Spiritual Thoughts

"How much should you earn? It doesn't matter whether you earn $10,000 a year or $100,000 a year as long as you've done the best you can." Jim Rohn Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Slaying the dragon of delay is no sport for the short-winded. Sandra Day O'Connor Romans 13:11-12 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. Sidney J. Harris Ephesians 5:15 - 16 Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Wasting time, is wasting ourselves away. (anonymous) Psalms 90:12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 34:11-14 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. We find, in this Psalm, that David has a lesson for us. It's about life and about living. He asks the simple question, "Who wants to live a good life?". Most people desire to live a happy life. Yet, as we look around us, there is so much unhappiness in the world. Is it because we have lost the true meaning of "living"? Living is much more than just a mere existence. A true and joyful life has it's foundation in a relationship with God. David gives us some basics to begin our road of a happy life. Respect, Love and Honor the Lord. Watch your tongue. Stay away from evil things. Do good. Seek Peace. It's not that com...

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them. --George Bernard Shaw 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Failure is not fatal. Failure should be our teacher, nor our undertaker. It should challenge us to new heights of accomplishments, not pull us to new depths of despair. From honest failure can come valuable experience. William Arthur Ward Psalms 119:67-68 Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. You are good and do good; Teach me Your statutes.

Here is a test to find whether your mission in your life is finished: If you're alive, it isn't. (unknown) Deuteronomy 30:19-20 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him..."

Pain and Suffering is inevitable but Misery is optional. (anonymous) 1 Peter 2:20-21 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.

God takes us into deep waters, not to drown us but to cleanse us. -Unknown 1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Before you begin a thing remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead. ... You can only see one thing clearly, and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin. Kathleen Norris 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Don't dare to be different, Dare to be yourself - if that does not make you different then something is wrong. Laura Baker Numbers 14:24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.

My life is in the hands of any fool who I lose my temper over. -- Anonymous Proverbs 29:11 A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back.

A tongue doesn't weigh much, but many people still have trouble holding it. Unknown James 3:5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. v.8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.

The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your own arm. - Swedish Proverb Hebrews 6:10-12 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

He who lies in the mud will rise dirty. --Gaelic Proverb You can't slide uphill. --Roadside Church Sign Proverbs 16:17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life. Luke 12:35 "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning."

"In football, if you stand still you go backwards." - Peter Reid The same happens in life. Which way are you going? Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path. Psalm 27:11

God does not work by only one method, paint in only one color, play in only one key, nor does He make only one star shine onto the earth. -Eberhard Arnold 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 18 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

I don't get "preachy" in these Thoughts often, but on this day when rumor abounds on 06/06/06 today, I send this second Thought with love to you all, something a fellow believer wrote to warn us of the nearing of the end - May our Lord Jesus come soon! The description of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Bible is spoken of in terms which make the combined effects of 9/11, tsunamis, Katrina and the severe recent earthquakes sound like child’s play. The warnings we are given are astounding. " For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened ." (Matt. 24:21 RSV) In light of these descriptions, it begs the question – "Why do so many fail to heed the warning?" People continue to live in sin as if this will not come to pass. Not surp...

Beautiful hands are the hands that do The tasks that the Lord gave them to. The homely tasks that, day by day, Make life easier along the way For other people; that wash and cook And make of a house a comfortable nook That folks like to come to; that scrub and scour; That soothe and heal no matter what the hour. Floors, clothes, and dishes, across our lands, Are made clean again by beautiful hands. Jessie Canon Eldridge Colossians 3:23-24 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

One of the first things a physician says is, "Let me see your tongue." A spiritual advisor might often do the same. Nehemiah Adams Proverbs 10:31 The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom, But the perverted tongue will be cut out. Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.

K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut) This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble. (Anonymous) Psalm 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.