Topic(s): God

When God conceived the world, that was poetry. He formed it, and that was sculpture. He colored it, and that was painting. He peopled it with living beings, and that was the grand, divine, eternal drama. - David Belasco (1853-1931)

“...that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God” - Exodus 8:10

Unforgiveness, in Stone

Topic(s): Forgiveness

Visitors to Rome all want to see the Piazza Navona with Bernini’s great Fountain of the Four Rivers. Two of the figures have their arms cast across their eyes. Legend says Bernini did it to express his disdain for the work of Borromini in the Church of Saint Agnes. Returning the favor, Saint Agnes expresses her opinion of the fountain with her arms flung outward and her face turned away. Our hardened hearts are sometimes as unlikely to open to forgiveness as these carved monuments. Let’s let the love of Christ melt them.

“Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed” - 1 Samuel 2:3; cf. Isaiah 13:11; Matthew 5:44-48

You Do It.

Topic(s): God

God “...seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures. He commands us to do slowly and blunderingly what He could do perfectly and in the twinkling of an eye” - C.S. Lewis

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God - 1 Peter 4:10; cf. Matthew 25:15; Psalm 24:1

Interesting View

Topic(s): Faith

Thomas Jefferson said, “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.” God‘s writers put it this way: “But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day...To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some”
- Joshua 23:8; 1 Corinthians 9:22

They Know a Lot about Giving

Topic(s): Blessings, Love

Answering a knock on the door of his African hut a missionary found a native boy holding a up a large fish. The boy said, “Preacher, you taught us to give at least one tenth, so here—I’ve brought you my tenth.” As the missionary gratefully took the fish, he questioned the young lad. “Where are the other nine fish?” At this, the boy beamed and said, “Oh, they’re still back in the river. I’m going back to catch them now.” That’s faith (cf. Malachi 3:10)!

Another African boy listened carefully as the teacher explained why Americans give presents to each other on holidays. “The gift is an expression of our friendship for each other,” she said. When the next holiday came, the boy brought the teacher a sea shell of lustrous beauty. “Where did you ever find such a beautiful shell?” the teacher asked. The youth told her that there was only one spot where such extraordinary shells could be found—a certain bay several miles away. “Why...why, it’s gorgeous,” said the teacher. “But you shouldn’t have gone all that way to get a gift for me.” His eyes brightening, the boy answered, “Long walk part of gift” (read 2 Samuel 24:24).

“Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty…” - Proverbs 3:9,10

Shut-Out and Missed Out

Topic(s): Blessings

When I was a boy growing up outside of New York City, I was an avid fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In fact, I have not yet quite forgiven them for moving west. The archenemy in my childhood was the New York Yankees. I had seen them only on television and heard them only on the radio until I was invited by my father to skip school and to go to the World Series game between the Yankees and the Dodgers. I’ll tell you, it was one of the great thrills of my childhood. I remember sitting there, smelling the hot dogs and hearing the cheers of the crowd and the feel of it all. I knew those Dodgers were going to shellac those Yankees once and for all. Unfortunately the Dodgers never got on base, so my thrill was shattered. I tucked it away somewhere in my unconscious until, as an adult, I was in a conversation with one of these fellows who was a walking sports almanac. I mentioned to him when I went to my first major league game. I said, “It was such a disappointment. I was a Dodger fan and the Dodgers never got on base.” He said, “You were there? You were at the game when Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in all of World Series history?” I said, “Yeah, but, uh, we lost.” I was so caught up in my team’s defeat that I missed out on the fact that I was a witness to a far greater page of history. Sometimes we can miss some of life‘s best days because they did not turn out just as we had scripted them. Let‘s be flexible and enjoy God‘s daily blessings — expected, and unexpected. - Leith Anderson

“Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments” - Psalm 119:37

Lesson from the Barnyard

Topic(s): Humor, Prayer

A farmer was paid a visit by one of his city relatives. Before dinner the farmer bowed his head and said grace. His sophisticated relative jeered, “This is old-fashioned; nobody with an education prays at the table anymore.” The farmer admitted that the practice was old and even allowed that there were some on his farm who did not pray before their meals. Justified, the relative remarked, “So enlightenment is finally reaching the farm. Who are these wise ones?” The farmer replied, “My pigs.”

“For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving” - 1 Timothy 4:4