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The Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Creator, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

#poetry #prayers

Beauty is unbearable. It drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time. But we do not have that consolation. 'Why this, not that?' is the question. Why this woman? Why that job? Why not that woman? Why not that job? Why do we have the eagerness to live in limbs that are destined to rot? For most men the approach of dinner, the arrival of a letter, or the smile of a passing girl are enough to get around it, but the man who digs into ideas finds that being face to face with the fact of death gives rise to disgust and revulsion and this revolt of the body is what we call nausea.

- Albert Camus

Love

LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back, Guilty of dust and sin. But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack From my first entrance in, Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning If I lack'd anything.

'A guest,' I answer'd, 'worthy to be here:' Love said, 'You shall be he.' 'I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear, I cannot look on Thee.' Love took my hand and smiling did reply, 'Who made the eyes but I?'

'Truth, Lord; but I have marr'd them: let my shame Go where it doth deserve.' 'And know you not,' says Love, 'Who bore the blame?' 'My dear, then I will serve.' 'You must sit down,' says Love, 'and taste my meat.' So I did sit and eat.

George Herbert (1593-1633)

#poetry

Sinful Man

By Buddy Greene

It's so easy to be a gossip It's so easy to betray my friends And it's easy to make it excuses But it's so hard to confess my sins. And it's simple to receive forgiveness To understand God takes away my sins Yes, it's simple to believe in Jesus But it's so hard to follow Him For He goes where I don't want to follow And He gives impossible commands. And though I put him off until tomorrow Still He loves me, this sinful man. I'm so quick to offer sagely advice And I'm quick to offer public prayer In the middle of these pious offerings, I'm often caught unaware By hidden attitudes of doubt and pretense That only underscore my unbelief And once again I cry for grace and mercy And once again He offers sweet relief Still He goes where I don't want to follow And He gives impossible commands. And though I put him off until tomorrow Still He loves me, Oh Jesus loves me, Though I'm sinful man.

#poetry

"There Is A River" by Jars of Clay

There is a river that washes you clean, There is a tree that marks the places you've been. Blood that was spilled, although not your own, For all of your tears, are the wages for things you have done.

And all of those nights Spent alone in the darkness of your mind, Give it up, let go! These are things you were never meant to shoulder!

There is a river that washes you clean, There is a tree that marks the places you've been. Blood that was spilled, although not your own, For all of those tears, love will atone.

So, give up the right To control the waves that empty out your life. Above wild skies Are the rays that break the shadows we design.

Give it up, let go! These are things you were never meant to shoulder! Give it up, let go!

I know the world can turn in different ways; Most of the time, we're simply hanging on. And under the signs of how we all behave We might find the place that we belong.

There is a river that washes you clean, There is a tree that marks the places you've been. Blood that was spilled, although not your own, For all of these things, love will atone.

For all of those nights, that you cried all alone, All of your tears, love will atone!

#poetry

The days of the years of our lives are few, and swifter than a weaver's shuttle. Life is a short and fevered rehearsal for a concert we cannot stay to give. Just when we appear to have attained some proficiency, we are forced to lay our instruments down. ~ A. W. Tozer

Betrayals forgiven, now free to love.

#Original poetry #sixwordmemoir

Do Christians believe animals died before the fall?

"...Lucifer’s rebellion was a cosmic event, and it had cosmic effects. We need to remember that Adam joined a rebellion that was already underway. In addition, the biblical record seems to indicate that the Garden was a special place, unlike the rest of the world. If animal death existed prior the fall of the original couple, then this might explain the necessity of the Garden. This would also shed light on God’s mandate to Adam and Eve that they were to make the rest of the world look like Eden. Unfortunately, they failed their mission miserably. Thank God for the Second Adam, Who succeeded where the first Adam did not (1 Cor 15:22, 45)!"

From http://betweenthetimes.com/index.php/2015/01/06/was-there-animal-death-before-the-fall/

Stewardship means...

1. Everything I have has been given and assigned to me by God, and therefore belongs to God. This includes my abilities, possessions, income, relationships, influence, and time. (Deut 8:18, John 3:27, James 1:17, 1 Cor 4:7, 1 Chron 29:12)

2. I will be held accountable for how I manage my assignments for God’s kingdom. These are not given primarily for my enjoyment or consumption, but for his glory and use. (Rom. 14:12, Matt 25:14-30, 1 Pet 4:4-5)

3. My assignment with these is always temporary. Everything given to me by God will some day return to him or be transferred to the next steward. (Rom 14:8, Job 1:21)

4. My provision and needs are always met by the Lord. Though the primary method of this provision comes through faithfulness in work, the results for this work are ultimately up to the Lord, not me. (Phil 4:19, 1 Pet 5:6-7, Matt 6:33, Rom 8:32)

Matthew 6 by Makoto Fujimura

Stones

I found a wall on my walk. A wall in the woods wandering Its way between the trees. A wall made of stones stacked upon each other, Each long, flat, & pale.

Why?

Why is there a wall on my walk Here in the woods, these stones Sleeping as if they've always slept here? They don't know -- or don't care -- who's hands it was That stacked the stones lives ago. All that work, it must've meant something To pull and pile all these here.

Stones.

Before they slept here they were bones Of the earth, resting in a river bed, Or lying under a layer of soft soil, comfy. But now they're not like other rocks. Why? They have purpose here -- or had.

In many places the wall has fallen, Stones tumbled down like children Who've rolled out of bed but are still asleep. What will wake these stones?

Was the wall a boundary, like the skin of a farm To keep a man's land from bleeding into another? Maybe it was made to keep cattle in, To keep them from becoming another man's cattle Or swallowed up by the wild.

The men are gone. The cattle are gone. The stones don't know -- or don't care. They sleep on. Can anything wake them?

#original poetry

Such Love! That God should love a sinner such as I, Should yearn to change my sorrow into bliss, Nor rest till He had planned to bring me nigh, How wonderful is love like this! That Christ should join so freely in the scheme, Although it meant His death on Calvary, Did ever human tongue find nobler theme Than love divine that ransomed me? That for a wilful outcast such as I, The Father planned, the Savior bled and died; Redemption for a worthless slave to buy, Who long had law and grace defied. And now He takes me to His heart—a son, He asks me not to fill a servant’s place; The “Far-off country” wand’rings all are done, Wide open are His arms of grace. Such love, such wondrous love, Such love, such wondrous love, That God should love a sinner such as I, How wonderful is love like this!

#hymn poetry

Allegiance

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. "By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. "They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone are deliverance and strength.’ ” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭45‬:‭22-24‬)

#scripture

Water into Wine

John 2:1-12. Jesus came not just to fix our brokenness. He came to make our best times better.

“None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning--either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of Summer.”

#art #narnia

The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt (1669)

#art #painting

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