THOUGHTS TO PONDER

The door to happiness opens outward,
and the harder you pull it to yourself,
the more tightly you close the door. Sören Kierkegaard
 

... remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said,
'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

Acts 20:35b

"You see," said Aslan, They will not let us help them.  They have chosen
cunning instead of belief.  Their prison is only in their minds, yet they are in
that prison, and so afraid of being taken in that they cannot be taken out.


C.S. Lewis in The Last Battle, Harper Collins Publishers LTD, London England 
 

With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: 
'You shall indeed hear but never understand,
and you shall indeed see but never perceive. 

Mat 13:14 

Why is it that some people do not bear fruit? 
It is because the have no trust either in God or themselves. Meister Eckhart
 

He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 
'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, 
and gathering where you did not winnow; 
so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' 

Matthew 25:14-30 

Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck leads the flock to fly and follow. Chinese proverb   
 

For you remember our labor and toil, brethren; we worked night and day, that we might
not burden any of you, while we preached to you the gospel of God. 
You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our behavior
to you believers; for you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each 
one of you and encouraged you and charged you to lead a life worthy of God, who calls you
into his own kingdom and glory. 
1 Thess 2:9-12

The material needs of my neighbor are my spiritual needs. 
Rabbi Israel Salanter, quoted in the  New York Review
 

And he answered them, "He who has two coats,
let him share with him who has none; 
and he who has food, let him do likewise."
Luke 3:11

Earth's crammed with heaven, 
and every common bush afire with God,
but only [those] who see take off [their] shoes.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh, Bk V11 1  
 

And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; 
and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning,
yet it was not consumed. 

And Moses said, "I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the 
bush is not burnt." 
 
When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of 
the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here am I." 
 
Then he said, "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for 
the place on which you are standing is holy ground." 
Exodus 3:2-5

In Alice in Wonderland, Alice came to a fork in the road. 
She asked the Cheshire Cat for advice:
 
" Cheshire-Puss -- would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here? " 
" That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. 
" I don't much care where, " said Alice. 
" Then it doesn't matter which way you go, " said the Cat. 
 

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, 
that I have set before you life and death, 
blessing and curse;
therefore choose life,
that you and your descendants may live,
Deut. 30:19

C.S. Lewis once asked:
If you were accused of being a Christian,
would there be enough evidence to convict you?
 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; ...
Gal. 5:22-23a 

Two men looked out from
 prison bars.
One saw mud, one saw stars. 
                           (unknown)
 

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John 10:10b

The Gospel is meant to permeate, not dominate.

And if any one will not receive you or listen to your words,
shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.
Matt. 10:14

One night the king was roused from a deep sleep by a loud stamping and stomping on his roof.
Alarmed, he shouted, "Who's there?"
The answer from the roof was: "A friend, I've lost my camel."
The King was perturbed by such stupidity and shouted back, "You fool! Why are you looking for a camel on a roof?"
The voice from the roof answered: "You fool! Why are you looking for God in silk clothing, and lying on a golden bed?" (PARABLES, ETC. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), Jan 1996)

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Mark 10:25

Were there no room for doubt, there would be no room for faith, either. (Frederick Buechner)

Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."
John 20:29

There were five frogs sitting on a log. Four decided to jump off. How many were left?
.....Five. Deciding is not the same as doing.

So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. James 2:17

Funny how God always agrees with me when I pray and study alone,
but often disagrees with me when I pray and study with others. (source unknown)

Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Romans 14:19

God is not done creating you, and wants your cooperation!

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Psalms 51:10

You do not have to change for God to love you. God loves you so you can change!

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

If you do not talk to your children about God then they will learn about Him on the street-corner.

but Jesus said,"Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14

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