Spiritual Thoughts

  O ur faith gives us knowledge  of something better. ~ E. F. Schumacher     A nd all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. ~ Hebrews 11:39-40

  G od provides the wind, Man must raise the sail. ~ Augustine   T herefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the coming of Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Peter 1:13

  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