Spiritual Thoughts

When you’re sick and you think, What’s the use? And you’re tired, discouraged, afraid; And you keep asking why they don’t remember how hard you try And forget the mistakes that you have made; When you’re chuck full of pain and you’re tired of the game, And you want to get out of it all – That’s the time to begin to stick out your chin And fight with your back to the wall! When you’ve done all you can to carryout your plan But you can’t keep your head up much more; And the end of the bout leaves you all down and out, Bleeding, and reeling and sore; When you’ve prayed all along for the sound of the gong To ring for the fight to stop – Just keep on your feet and smile at defeat; That’s the real way to come up on top! When you’re tired of hard knocks and you’re right on the rocks, And nobody lends you a hand; When none of your schemes, the best of your dreams, Turn out in the way you’d planned, And you’ve lost all your grit and you’re ready to quit For life’s just a failure for you, Why, ...

HOPE He who has hope has everything. -- Arab Proverb Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away. 1 Peter 1:3-4

Hating people is like burning down your own house to try to get rid of a rat. Harry Emerson Fosdick For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. Titus 3:3

Present suffering is not enjoyable, but life would be worth little without it. The difference between iron and steel is fire, but steel is worth all it costs. Maltbie D. Babcock All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:11

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting system through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. George Washington Carver For since the creation of the world God’s invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:20

THE CHOICE = FREEDOM It's quiet. It's early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Jesus, I'm free to choose. And so I choose. I choose love. No occasion justifies hatred. No injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves. I choose Joy... I will invite my God to be the God of my day. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical... the tool of a lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I...

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. -- African Proverb Psalms 107:23 -31 One day Jesus said to his disciples, " Let's go over to the other side of the lake ." So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger . The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters ; the storm subsided, and all was calm. “ Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him." Luke 8:22-25

He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity . -- Ben Jonson If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? Jeremiah 12:5

Forgive Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury . Edwin H. Chapin (1814-1880) So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" Luke 17:3-5

Giving We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. -- Norman MacFinan I have showed you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive . Acts 20:35

One of the secrets of life is to make stepping-stones out of stumbling blocks. -Jack Penn Why not? [ Why hasn’t Israel become righteous?] Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Romans 9:32-33

Courage does not always roar. Sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow". -- Anonymous But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. Hebrews 3:6

When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion. - Ethiopian proverb Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12

We must wait for God , long, meekly, in the wind and wet, in the thunder and lightning, in the cold and dark. Wait, and He will come. He never comes to those who do not wait. Frederick W. Faber Wait on the LORD ; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalm 27:14 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings 19:11-12

"I can't do it" never yet accomplished anything: "I will try" has accomplished wonders. -- George P. Burnham Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11, 13

To think bad thoughts is really the easiest thing in the world. If you leave your mind to itself it will spiral down into ever increasing unhappiness. To think good thoughts, however, requires effort. This is one of the things that discipline - training - is about. -- James Clavell, in his novel "Shogun" He who neglects discipline despises himself. Proverbs 15:32 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:11

A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials. -- Chinese Proverb If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:6-7 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. Psalms 119:71

If you are suffering from a bad man's injustice, forgive him , lest there be two bad men. - Augustine And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him , so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." ­Mark 11:25

It is the wounded oyster that mends its shell with pearl. - Ralph Waldo Emerson Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. You are good, and do good; Teach me Your statutes. Psalm 119:67-68

Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box. Italian Proverb The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments ; for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul… Deuteronomy 10:12

Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine. Kathleen Norris Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears--by listening to them. Dean Rusk For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 2 Corinthians 5:10-11

Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. -- William Jennings Bryan See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. Deuteronomy 30:15-16