A Treasure of Serendipity Thoughts

Every week I leave with you some sort of handout hoping that it might stimulate your thinking and perhaps even encourage some discussion.

I share a lot of quotations with you because I think the amount of wisdom packed in some short quotations surprising and even at times astonishing. I find it interesting, and I perhaps you’ll also agree; often we are likely to find insightful and even reverent “treasure” in some surprising places.

Perhaps John 3:16, that states, “God so loved the world” which would include all of humanity, gives us a clue as to how so many have a degree of “light” we can benefit from. No one is wise enough by themselves. Sometimes one single ray of light will energize the whole mental life of the one who receives it

I hope you enjoy, share, discuss and find some inspiration with stimulated thought in the following “found gems of thought”. Al T.

• The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives. Albert Einstein

• Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them. Aristotle

• He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Jim Elliot

• Memory is a child walking along the seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things. Pierce Harris

• If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.
Dalai Lama

• Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson

• I know God promises not to give me more than I can handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much.
Mother Teresa

• We are building may splendid churches in this country, but we are not providing leaders to run them. I would rather have a wooden church with a splendid parson, than a splendid church with a wooden parson. ... Samuel Smith Drury

Shalom

Let's Think About Thinking

Many are unaware that they possess a capacity for deep thought reflection. By using and developing this capacity facts and insights that one has not been able to realize will begin to evolve and develop. The more one practices meditation the more the capacity to think improves and this is possible for everyone. One just has to realize that it’s good for the brain and soul to reflect and meditate and then set aside a period of time each day for it.

God has created everything with a purpose; and someone who does not think will be distant from important truths about life and themselves and live a life in self-deception and error.

Here are a few thoughts from deep thinkers:

The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Truth never damages a cause that is just. Mohandas K. Gandhi

The best leaders are those most interested in surrounding themselves with assistants and associates smarter than they are. Amos Parrish... Educator

"What you do not like done to you, do not to others - this is the entire Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and learn." Hillel the Elder

"Reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what is read ours." John Locke

May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God

You Don't Break God's Law It Breaks You

“The time is coming when people won't listen to good teaching. Instead, they will look for teachers who will please them by telling them only what they are itching to hear. They will turn from the truth and eagerly listen to senseless stories.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (CEV)

With years of decline and decay in the mainline churches across the country; and with having .so many of the past three or four generations of pastors refusing or avoiding using the power of the pulpit to preach or discuss what the Bible says about politics; we presently have Christians who no longer examine things in the light of Scripture.

I can somewhat empathize with those Christians who prefer to keep things apolitical or who are uncomfortable discussing the subject; however, it is foolishness to say that we should not discuss politics in church. I hope many are now able to see the results of this dereliction of church duty.

My point in this is; our economic crisis is a spiritual or ethical crisis. In this age of the apostate church;                 “God's people suffer for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6)

The Eighth Commandment (Exodus 20:15), God tells us not to steal. We are now suffering from an administration that presided over a regime that stole from we the people, not just in the tax structure but in many other deceptive ways without conscience or any fear of consequences.

This same administration resumed a war via lies, lies, (check Exodus 20:15 again) and more lies, that another relative administration started against a nation that had done nothing to us. I am talking about Iraq. “Do not contend with a man without cause, if he has done you no harm.” (Proverbs 3:30) Did that or this war have God's blessing? Do I need quote Exodus 20:13? “Thou shall not murder”

For quite some time we have put entirely too much emphasis on earthly power and politics. Christ tells us to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:33) He was put to death by people who had “no king but Caesar.” (John 19:15) I ask you; are any of the mighty “super power” nations that relied on the above mentioned emphasis still in existence? It looks to me that history backs up the teachings of the Bible.

If anyone finds this short discourse painful or difficult, let me finish by reiterating the opening statement of this paper =2 Tim: 3-4; we are in those times. I recognize that Bible preaching is uncomfortable; but today we can find a church that preaches to our itching ears rather than against our sins.

   Shalom                 

Billy Graham's Prayer for the Nation

Our Father and Our God, we praise You for Your goodness to our nation, giving us blessings far beyond what we deserve. Yet we know all is not right with America. We deeply need a moral and spiritual renewal to help us meet the many problems we face. Convict us of sin. Help us to turn to You in repentance and faith. Set our feet on the path of Your righteousness and peace. We pray today for our nation's leaders. Give them the wisdom to know what is right, and the courage to do it. You have said, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." May this be a new era for America, as we humble ourselves and acknowledge You alone as our Savior and Lord. This we pray in Your holy name, Amen

SPIRITUAL HUGS

“SPIRITUAL HUGS”

This blog is dedicated to Myrtle Eppler. Myrtle was one of the founders of Vermilion Foursquare Church and eventually also became pastor of the church. Presently, at a vivacious 93 years of age, she is still helping others discover the fullness and glory of God by teaching a Sunday school class at Amherst Family Fellowship Foursquare Church.
I am a great admirer of Lorain’s own, Helen Steiner Rice (1900-1981), often referred to as the "poet laureate of inspirational verse.” I believe you will agree that the following poem by Helen Steiner Rice helps express the sentiments of the many fortunate of us who know Myrtle Eppler.
As the years go hurrying by, I pause and think anew
How fortunate I was to meet a kind, wise friend like you.
And I am but one of many who owe a lot to you,
For all the help you've given, and time and effort too.
And this is just a welcome chance to tell you that you've won
The real success in life for the fine things you have done.

Myrtle made reference to all the “spiritual hugs” she has received over the years. I thought this was such a pleasantly quaint way of speaking of blessings that go unnoticed everyday by many of us.
An example in my own case happened just yesterday. I was working on getting my old tractor started just in case I needed it for some unexpected reason (and let me add here that I’m not mechanically inclined) and lo and behold I was, with my very limited skill, successful. As I see it, definitely a spiritual hug.

As you and I look back on our lives I bet we can find many small events that while it may look like happenstance, or something born of lucky chance was indeed a “spiritual hug.”
Here then is another poem and some scripture I think appropriate to this paper’s theme:
Thank You God for little things that often come our way. The things we take for granted but don't mention when we pray. The unexpected courtesy, the thoughtful, kindly deed. A hand reached out to help us in the time of sudden need.Oh, make us more aware, dear God; of little daily graces, that come to us with a “spiritual hug,” from never-dreamed-of places.

• Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits... Psalms 68:19

• Hunble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he mar exalt you in due time; Casting all your care upon him: for he careth for you.... 1Pet. 5: 6-7

I pray the hope and joy of ..Shalom.. for you and yours

CROWDS,NOISE,---SILENCE,SOLITUDE

When you have been in a large crowd of people or when you think of loud places that you have been in what comes to mind? How does it make you feel to be in that sort of situation? Do you like the feeling of excitement of being in a crowd? What about noise? Do you need the TV on continuously (watching it or not); or a radio turned on if the TV isn't available; or a player of sorts plugged in the ear when out walking or waiting? Do you prefer the loudest bands; the noisiest restaurants; the loudest activities etc? Do you suspect that you may have a noise addiction? Now let's talk about quiet places briefly. What comes to mind for you? How do quiet places make you feel? More thoughtful? Peaceful? Or do you find silence too intimidating? I think of quiet places as being on a trail in the mountains or woods; or Ritter library in Vermilion; I rise well before daybreak and enjoy morning quiet in my study room at home; St. Anthony's in Lorain has small chapel on the lake behind their Church that offers solitude and silence that I visit regularly; Agudath B'nai Synagogue, also in Lorain, has an upstairs study room that induces insightful contemplation for me; Elmwood cemetery in Lorain has many old trees in it and I find that I'm able to find a sense of solitary that is quite mindful for me there also. I have also the very good fortune of having an association with the Quakers who reside at Kendal in Oberlin, and silence is a predominate part of their tradition in all their spiritual activities and decisions. So much for all of that.......
........Now let's continue to look again at a portion of Mark 1:29-39.........
32. That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33. the whole town gathered at the door, 34and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. 35. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36. Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37. And when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" 38. Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else-to the nearby villages-so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39. So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Jesus rose a long while before daylight and went out to a place where He would be free from distraction and spend time in prayer. In other words you could say He opened His ear each morning to receive instructions for the day from God the Father (read Isaiah. 50:4, 5). If the Lord Jesus felt the need of this early morning quiet time; if Jesus needed to go to a deserted place to pray, as He often did, how much more should you and I! Notice too that He prayed when it cost Him something; He rose and went out a long while before daylight. Prayer should not be a matter of personal convenience but of self-discipline and sacrifice. Does this explain why so much of our Church service is ineffective? Note also vs. 36, 37 it says that by the time Simon and the others got up, the crowd was gathered outside the house again. The disciples went to tell the Lord of the rising popular sentiment. Surprisingly, (vs. 38) He did not go back to the city, but took the disciples into the surrounding towns, explaining that He must preach there also. Why did He not return to Capernaum? The reasons, as I learned them from a minister of the Gospel that I respect, were, He had just been in prayer and had learned what God wanted Him to do that day. He realized that the popular movement in Capernaum was shallow. The Savior was never attracted by large crowds. He looked below the surface to see what was in their hearts. And He knew the peril of popularity and taught the disciples by His example to beware of such. He consistently avoided any superficial, emotional demonstration that would have put the crown before the cross. His great emphasis was on preaching the Word. To the synagogues (vs. 39) throughout all Galilee Jesus went preaching and casting out demons. Do you also find it interesting to see how often He cast out demons in synagogues? Do you think that the many liberal churches today correspond to these synagogues?

Shalom

LETS TALK ABOUT EVIL SPIRITS

What is this? This is Kanji. The Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system. This four character kanji idiom meaning stands for Akuryou; an evil spirit. *Aku = an evil. = wickedness. wrong. a vice.
*Ryou = the soul. the spirit. spiritual.
Just a few of the adjectives that these characters represent are: bad. evil. wicked. wrong. immoral. inferior. coarse. foul. nasty. miserable. ill. harmful. injurious. rotten. stale. sick. unwell. not well. unfortunate. broken. out of order. ominous. slow. dull. stupid. ugly. inferior. terrible.

Why am I using this? Because our Gospel reading this week (excerpt bottom of this page) again speaks of Jesus casting out unclean spirits; and I couldn’t think of or find a better representative symbol of evil spirits. Maybe I could have considered using some pictures of the people on Wall Street who cared nothing about long-term consequences as long as they could collect their right-now paychecks and brought about great human wreckage to millions; or perhaps I should have picked a few of the greedy, irresponsible corporate executives who also helped bring on the recent economic collapse and suffering. And there certainly is no shortage of corrupt politicians we could use as evil. Or remember the terrorists who killed thousands on 9/11 and more thousands since. Maybe a few child abusers or hypocritical religious leaders could be our example. I thought of Hitler or Stalin. Pol Pot (Cambodia) or Idi Amin (Uganda). Robert Mugabe. (Zimbabwe)..... Need I go on?..... I would greatly appreciate hearing from you as to what you think would be a good visual sign of evil. In the meantime the Akuryou kanji was the best evil spirit sign I could come up with.

Verses 32-34: tells us that He healed many and cast out many demons. It may help to remember in exorcisms the issue is not primarily physical but spiritual. Now, repeating what we said last week; we don't talk much about demons these days; we've outgrown that kind of talk, haven't we! But we have not outgrown the reality. If you think that the word demonic is too extreme, do as I suggested last week, read your newspaper or watch the evening news. If you can't find something demonic there, especially after the above suggestions, I would recommend asking prayer for the faculty of discernment. I believe when we read a story in the Bible about Jesus casting out unclean spirits that we should be careful lest we think that was then; and we deny the evil spirit presence in our midst here and now.

I want to talk to you also about verses 35-37 and 38 ..............Next post.


(From Mark 1:29-39; this weeks Gospel reading)

32That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33The whole town gathered at the door, 34and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" 38Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Shalom