Spiritual Thoughts

  Friday Tale - My Hope for You   T his is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, Smiles when sadness intrudes, Rainbows to follow the clouds, Laughter to kiss your lips, Sunsets to warm your heart, Hugs when spirits sag, Beauty for your eyes to see, Friendships to brighten your being, Faith so that you can believe, Confidence for when you doubt, Courage to know yourself, Patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life. ~ Anonymous   I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD, be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord. ~ Psalm 27:13-14

L ife is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, BUT of little things, in which smiles and kindness, and small obligations given habitually, are what preserve the heart and secure comfort. ~ Humphry Davy   T hen the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me." ~ Matthew 25:24, 40  

The best portion of a good man's life: his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love. ~ William Wordsworth Let love and kindness never leave you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. ~ Proverbs 3.3

  W hen it is Darkest, Men See the Stars. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson   V ision is the art of   seeing things invisible. ~ Jonathan Swift   BUT if we hope for wat we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. ~ Romans 8:25

W hen you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you, until it seems you cannot hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for THAT is just the place and time the tide will turn. ~ Harriet Beecher Stowe   N ow Jesus told the disciples a parable to make the point that at all times they ought to pray and not give up and lost heart. ~ Luke 18:1

  Friday Tale - To be like Jesus   O ur aim as believers in Christ is to become like Jesus. Even though we live in different cultures, have different life paths and careers, we should still be doing the sort of things that Jesus did. Two chapters in Matthew give us a good snapshot of the sort of things Jesus did in his day to day life that are possible for us to follow and do the same. After all, we do want to be like him.   Matthew chapters 8 and 9 tell us how Jesus...  - Was willing to help those in desperate need (Matthew 8 v 3). - Used every-day life lessons to teach and encourage others (8 v 10 - 12). - Used his abilities to help others (v 16). - Turned cursing into blessing (v 28 - 32). - Forgave sins (Matthew 9 v 2 - 6). - Spent time with those who needed his help (v 10 - 13). - Showed mercy (v 13). - Came to bring joy (v 15). - Had time for others even when he was busy with other things (v 19-23). - Grew faith in others (v 29). - Prayed (v 37 - 38).

Y ou are never strong enough that you do not need help. ~ Cesar Chavez   T he LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. ~ Psalm 145:18

T he people who help me find my courage are not the ones who swoop in to save the day. They are the ones who sit with me in the fear puddle and hold my hand while my knees shake. Here's to the hand-holders. ~ Nanea Hoffman   O ur hope for you is firmly grounded, know that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:7

Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street. ~ Zig Ziglar Keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His ….. commandments, …. So that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn. ~ 1 Kings 2:3

W hen the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills. ~ Unknown   BUT speaking the truth in Love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, Christ. ~ Ephesians 4:15

Friday Tale - Lift Up Your Eyes   B etween Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, with the United States on one side and Canada on the other, flow the waters of the Niagara River. This waterway is one of the most beautiful natural regions of the world.   Compared with other rivers the Niagara is not a great river. It is only 34 miles long, less than a mile wide and seldom over 21 feet deep. The thing that makes the Niagara River significant is Niagara Falls.   The river flows along quietly at five miles an hour. Then, six miles below Buffalo there is a break in the even flow of the stream. At this point, about midway in the river, the Niagara plunges 158 feet—500,000 tons of water a minute into the steep-walled gorge below.   As the raging waters are shattered and bruised on the rocks beneath the falls there is cast up into the sunlight the beautiful rainbow of the Niagara. You who have been there know firsthand what a breathtaking sight it is.   Life is pretty much like that, isn’t it?

F aith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark. ~ Rabindranath Tagore   T hose who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. ~ Psalm 126:5 

T here is a sacredness in tears. They are not the sign of weakness, BUT of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of over-whelming grief.... and unspeakable love. ~ Washington Irving   Y ou have taken account of my wanderings. You have put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? ~ Psalm 56:8

L ife is all about the little decisions you make every day.  You cannot change the decisions of the past, BUT every new day is another opportunity to make the right ones. ~ Unknown   I f any of you lacks wisdom to guide him through a decision or circumstances, he is to ask of God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. ~ James 1:5

  W hen something bad happens  you have three choices: You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you. ~ Unknown   A lthough the fig tree does not blossom And there is no fruit on the vines, although the yield of the olive fails and the fields produce no food, although the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls, YET I will choose to rejoice in the LORD; I will choose to shout in exultation in the God of my salvation. ~ Habakkuk 2:17-18

Friday Tale ~ "Lord, I Hate Buttermilk..."   A visiting minister was attending a men's breakfast in Ohio farm country. He asked one of the impressive older farmers in attendance to say grace that morning. After all were seated, the older farmer began ...        "Lord, I hate buttermilk."        The minister opened one eye and wondered to himself where this was going.        Then the farmer loudly proclaimed, "Lord, I hate lard."        Now the minister was overly worried.        However without missing a beat, the farmer prayed on, "And Lord, you know I don't care much for raw white flour."        Just as the minister was ready to stand and stop everything, the farmer continued,        "But Lord, when you mix 'em all together and bake 'em up, I do love fresh biscuits.           So Lord, when things come up we don't like, when life gets hard, when we just don't understand what you are sayin' to us

  A dversity can crush our spirit - or strengthen it. It is our choice. ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie   B efore I was afflicted I went astray. BUT now I keep Your word. ~ Psalm 119:67

  W hen you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength. Give thanks for your food and the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies with yourself. ~ Tecumseh   I n the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. Let all who take refuge in You be glad, let them ever sing for joy. And may You shelter them, so that those who love Your name may exult in You. ~ Psalm 5:3, 11

  I went to a psychologist friend and said if 500 people claimed to see Jesus after he died, it was just a hallucination. He said hallucinations are an individual event. If 500 people have the same hallucination at the same time, that is a bigger miracle than the resurrection. ~ Lee Strobel   F or I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred at one time . ~ 1 Corinthians 15:3-6

I f Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he did not rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said. The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching, BUT whether or not he rose from the dead. ~ Tim Keller   F or if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless, you are still in your sins. IF we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. BUT now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who are asleep. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:16-20

Friday Tale - Push-Up Sacrifice   T here  was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson who taught at a small college in the Western United States.          Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his or her freshman year regardless of his or her major. Most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.         This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman but was studying with the intent of going into ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team and was the best s

  J esus received what he did not deserve, so that we could receive what we do not deserve. ~ Unknown   H e himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by his wounds you are healed. ~ 1 Peter 2:

D anger! Danger! To put off Christ with the idea that we are going to be different by and bye. We don't know if we have a "by and bye" to be different in. ~ Robert Roberts   W e must work the works of Him who sent me as long as it is day, night is coming when no one can work. ~ John 9:4

W ith true greatness comes a willingness to sacrifice for others. ~ Chuck Swindoll   F or even the Son of Man did not come to be served, BUT to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. ~ Mark 10:45

  Y ou have to decide if you are going to wilt like a daisy or if you are just going to go forward and live the life you have been granted. ~ Kevin Costner   T rust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6

  Friday Tale - Garbage Truck Principle   O ne day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!        The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Garbage Truck Principle'.        He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.        Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wi

I don't see the point of measuring life in terms of time, I would rather measure life in terms of making a difference. ~ Stephen Sutton   E ncourage the exhausted and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with an anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold your God will come....". ~ Isaiah 35:3

T o give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity. ~ Douglas Adams   A nd the work of righteousness will be peace and the service of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. ~ Isaiah 32:17  

T he best way to measure how much you've grown is not by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average..... It is what you've done with your time, how you have chosen to spend your days, and whom you have touched this year. That to me is the greatest measure of success. ~ R. J. Palacio   T herefore, return to your God, observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually. ~ Hosea 12:6

T he measure of who we are is what we do with what we have. ~ Vince Lombardi   F inally, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. ~ 2 Corinthians 13:11

  Friday Tale - Cooperation   C ooperation, like love and friendship, is something you get by giving.     There are many travelers on the road that leads to happiness. You will need their cooperation, and they will need yours.     And there will be other generations after ours. Their lot in life will depend largely on the inheritance we leave to them. We must become bridge-builders, not only for the present generation but for generations yet unborn.   An old man, travelling a lonely highway, Came at the evening, cold and gray, To a chasm deep and wide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim, For the sullen stream had no fears for him. But he turned when he reached the other side, And built a bridge to span the tide. "Old man," cried a fellow pilgrim near, "You are wasting your strength with building here. Your journey will end with the ending day, And you never again will pass this way. "You have crossed the chasm deep and wide. Why build you a bridge at ev

B e somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody. ~ Robby Novak   S o then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. ~ Romans 14:19

F aith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right. ~ Max Lucado   C onsider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. BUT if God so clothes the grass in the field, how much more will He clothe you? BUT seek first His kingdom and these things will be added to you. ~ Luke 12:27-28, 31

I f you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.... ~ Rudyard Kipling   T o those who by persistence in doing good, seek glory and honor and immortality, He will give eternal life. ~ Romans 2:7

W hen we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves. ~ Viktor E. Frankl   Y ou were taught to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. ~ Ephesians 4:22-24

  Friday Tale - Goal Achiever   H is filmmaking career began at the age of 12, when he became fascinated by his father’s 8mm movie camera and it wasn’t long before he began filming his own movies, which starred his three younger sisters.      By the time he graduated from high school, he had 15 movies under his belt.      When he was 17, he snuck onto the Universal Studios lot and found a vacant office. He had a name plate made and put it on the door of his new office.       He started showing his movies to film editors, directors and anyone willing to give him advice on how to get into the big-time movie business.       He became a familiar face around the movie lot and soon one director put him to work and the rest is history.      In fact, seven of his films are among the top 20 money-makers of all time.      I’m sure there’s not a person here who hasn’t seen one of his movies - E.T. The Extraterrestrial                            Star Wars Back to the Future