to Satan’s resistance to all the blessings that God has in store for you along the Pathway of Christ.


“There are strange, exciting hints in the Bible that when we are drawn into (Christ), a great many other things in Nature will begin to come right, the bad dream will be over; it will be morning.” CS Lewis
The pollution and deterioration of the Earth may be the outward manifestation of man’s spiritual acedia. If we draw into Christ, we may well see the Earth being healed and restored, along with our souls. [Romans 8:19-22]


Lord please help me incorporate what I cannot eliminate from my personality---incorporate by accepting the redemption and Grace that comes through Your purifying blood, so that all that is within me is channeled into Agape-Love, even my sinful nature, which is my “thorn of the flesh”, which needs not to be removed but to come under Your sufficient Grace. “My Grace is sufficient for you.”

I will not live in fear of my ego, even though I know that it could leap up within me at any time. I will serve in spite of it.

That which violently forbids to be questioned or challenged in the open forum of debate can never be ultimate truth. 

C. S. Lewis, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."


Abraham Maslow: "It is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail."

Former Senate Chaplain Richard Halverson: "In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centering on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome where it became an institution. Next, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. And, finally, it moved to America where it became an enterprise."

Confidence without humility is blind arrogance (all arrogance is blind.) True confidence is the blessed gift of strength that comes to us in the Light of the Grace that we receive through Jesus Christ. Thus the Apostle Paul could encourage Timothy to "be strong in the grace of Jesus Christ." 2Tim. 2:1 

Grace is the only Power that enables us to live with our character defects without either morbid guilt or denial. 

When we are living in the Ultimate Reality of Christ, we are truly free, in the deepest and most profound sense.

 Victor Davis Hanson: “The fate of ISIS reminds us that throughout history those who posed as superhuman savages, without any limitations to their cruelty, were often bullies who could not stand up to the determined payback of their finally aroused and outraged victims.”

 “Someday, after mastering the wind, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love; and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 

"Thankfully salvation comes from the object of our faith and not the strength of our faith." Kevin Shrum, D.Min.

Once you get the inner experience of the Reality of God--this place of Faith that Christ brings us to--then you see Him everywhere. And you see the evil [some of it in yourself] that He has overcome. This is a wonderful, ongoing process, characterized by ever-increasing peace and freedom of soul; and most importantly by a growing capacity to Love.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: "If Jesus returns tomorrow, then tomorrow I'll rest from my labor. But today I have work to do." 

Because we love our people, we temper our anger--like steel, we temper it. We maintain a stern control of how we express our anger. We do not "lose it"; and we make no excuses for our inappropriately expressed anger. If we are unable to bridal our tongue and practice self-control in anger, we will be unsafe in any relationship, because all relationships have frustration, and frustration evolves into anger. And abusive anger will wear down and eventually destroy the love of those who are trying to love us.

The sufferings, trauma and losses that we experience in life that create vacuous holes and deep wounds in our souls, when faced in faith, hope and love, shape our personalities in a very beautiful way, making us more compassionate, wise and strong, and connecting us more deeply with the entire human family who share in those sufferings. 

Life has a raw edge of pain. People vary in their sensitivity to this raw edge of pain. [Some of the most sensitive, we label mentally ill.] It causes some to hate; others to love.

"There still remains only God to protect man against man. Either we will serve Him in spirit and in truth or we shall enslave ourselves ceaselessly, more and more, to the monstrous idol we have made with our own hands to our own image and likeness." Philosopher Etienne Gilson

"Our culture suffers from opposing deceptions: we're so self-righteous that we don't think we need Jesus to save us, or we're so guilt-ridden that we don't think he can." James Denison


“I don’t lean left or right. I lean in. I lean forward, because that’s where love lives.” 
― Jeremy Courtney, Preemptive Love: Pursuing Peace One Heart at a Time

When we argue against the truth we always lose--especially when we win.

 I would say that any individual's most pressing problem, the main issue that each one of us should face, is the gap between how well we love our people and how well we should love them.

There is a certain contrition that is a normal and perennial aspect of the mature personality, because we, as the human family, are not getting it all right. This contrition should be a motivating factor to bring some love and truth into this world. We must continue in our pursuit of truth until we get to the Truth that Jesus said would set us free--even from contrition.

The saddest and most discouraging thing about American culture is how militantly we avoid Jesus Christ; how carefully we avoid quoting His sayings. We seem to be able to quote anyone in history more easily, more fluidly than we can quote Jesus. If we mention His name, suddenly there is tension in the room. Where is that coming from? What is it that we object to? What are we pushing away? Is it His command that we love one another, even our enemies? "They will know that you are my disciples" He said, "by the love that you have for one another." If we say we are Christians and we do not practice love for our people--even our enemies--then we are lying and deceiving ourselves. And we are failing in the Way if we hide the Light to avoid offending people.

Shame is a chronic manifestation of guilt. And it is unnecessary. And like many chronic disorders, it can sink into the depths of unconsciousness and become just our way of being in the world. We become unaware of its existence, and of the toxic effects that are, nonetheless, oozing up into our daily lives.

Grace and kindness wither when presumed upon or taken advantage of.

Suffering is inevitable. We are born in a suffering way, and usually die with some suffering. It is interwoven in the warp and woof of life. But there is much suffering that is unnecessary. Spiritual growth [Christ] eliminates unnecessary suffering.

In order to establish trust, or re-establish it when it has been broken,  one has to become tolerant of distrust. If I cannot or will not tolerate distrust for a time [determined by the one that has been betrayed]  I won't make it down the long road of  trust-renewal.

It's always a bit annoying to me when people who have only the most superficial understanding of Christ and the Faith, based perhaps on a few immature Christians they have met, stand on the outside of it and pronounce asinine judgments against it. "They know not what they do."


The solution to our social diseases will not be found in politics, law enforcement or education. These are only helpful to the degree that they are being enacted in a social climate of humans who have been and are being enlightened by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. All other goals and motives are distractions or palliative at best.

" It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God’s Word and sacrament. Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the Gospel in heathen lands stand alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing. They remember, as the Psalmist did, how they went ‘with the multitude . . . to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy day” (Ps. 42:4) … Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living in common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren."
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from Life Together


 "God of our life, there are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and weigh us down; when the road seems dreary and endless, the skies grey and threatening; when our lives have no music in them, and our hearts are lonely, and our souls have lost their courage. Flood the path with light, run our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; tune our hearts to brave music; give us the sense of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age; and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to Your honor and glory." Augustine

In order to live a successful life one must spend some time thinking about one's life, and about life in general--what works and does not work; the spiritual principles that apply, [like physics]
to us all. But many seem to be afflicted with fear when they begin to honestly look at their lives, and retreat back into a frenzy of activities that shield them from this fear.

If we become better Christ-followers we become better at everything in life that matters. Christ encompasses all that is good in life; and He redeems us from all that is useless or destructive. Christ is our life, our peace, our joy and our freedom. There is nothing outside of Christ that will ultimately enhance our lives. This is true if He is indeed the "Way, Truth and Life" as He said. He is the center of history (B.C. - A.D.).  He is the conscious core of this universe from which all has emanated. He is the binding factor that unifies and holds all together. To ignore Him is to drift into an endless darkness. 

"Either nobody made something out of nothing, or Somebody made something out of nothing." Unknown

The heart that does not want to know itself is a dangerous heart; as is the one who presumes to know and possess himself completely.

The purer your love for your people the more deeply you will discern what is in their hearts, and the the more powerful will be your ministries to them.

The unenlightened feel justified in their selfish, evil endeavors, and victimized by the consequences that befall them because of those endeavors.

"God loves you unconditionally, as you are and not as you should be, because nobody is as they should be." Brennan Manning

Youth often perceive the elderly as quaintly "out there" somewhere; not really in the present. I have come to understand this to be partly true: The elderly have an incredible storehouse of life experiences stored in their minds--more past than future, from the worldly standpoint. The young frequently dismiss them because of this. This can be a form of unconscious condescension. And it is sad because the elderly also have an incredible storehouse of wisdom that they would love to share with the young but cannot do so because of that dismissive attitude.

Your life is a seed that you are sowing into eternity. What type of fruit will it bear?

Make all decisions based on the Love of God for yourself and others.

Currently it seems that the worse thing that has happened to the human family is the Koran.

All thoughts that are not compassionate and that do not lead ultimately to peace are useless or destructive.

Our quiet times of meditation when we be still... and know... that He is God--and when we are still long enough to know very deeply, all the way to the core of our being, that He is God--those times are very important--those quiet times, alone times--because they tend to get worn away in the world of human relationships. We also need time with our brothers and sisters who are living in the ever-growing knowledge that "He is God."

Sometimes we feel we have no more to give; that we have given out. The way to move through that dark place is to learn how to give with a peaceful heart. Sometimes what is wearing us out--draining us--is what we need from the ones that we are giving to. And we can learn to be free from that need if we understand deeply, deeply "My God shall supply all your need, according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus." When we get that Truth deeply enough into us then much energy is released; energy that had been twisted up inside like a knot; like a vacuum inside that needed to be filled but could not be filled--that energy gets released, and in that release our giving becomes our joy--the joy that fulfills us. It does not drain us. And in this new enlightened place we come to realize and feel inwardly that the giver is embraced and sustained in the same Love that motivates the giving.

If you can live simply, within your means, staying out of debt, and keep yourself free from the obligations of maintaining excessive possessions, getting and keeping yourself off the materialistic treadmill, then your home can become your zendo and your community can become your sangha [speaking from the Buddhist perspective]. You can focus your energies on being the Light in this world that Jesus has ordained us to be. There is no greater joy than this.

Whoever loves the most wins.

We are on the Pathway of Christ; and that is infinite joy and infinite freedom and infinite peace.

Christianity, in its essence and truth, is not limiting. It is liberating in the ultimate sense. It expands the mind and heart and consciousness to the far reaches of the universe.

We tend to live into our thoughts. Be careful what you think.
Detach from your thoughts and observe them. Choose to act and be what you want. Create a self rather than floating in the currents of life. Act in accordance with your values rather than feelings.

In Christ, we are not moved  in the inner core of our being by any fearful thing in the universe. Christ is that inner core; and He has overcome the world of fearful things. 

C. S. Lewis: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.
But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards.
You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but he is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself."

"Same-sex marriage is not primarily about same-sex marriage but about ovethrowing and stigmatizing traditional morality and religion in favor of an oppressive, highly intolerant secularist orthodoxy coercely and fiercely imposed by mainly non-democratic means, arbitrarily and often without benefit of legal process." Mark Tooley, social commentator



Whatever is in the unconscious—whatever good or evil forces have shaped us into what we are—a conscious, peaceful, persistent devotion to the Love of Christ will refine us into what we choose to be. Mindfulness is the only means by which we can practice this Love, because if we are not mindful, we are randomly living out whatever forces are within us or reacting impulsively to our environment. And evil exists within the world of randomness and impulsivity. The Holy Spirit keeps us mindful of the Truth that makes us safe and free.

There's certainly nothing wrong, in fact it's a good thing, to avail yourself of other people's thinking, as long as you do a fair share of your own.

In government, compromise is a factor. There can be too little or too much of it. Too little compromise tilts the scales toward tyranny; and too much is betrayal of fundamental principle. Compromise must never be bought or sold, but rather always used to leverage for the greater common good.

 "Just when I get my church all sorted out, sheep from the goats, saved from the damned, hopeless from the hopeful, somebody makes a move, gets out of focus, cuts loose, and I see why Jesus never wrote systematic theology. So you and I can give thanks that the locus of Christian thinking appears to be shifting from North America and northern Europe where people write rules and obey them, to places like Africa and Latin America where people still know how to dance." Will Willimon

God knows the person you wish to be, knows the person you are, and forgives the difference.  What's more, he will also help you become the person you wish to be. Dr. Jim Denison

Righteous responsibilities avoided and procrastinated pursue us like a pack of howling hounds. When we turn and submit into them, we find delight in their accomplishment.

Generally, everything that needs to be said on a given subject can be spoken in a few sentences. Being too wordy is usually obfuscation or vanity.

Gratitude expands the channel through which God's blessings come to us.

If I am not intentional with what is in my mind, then my mind might be described as "random".  Whatever has access to my mind or whatever my mind has access to in the whole universe can randomly be going on there.  And we know that not everything in the universe is "good". There is darkness and light, freedom and enslavement, oppression, guilt, shame, despair, cruelty, joy, compassion, kindness, etc. in the universe of human experience; and what is in the mind of man determines  what gets evoked or lived out. Only if I am intentional regarding my mind will I have the discernment to determine whether I am feeding darkness or light into my own existence and into the world. This involves the practice of mindfulness.

All of our negative feelings can lead us into a process of sublimation of those feelings into something that is a manifestation of love. When we do this we have properly used those negative feelings [anger, sadness, guilt, shame, fear, deprivation, hurt, etc.] to move life in the direction of the enhancement of our own and other peoples' lives. And there's nothing better than that that we can do with any of our feelings. There is no need to languish in nor be defeated by any of our negative feelings if we sublimate them in this way. Everything must come to love. Then we are in tune with the Force by which this universe has come into existence; the Force that moves the stars and planets, and guides a Monarch butterfly to the winter home that it has never before visitied.

One of the greatest--perhaps the greatest-- character defect a person can have is the tendency to get defensive when one of them is brought up.

There are more good things about enlightenment than I can possibly know. But one of the really good things about enlightenment is that, through it, we can rise above our genetic or family-of-origin legacy.

The question of good and evil comes into a critical focus when we think about what radical Muslims are doing in the name of Allah: strapping bombs on themselves and going into mosques or coffee shops with the intention of blowing up as many infidels and apostates as possible, along with themselves. If you were talking to that radical Muslim and trying to convince him that what he was planning to do was not good, what would you say to him? How do you know that what he's planning to do is not good? What determines whether his way or your way is right? This brings us to the reality of the Holy Spirit, revealed by Christ Who commands us to love our enemies [Mt 5:44]. Those who resonate with Jesus' teachings are blessed with the Holy Spirit. We know, because we are created in His image, that love, not hatred, terror or murder, is the proper motivation of the human personality.


Try to make all decisions based on Christ's Love.

Love is more than what we do for each other. The Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, stated that a person who gives his body to be burned but is not motivated by love profits nothing from it. [1Cor. 13]. Gives his body to be burned!  Nothing good comes from it! Love has everything to do with the spirit and motivation of one's actions.  One can do tremendous acts of service motivated by selfish concerns or needs.

Face every fear. Upgrade every worry to a concern. Dissolve every oppression in the Light of Truth.  

Life doesn't work very well if sex [or anything else for that matter] becomes more important than the Love of Christ.

There are not many things that you could say about human sexuality that would not be true: It is good, it is bad. It is righteous, and it is evil. It is tender, and brutal. It is ecstatic, and disgusting. It is business, and pleasure. It is lovely, and it is hateful. It is desired, and it is feared.  But one thing you can not honestly say about sex is that it is the most important thing. Never has been. Never will be.

Nothing is "cooler" than being a good husband and father.

All the practical problems of life, the major and minor tribulations and challenges, can be successfully dealt with on a foundation of rock solid faith in a loving God of this universe. Without that faith, the tribulations of life can be, indeed they seem destined to become, overwhelming and destructive. The Bible teaches that faith is the victory that overcomes the world [1John 5:4]

It's better to clean toilets in the Kingdom of God than to own a city in the world.

"If you don't deal with your issues in your 20's or 30's, they will kill you in your 40's and 50's." Unknown

"It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to destroy it." Archie Manning to his son Peyton.

Your home is your mind and heart. And, as with your house, this home needs to be maintained. You need to take out the garbage and decorate with beauty; provide some comfortable space and creativity. You need to provide security from harmful intruders, and hospitality for friends. You need to keep it free from the termites  of worry and roaches of dread.  Keep your home warm in the frigid winters of tribulation and loss, and cool in the heat of relational conflicts. Create a beautiful, safe, hospitable, and peaceful abode in your heart and mind.

The word religion derives from latin words meaning "to bind back". Religion does indeed bind us: to that which sets us free; to a pathway leading into eternal life; to One who loves us more than we love our children--who put that love in our hearts.

The acceptance and deeper realization of God's grace is an ongoing process. We have the tendency to put more emphasis on our performance--how well we are doing at eliminating a character defect, for instance--than on what Christ has already done for us. Grace means not holding something against someone even though he deserves to have it held against him. God is graceful: That means full of grace--toward you! Stop condemning yourself! Be a peaceful, though imperfect, child of God; and be a little better today than yesterday in some of the ways of Christ.

Some of the difficulties of life are overcome by acceptance: embracing and carrying on in Christ. As with Paul's thorn of the flesh, His grace is sufficient for us.

The voice of  Eternal Love is kind and compassionate to the contrite, sincere seeker; but it is a scorching fire to the one who is prideful, self-righteous and arrogant.

Whatever it is that keeps you from having peace and being happy [in the only ways that one can be happy in an imperfect world] represents some Truth that you have not yet gotten to. Keep seeking.

No matter how intelligent you are, you cannot change the Truth. It was here before your intelligent brain was. Your intelligence can, however, make it very difficult for you to submit to the Truth, if and when you do discover it.


In all that you do consider yourself a servant of the human family.



Make a conscious choice not to be afraid. And even if your body doesn't get it, even if you still have a racing heart with adrenaline pumping through your veins, know that you know that you know that there is nothing to fear in Love.



When we look at our Christian heritage and see that so many people have been used of
God to share such wonderful things; if we're not careful, we can begin to feel that all has been shared, and that there is nothing new that we can offer. If that were true then God would not be fair, having given His early-born children a greater opportunity to contribute to the forward march of humanity. And we know that God, in His perfection, is fair. There is something very important that only you can bring into the world. There is suffering that only you can alleviate. There is darkness that only you can enlighten. And the true joy of life is in alleviating suffering and bringing Light into darkness.



Pay close attention to your thoughts. They are determining how you feel. And you do have some control of your thoughts. And if you practice, you can gain more control; and you can think thoughts that are true. And those thoughts will bring you to peace and joy.



It is very important to allow yourself to be completely free, at times, from the need to do anything other than what you are doing; or to be anywhere other than where you are; to be completely settled and at peace in the present moment with God. "Be still and know that He is God."



The need to share the good that you have discovered—the need to love people—is a very good thing. But even that can take you away from the simple and profound peaceful presence of God in your life.



The eloquent song of a wood thrush is enough in itself to move a sensitive soul into rapture. And we have so much more, infinitely more, than the song of a wood thrush.



Two great equalizers of the whole human family are suffering and death. All of us will endure suffering; and we all must die a physical death. For those reasons alone we should have compassion for one another.



Even if you are overweight, getting older, in physical pain, in debt, experiencing some losses in life; you can still experience more of the peace of Jesus Christ. Even if you have some bad habits, like I do, you can still experience more of His peace. His peace is infinite, endless, omnipresent. And the only prerequisite is a deep and growing awareness of His presence with you and love for you. Of course it's important to keep getting better; to practice minimizing or overcoming your bad habits. But Jesus' peace is not dependent on how well you're doing at that. God has simply given you those bad feelings that you have about your bad habits as a gentle nudge to remind you to keep getting better. But from the moment you received Him as your Lord and Savior, you entered into His infinite, eternal, sufficient Grace that covers all of your failures and shortcomings. This is not rationalization, and it's not making excuses for our selves. It is simply receiving God's Grace; and it is His loving desire to impart it to us. It is Satan who turns those gentle nudges of conviction from the Holy Spirit into raging self-condemnation. Listen to those gentle nudges. Respond to them. But see and feel them as God's love for you which is exactly and only what they are.



We are bewitched with man-made things. Think about how much time you spend looking at, interacting with, thinking about, handling, dealing with, purchasing, or repairing things or programs or systems that have been made by the hands of man. Everything we have made we have made from stuff that we did not make. If we lose touch with the things that are in nature—the sounds of frogs, crickets, birds, wind in the trees, night sky, earth, water, plants, butterflies—if we lose touch with where they and we came from, then we are lost in ourselves. We are lost in what our own hands have made. This is idolatry.



I am so thankful to know, very deeply, that God---- is---- Love; and I want everyone to know it.



If your focus is on how well other people are loving you, it never seems to be well enough. But if you focus on how well [or poorly] you are loving other people, it becomes much easier to be graceful toward others in their failures or shortcomings in loving you.

The best that is in us is Who God is in its purest manifestation.  [And, of course, in His infinite Being, He is more than we can currently know. We are still unraveling what He has created.]
We recognize God and Satan, goodness and evil, within us, and we aspire to purify the good; to enhance, grow and blossom in the ways that we have come to know are good. He has given us a perfect manifestation of Himself in human form in Christ Jesus, and the presence of His Spirit to guide us.

A person can defeat every attempt of Truth to enter into his mind and heart. He can block every ray of Light that shines into his chosen darkness. But he will lose in the end, because the Truth is what the Truth is. And the time is coming when there will be no place to hide from the Light.

The hostility between humans issues out of the conflict within the individual human heart; and the conflict between humans feeds the conflict within our own hearts: a vicious cycle. As and to the degree that we resolve the conflict within us, we can help resolve the hostilities between us. But if, in the process of resolving the hostilities between humans, we lose our own inner peace, then we become a part of the problem rather than the solution. In the warfare against hatred and hostility, we must always be peaceful warriors. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and the Mightiest of Warriors, having overcome the world. And He is in us.

Try to do everything that you do without a sense of urgency or feeling rushed. You are the master of time. Time is not your master. Keep your mind composed.

Be aware of your frustration; and let it go as soon as possible. Beyond a healthy motivation to do whatever is possible within reason to resolve the source of the frustration, it is useless [at best].

You can respond compassionately and appropriately to the disrespect of others when you know beyond any shadow of doubt that you are living in a manner worthy of respect. To the extent that you are not living respectably, the disrespect of others should be expected. It can be used as a motivator to live better. But it is counter-productive to rail against the disrespect of others.

Embrace everything, everything, everything, and everything with a strong and peaceful heart.

Come to Jesus Christ and sit with Him. Leave behind all the worries and cares of the world. All of them. Sit peacefully at His feet and feel the Spirit of God, the Creator of this universe, the Giver of Life, Eternal Reality, flowing right into your heart and setting you free with a freedom that you can never lose.

The saddest thing about the human family is that we reject and are blind to the God Who created us. But for those who do not reject but rather seek with a sincere and open heart to know Him Who is the Loving, Conscious Core permeating this universe--the One revealed by Jesus Christ as a Loving Father--He comes near and encircles and embraces us in a Light that protects us from the darkness manifesting through those who have rejected Him. He takes us under His wing like a mother hen her baby chicks.

To master the mind is to create the self.

There is a thin line between confidence and arrogance. We cross it when we leave behind humility.

Living in Jesus is living in Truth--the Truth that is beyond description. The Truth that sets us free. The Truth by which the universe came into existence and by which it operates in all its realms. There is no truth that is not contained in the Truth of Jesus.

We are primarily a stream of consciousness. To a large extent, we create our lives by what we think. The quality of our life is determined by what is in our mind. So the Bible says, "As a man thinkinth in his heart, so is he." And God encourages us to think about those things that are "true, pure, excellent, virtuous" etc.   And we are commanded, out of His Love for us, to be thankful in all situations.

Our freedom is limited by what we cannot accept in our self. Since not everything in us is good, in order to be free, we must do something about what is not good in us. We can deny it, which does not deeply eradicate the inner conflict and tends to make us unpleasant to be around. Or we can confess it, do the best we can to overcome it [repent], and accept God's forgiveness and Grace. This produces a great freedom!

How we became who we are seems to be a random process emerging out of the spontaneous thoughts that have been stored up in our mind in response to life experiences, combined with our particular genetic inheritance. As neuro-scientist Wolf Singer says, "The mind is an orchestra without a conductor." We become what we choose through devotion: Devotion to core characteristics [love, peace, courage, faith, hope, gratitude, etc.]. We set these as our default to come back to from the thousands of distractions that we inevitably experience in daily life. This is one of the primary functions of our religious life. The word "religion" derives from latin words meaning to "bind back". True religion binds us to what we are trying to become, and thus shapes us, over time, into that person. We have the wonderful opportunity [it is an obligation, but should be felt as an opportunity] to consciously cooperate with God in the shaping of our personalities.

“It is the part of a pious pastor, to weep within himself, before he calls upon others to weep: to feel tortured in silent musings, before he shows any token of displeasure; and to keep within his own breast more grief, than he cause to others.” Calvin





If the Love of Jesus Christ in our hearts doesn't work, as far as progressing the human condition, then I submit to you that nothing will work. And any road we take away from that way-of-being, in the name of “tolerance” or “pluralism”, is downhill. But in fact we know that the Love of Jesus Christ does work for those who are sincere in their devotion to Him. It gets us [He gets us] where we need to be as individuals, and that's the best we can do for the world. As far as tolerance, the God of Jesus Christ has always been tolerant. He tolerates us creating all manner of hells for ourselves in the name of other gods or in the name of no god. But all the pathways that work in this world, as far as progressing the human condition, are characterized by the Love of Jesus Christ, whether lived out in His name or not.



If you haven't gotten "It" yet about God, why aren't you seeking?
And if you've gotten "It" about God, why aren't you dancing?



We are as vulnerable to rejection as we are immature in Christ.





The fear of inadequacy makes one appear inadequate [deer in the headlights; test anxiety]. But, beyond a certain humility about one's abilities, it is the fear, not the inadequacy, that is the problem.


In Christ we are maturing toward the point at which everything we do is motivated by Love, which means, in His Spirit. In this Love we know that we are free; and we feel free. This is true because we are confident that there is no higher motivation than Love--the Love of God. In His Love we are eternally safe: for others; and from what is not yet sanctified in them.

A true man does not have to prove that he is one. He does not have to make the final decision; but if one has to be made, he will, if no one else is willing to or wants to take the rap if things go bad. And he will consult with others because he's not threatened by others' intelligence--he delights in it, learns from it, and uses it for the common good. And he gives credit where it's due. A true man's willing to put dishes in the dishwasher, and not complain or brag about it. He cares about responsibility, first and foremost his own. He feels a little like a failure if others are doing more than him. And if anyone's working too hard [other than himself] he tries to help them slow down a little, knowing that it's not good to work too hard for too long. A true man breathes deep, and isn't rushed. He's at peace because he knows the truth about  God--the Truth that Jesus brought to us.  It has settled all the way into the bones of his soul. Death is new freedom, added to the freedom that he is growing in every day. And he sincerely desires that everyone have that same peace and freedom; and he's even doing some work, in church, or volunteering, etc. to ensure that they do. He is kind and civil, even to those who are insensitive and competitive, but he will protect himself and others from being hurt by them. He knows when he's trying to love people, and when he's only trying to impress them; and he eschews the latter. He deeply respects womanhood, and the amazing gifts [grace, goodness, nurturance, enjoyment of life, diligent concern, intuition, etc.] that she brings into the world. He acknowledges and enhances her freedom to be all she chooses to become. He knows how to feed his children's strengths rather than their weaknesses. He relentlessly faces the truth about himself: the good, bad and ugly, especially the latter two, because he knows those are the traits that can  be used of Satan to hurt his loved ones; something he's dead set against. His greatest concern is that he might falter in a way that damages his integrity and his ability to share with others what God has given to him. He considers this sharing an honor, and prays [always with gratitude] that God will never remove His hand from him and his family [the human family.]





A possession never seems more valuable than when you are about to give it away.

Do not allow yourself to feel diminished by what you have not accomplished in your life, or by comparing yourself to others. Instead, just love your people with a deep, sincere and growing love. To love in this way is the greatest accomplishment of all.




Why wait until a near-death experience or an extended stay in the hospital or a stroke or heart attack to stop taking the everyday, normal, extraordinary and magnificent simple things of life for granted?





Where we have come from in life may help us understand where we are; but it does not justify it. Only forgiveness in Christ justifies; but that forgiveness comes with a requirement to get better.

It is often better for us to not get what we want.

Confidence: How do you maintain it? Choose, with no reservations, to do good. Not just good for yourself--the "common good". Work diligently for this good. Then, beyond a wholesome, prayerful introspection to make sure your motives are still good, don't look back; and ignore the demonic voices of doubt.  For a Christian, this has everything to do with Christ, Who defines "good".

I love being loved and respected. But I must speak and live the truth even if I am not.

We create the energy that flows within and between us in our relationships. If I think critical, judgmental thoughts about my loved ones, I am creating negative energy that they can detect.  When they detect this negative energy, unless they are very spiritually mature, they will respond with a corresponding negative energy. "How dare you judge me! Who do you think you are? There's stuff in you I could point the finger at also" etc. Thus we have a self-generating, escalating negative energy storm that can go on indefinitely. Suspicion, defensiveness, and various forms of irresponsibility or laziness are other examples of ways to generate negative energy in our relationships. When we practice love as a consciously chosen discipline [rather than relying on feelings] we generate positive energy: peace, security, respect, compassion, etc. This is what Christ is inviting us to do.

If you look for ulterior motives in others you will find them, even when they're not there. The impetus to look for ulterior motives in others is not likely to be coming from a good place within you.

No one is above me but God. But the God Who is above me loves everyone else as much as He loves me--even those who think they are above me, and who are arrogantly looking down on me in hatred or scorn.  He loves them, but He knows, in His infinite wisdom, that they don't know what they are doing. They are lost in a deep darkness that will get deeper and darker unless they can understand and receive what Christ is saying.  And I must be careful not to enter that darkness by hating or fearing them.

If all a man can think about is a woman [or women], he's not fit for any woman. Life is not primarily about having a mate.

"The Constitution does not protect the right not to be offended by the expression or exercise of another point of view." J. Randy Forbes, U.S. Congressman, VA, Member Great Bridge
Baptist Church

"If we were on a battlefield in Iraq or Afghanistan and forgot we were at war, we would be dead in no time. Awareness and vigilence are critical for survival....[W]e are in a war--an invisible war, but a real one nonetheless."  Brian Borgman and Rob Ventura, Spiritual Warfare: A Biblical and Balanced Perspective.  Be sober-minded and vigilant. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1Peter 5-9

I don't have any secret thing--any ugly little aspect of my personality that I would be embarrassed for others to know--that is not already laid out in the bright sunlight of God's loving Grace. My denial prevents me from availing myself of His grace.

Almost without exception, the easiest way to live is also the unhealthiest. Most, perhaps all, good things in life require effort. It even takes effort to realise God's freely-given grace: the effort of truth-seeking.

Sometimes we want the goodness of the Truth so badly for someone else that we lose it ourselves. This is especially true in parenting--in what we want for our children.
When this happens, what we are trying to give--this unspeakable goodness of life--is no longer in us to give.
This is what it means to 'get lost in the sharing.'  We cannot give what we do not have.  Remember, Jesus said "Let it return to you."

We move through being bound to the Word to being Free in His Spirit. It's important to make this transformation ongoingly.  The Word is only the True Word if it sets you free in His Love. And this freedom must be an inner felt experience.  But I can only discover it; I can only receive that unspeakable gift, if I am courageous enough to seek and submit myself to the Truth--the Ultimate Reality that is just beyond the prideful door that shuts out confession. We can never get to God-- His infinite freedom, joy, and peace--- if we are not willing to look honestly at our sinful nature.  Pride is founded on fear: the fear of inferiority, along with a certain stubborn unwillingness to be exposed for what we know that we truly are: persistent sinners. God, of course, already knows and is already offering forgiveness and Grace; but this can only be received if one opens the door. Once this door is opened, we never want to allow it to be shut back up again by the lies of the prince of this world. Through this door everything that our soul has ever needed comes flooding in. John 10:7-9

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is." Albert Einstein [1879-1955]

Notice the difference in how you feel when you get something done that needs to be done, and how you feel when you sit and think about all the stuff that needs to be done. There you have a miniscule but very important manifestation of the Holy Spirit!





There are very healthy/productive/functional ways of accepting things. And there are very unhealthy/non-productive/dysfunctional ways of striving. Spiritual maturity involves the discernment of which is which.

There are no perfect humans. Everyone has some character defects. It is possible, therefore, for us to focus on anyone's character defects and pump ourselves up with a lot of self-righteous indignation and justify a critical, hard heart toward them. And if that person happens to pose some threat to our egocentric self-concept, or if we have been hurt by them, there will be a powerful temptation to do just that. All we will accomplish in doing this, though, is to alienate our self from the God Who has commanded us to love and forgive each other. And that puts us in a place of darkness where no lasting happiness can exist.





Anything and everything that distracts us from the Love, Joy, Peace, Freedom and Life of Christ is evil, and should be withstood as destructive.  There are no idle, harmless distractions. Everything is either taking us more deeply into the heart of Life and Truth, or it is taking us into the darkness.

We are born needing, wanting, and self-centered. We must learn to love. That is one reason why Jesus is so important.


Find joy in doing those things that must be done in order to be healthy in mind, body and spirit.


To use another’s character defects as a smoke screen for yours does not diminish the destructive effects of yours.







To criticize someone for speaking a difficult truth to you does not invalidate the truth; but it does prevent the blessing that it would have otherwise brought to you.



Complaining is a passive and annoying way of asking someone to do something for you that they either can’t or shouldn’t do.  Or it is the venting of frustration--an energy that could have been used more productively.



If you can stand with a clear conscience before the just and all-knowing God with your actions and motives, then you need not feel guilt induced from any human. But be careful not to harbor self-righteous indignation—the God that you stand before loves the ones who are wrongly judging you as much as He loves you.



Anger is an inner demand that someone or something be different than it is. In that respect, it is a form of non-acceptance. Some things that are clearly not good are also outside the reach of our efforts to change them; thus, since chronic anger is unhealthy, we must find a way to peacefully accept that the "wheat and tares" must be left to grow together for a time.  The power to do this is found in faith in an all-knowing God Who will ultimately separate the wheat from the tares; and Whose Love motivates us to peacefully do all that we can to bring truth and light into the areas where we do have some influence.



Loving is not the same as needing. Need is a pull inward toward the center of one’s being—an attempt to fill up a vacuum with someone or something from someone. Love is a free and peaceful energy flowing out from the center of one’s being, conveying blessing and light to any who will receive it.



Trust God. Love people. Be happy. [in that order]



Regarding science and spirituality: Science is the study of the violin [the tautness of the strings, type of wood, the notes, etc.]. Faith has to do with the ineffable melody and its effects on the heart. Science studies organs and tissues. Faith celebrates the Life that mysteriously exists in and beyond those tissues.







You must not allow yourself to feel “controlled”. You never are.



There is no guaranteed way to make someone grow up into a mature human being. But loving them with Christ’s LoveandTruth offers them the best opportunity; and it protects you from the destructive effects of their denied character defects.



Kindness is the oil that lubricates the machinery of life.




We can not get people to love us, and we can not get people to be responsible. We can not make people receive the Truth that would set them free. But it is a terrible mistake to lose the Peace that Christ died for us to have because of it. And it is a terrible mistake to stop loving people because of their failures and irresponsibility.




Jesus' command that we are to love our enemies [Mt. 5:44] is a brightly shining testament to the fact that He is indeed the Hope of our world.


A sincere apology is a beautiful thing.

I read this somewhere - I believe it is Paul Tournier, but could not confirm it. Anyway, it's one of my favorite quotes, and the quote below it from Einstein reminded me of it:
"I know of no greater miracle than the fact that I have been delivered from my self." [Paul Tournier?]

"The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained liberation from the self." --Albert Einstein [1879-1955]


Gratitude
It is extremely important, perhaps more so than any of us yet know, to consciously and proactively practice GRATITUDE.

When we realize deeply that we are not entitled to anything, that God does not owe us anything, not even our life; everything becomes a gift, and the only appropriate response is gratitude.

“The more you practice feeling grateful, the more grateful you become. Gratitude is a muscle you strengthen through daily use—an exercise, not an emotion. It’s not something you feel, but something you do. And like most things, the people who are best at it are the ones who do it even when they’re tired and worn out and don’t much feel like it”–Jeff Goins.


Regarding Courage:

“Success is not final, failure not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill

“Freedom lies in being bold.” Robert Frost

“Courage is found in unlikely places.” J.R.R. Tolkien

“Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish into air.” John Quincy Adams

“We must substitute courage for caution.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

“To live is to roll up your sleeves and embrace trouble.”
- Zorba the Greek

"Even if I knew the world would fall apart, I would plant a tree."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.


“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”–Joshua 1:9.








The best way to change someone is to love them. If you do not love someone, your attempts to change them will be a form of criticism; and they will be counter-productive.


The great paradox of the Christian faith is that only by feeding others do we become fulfilled.


You must try to be good. You never will be, and you must not think of yourself as good; but you must diligently strive to be. And rest peacefully, knowing that the sacrificial blood of Christ bridges the narrowing gap between the person you are and the person you should be. And His Spirit enables you to continuously improve.


"Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things that men of intemperate minds can never be free. Their passions forge their fetters."---Edmund Burke


"Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites."  --Edmund Burke







One of the great and mysterious wonders of the Christian faith is that, by loving people with the Love of Christ, we are protected from their character defects. The failure to love anyone because of their character defects is a symptom that evil, through those character defects, has already invaded your personality. Jesus commands us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who despitefully use and persecute us [Mt. 5:44].  He commands this because, in His unspeakable Love for us,  He wants us to remain spiritually protected from that hatred, persecution, etc.; as He was at Gethsemane and Calvary.

The Nation, God, and the Bible


“It led not to true neutrality with respect to religion, but to the establishment of a religion of secularism”–Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, in his dissent of the 1963 ruling eradicating prayer to Jehovah and the Bible from public schools.


“Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged”–Ronald Reagan.


   
"The Bible is the rock on which our Republic rests."--Andrew Jackson


“It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible”–George Washington.


“If the state commands what God forbids, or forbids what God commands, then our plain Christian duty is to resist, not to submit, to disobey the state in order to obey God. . . .Whenever laws are enacted which contradict God’s law, civil disobedience becomes a Christian duty”–John Stott.


“No government is lawful or innocent that does not recognize the moral law as the only universal law, and God as the Supreme Lawgiver and Judge, to whom nations in their national capacity, as well as individuals, are amenable”–Charles Finney.


“Many people have a deep-seated fear that, if they commit themselves to Jesus Christ, they will be the losers. They forget that Jesus came into the world that we might ‘have life, and have it to the full’, that his purpose is to make us rich not poor, and that to serve him is perfect freedom”–John Stott, Basic Christianity, 117.


"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked: Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."  Geo. Washington, Farewell Address


 “Wherever Christians’ ideals have been generally accepted and their practice sincerely attempted, there is a dynamic liberty; and wherever Christianity has been ignored or rejected, persecuted or chained to the state, there is tyranny.”
Historian Carlton Hayes, past pres. Am. Historical Assoc.
 






Patrick Henry:  
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ! For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."










“Evil talks about tolerance only when it’s weak. When it gains the upper hand, its vanity always requires the destruction of the good and the innocent, because the example of good and innocent lives is an ongoing witness against it. So it always has been. So it always will be. And America has no special immunity to becoming an enemy of its own founding beliefs about human freedom, human dignity, the limited power of the state, and the sovereignty of God”–Archbishop Chaput.

“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.”
Johann Wolfgang Goethe

.

We're all Americans. We may have come on different boats to America, but we're in the same boat now." Rev. William Owens, black pastor


No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”  Nelson Mandela
'How wonderful that no one need wait a single moment to improve the world.'
Anne Frank (1929-1945)










 The devil is not pictured in the Scriptures as wise, only as shrewd. We are warned not against his wisdom but against his wiles, something very different. Sin, in addition to anything else it may be, is always an act of wrong judgment. To commit a sin a man must for the moment believe that things are different from what they really are; he must confound values; he must see the moral universe out of focus; he must accept a lie as truth and see truth as a lie; he must ignore the signs on the highway and drive with his eyes shut; he must act as if he had no soul and was not accountable for his moral choices A.W. Tozer, Man: The Dwelling Place of God, 23-24.


“It appears that too many Christians want to enjoy the thrill of feeling right but are not willing to endure the inconvenience of being right”–A.W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, 52-3.


'I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough, we must do.'   Leonardo da Vinci

Terrorism




"We have almost forgotten how to arm ourselves against barbarism. We can, in fact, do it in only one way: by stating that terrorism is always and in every circumstance wrong, that it must be resisted by every means at our disposal; and that those who practice it must not only be punished but repudiated by those who share their political aims."
Paul Johnson, Historian


Every formula which expresses a law of nature is a hymn of praise to God.
Maria Mitchell  Astronomer who discovered Miss Mitchell's Comet.



Once you learn that a pattern is dysfunctional, the smartest thing to do—the only thing to do—is to stop whatever you are doing to keep that pattern going, even if you don’t get whatever it is that you think you need from working that pattern.  It’s better to not get what you need than to keep working a dysfunctional pattern.  Your addiction to getting your needs met can keep you in a dysfunctional pattern for a long time—for the remainder of your life.  The Bible says that God will supply ALL our need, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The primary need that we all have, whether we realize it or not, is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love others as we love our self.  Love is an energy, like light or pure water, flowing out from the core of your being which has been filled with the Holy Spirit because you have asked Jesus to be the Lord of your life.  Need, on the other hand, is a pull inward toward your inner being because you feel empty, void, incomplete. Humans cannot make humans complete. Only God can do that.  Loving and needing are not the same thing. The Bible teaches us to look only to God for our needs [even our people-needs], and to look toward others only with love, even if they are not doing what we think they should. This is the pathway of freedom. 




Whatever character defects you face in the personalities of your people*, you are 100% responsible for how you respond to them. You are 0% responsible for the character defects of your people, but totally responsible for how you respond to those character defects. When you make the shift to focusing on your responses rather than their character defects, you take a great step ahead in spiritual maturity.
*Your people are all those in your sphere of influence; spouse, children, extended family, friends, co-workers, etc.
 
 
Any day spent loving people is a good day.

Any time spent worrying about anything, even about how poorly we are loving people, is sadly wasted.





“The onceborn never understand the twice-born, and still after thousands of years Cain hates Abel and Esau threatens Jacob. It is as true today as it was in Bible times that the man who hates his sins too much will get in trouble with those who do not hate sin enough”–A.W. Tozer, Man: The Dwelling Place of God, 32.


Sin is like cancer. It has to be rooted out completely or it will grow.  The man who confesses 90% of his sins is in grave danger. The 10% will consume him in due time, and hurt everyone that he loves and who loves him. The way that sin is rooted out is through confession and repentance [turning in a new direction], empowered by the Holy Spirit. We are never completely free of our sinful nature, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, through confession and repentance, we become progressively less sinful in our actions and attitudes, and therefore safer for ourselves and our loved ones. The sin we hide will grow. What we confess will shrink. This is our sanctification process--an immensely important process. 
 
Even people who like ice cream don't want someone shoving it down their throat.


Don't let your own boat sink while helping someone bail theirs out.


"People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed." unknown. 'Dr. Johnson'" from C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity.



Re. Anger:  "Consider in a forest fire that the heat from the fire first gets communicated to the unburned trees and then the flames jump to join that heat as the fire spreads."   James Willis


"The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool."
Martin Luther King, Jr.


Regarding PAIN:
“We may derive profit from the pain we experience. Pain is something we should take for granted. It belongs in life in general which comes alike to Christians and non-Christians. Pain is something that does not last. When we look back on most of the pain that comes into our lives, we are amazed at what a relatively small segment of our lives it constituted. Even if you take it at its worst, which may continue to go on and on even to death, from God’s point of view, it is still a little while. That pain of yours is only temporal, it belongs only to this world and to mortal life. The glory is eternal. But pain is something that should not be wasted. It can be turned to good. Use it”–Reg Dunlap.




THE BIBLE
"The Bible is about the expectation that a human being is going to take responsibility for discovering the truth and what's right and devote his or her life to bringing what is right to the world." Carolyn Glick





I find the Bible to be what it says of itself: a hammer that breaks down my defenses, a mirror in which I see myself, and a sure guide. [unknown]







The Bible is more than a historical document to be preserved.

And it is more than a classic of English literature to be cherished

and admired. It is a record of God's dealing with men, of God's

revelation of Himself and His will. It records the life and work of

Him in whom the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among men.

The Bible carries its full message, not to those who regard it simply

as a heritage of the past or praise its literary style, but to those who

read it that they may discern and understand God's Word to men

[From the Preface of the RSV New Testament 2nd. Ed.]











We learn 7 different images for the Word of God in the Bible.



1. Like a Double Edged Sword:



* Hebrews 4:12: -" Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."



2. Like Fire:



* Jer 23:29: - "Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?"



3. Like Hammer:



* Jer 23:29: - "Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?"



4. Like Lamp and Light:



* Ps 119:105: - "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."



5. Like Food:



* Mat 4:4: - "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."



* 1 Pet 1:25-2:2:"But the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation."



6. Like Seed:



* 1 Pet 1:23: - "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God."



7. Like Mirror:



* James 1:22-25: - "But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves* in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act-they will be blessed in their doing."



Bible study - What is Word of God like? Seven symbols of Word of God in Bible - Double edge sword, fire, hammer, light and lamp, food, seed, mirror

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2325938








"The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstacy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water." C.S. Lewis

Jesus did not come into this world to fit into it;  and we see clearly that He did not.  He came to transform it.

Jesus first restrains our pathology; then He delivers us from it.

"I said ‘I do,’ and I still do. The ‘I do’ of marriage is always in the present tense until the Lord Jesus says otherwise. ‘I do’ is never ‘I did at the time.’ ‘I do’ is always present tense. ‘I do’ travels through space and time to whatever condition the married couple finds themselves in and says, ‘I still do, I always do, and whenever the enemy burns down these battlements, I shall remain’ " --Evan Welcher.




We overcome some difficulties by working peacefully to change the circumstances. Other problems, however, are overcome only by accepting, transcending, or ignoring them. By "transcending", I mean living beyond. 

Make all decisions based on Christ's Love. When in a dilemma, prayerfully choose the pathway of the highest Love. Don't waste time in guilt or despair; just keep choosing Christ's Way.

Re. Mystery:
"There comes a critical moment where everything is reversed after which the point becomes to understand more and more that there is something which cannot be understood." Kierkegaard

"There remains in man, even for himself, something of impenetrable mystery." Paul Tournier

Once we submit to Christ as the Messiah, we embark upon the Pathway of Life. At that moment, we can say with certainty that every second of every minute of every hour, life is giving us everything we need to be whole and right, free and good. We are now exactly where we need to be and moving toward where we need and want to go. We may not be able to maintain awareness of this Truth, and we may doubt it at times. These doubts arise from the mist or fog that dims our vision [1Cor. 13:12]. If we continue onward in Christ, we will without fail emerge into the sunlight of awareness of this Truth--the Truth that sets us free! [John8:31-32]



“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”
G. K. Chesterton

"The mind which presumes to believe that there is no such thing as a miracle, is itself a miracle." M. Scott Peck,   The Road Less Travelled

Spiritual growth is the expansion, though conscious effort aided necessarily by the Grace of God, of the soul's capacity for Love, Truth, Joy, Peace, and transcendence of the inevitable sufferings of life.  It is the expansion of both the experience and the expression of these qualities; i.e., being Love, there is an innate desire for others to be growing in these ways also. Love is always evangelistic. It can not be otherwise.


Unforgiveness is unforgivable. [see Mark 11:26]

There is great peace in sincerety:  Sincerety in loving people as a conscious endeavor; and sincerety in one's willingness to look deeply into the sources of one's failures to love.



“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience”–C.S. Lewis.

"I want to know how God created this world." ..."In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God.  But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views." ..."The deeper one penetrates into nature's secrets, the greater becomes one's respect for God."  Albert Einstein
[Jammer: Einstein and Religion; Princeton p.97] Comfort: How to Know God Exists; p. 17

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use." Galileo Galilei 

"This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being."  Sir Isaac Newton:The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, Book III, trans. Andrew Mott, pp310-314] Comfort, How to Know God Exists, p.16

"All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen." Ralph Waldo Emerson [Ray Comfort, How to Know God Exists, p. 19]



To those who seek God half-heartedly or not at all, He appears to be unjust, unfair, cruel, or arbitrary. To those who seek Him with a whole devoted heart, He reveals Himself to be just, fair righteous, loving, patient, and merciful. It is impossible to approach the knowledge of God, as He is, without some degree of faith. And faith combined with a growing knowledge leads to utter devotion, which in turn leads to increased knowledge, which makes devotion desirable.








To make one's growth contingent upon someone else's growth, for any reason, is an all-too-common act of self-defeat which is, at root, evil in the sense that it is a great delusion. We must never place another person in the position of preventing or blocking our growth toward and into God. We must wake up to our own power and responsibility to grow, which can not be retarded by others except to the degree that we are deluded into believing that it can be. We must detach from growth-encumbering attachments to others; and this must be carefully understood as not detaching from love (care, concern, willingness to sacrifice, etc.) for them. We must not, in our love for others, be attached to a need for them to grow; or a need for them to love us.






Our technology has literally sky-rocketed to the moon; and figuratively, beyond. If we will now be still, and know that He is God, our technology, guided by His wisdom, may be harnessed to serve our world for the enhancement of life.






Inch by inch, day by day, as water on the land, unseen forces are shaping our personality. It is foolish not to make this a conscious process. The unseen forces, and their long-term effects upon the personality, can be discerned through the Holy Spirit. If we do not make this a conscious process, then we do not know who we will be five years from now. And, perhaps more frightening, if our spouse does not, we do not know who he or she will be. In this light we see that those who are not living a devoted life have a greater "faith" (if we may call it that) than those who are seeking God and His Way, for they are trusting those unseen and unknown forces that are shaping their personalities each day, to shape them into something good, pleasant, or worthy.


"Our truest and deepest self is completely free. It is not crippled or compromised by past actions or concerned with identity or status. It comprehends that it has no need to fear the earthly world, and therefore it has no need to build itself up through fame or wealth or conquest."-- Eben Alexander, Proof of Heaven]

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