Quotes from C. S. Lewis:
"Dozens of people go to Him to be cured of some particular sin which they are ashamed of or which is obviously spoiling daily life (like bad temper, drunkenness). Well, He will cure it all right: but He will not stop there. That may be what you asked, but if you once call Him in, He will give you the full treatment....
"He didn't come to change us into nice people, but new people. He is the painter and we are the painting. He is the inventor, we are only the invention. He knows what we can be and has given His Son to make our transformation possible. His goal for us is higher than we can imagine for ourselves. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.....
"Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who needs to lay down his arms....
"For mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons: not simply to produce better men of the old kind but to produce a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and higher, but like turning a horse into a winged creature."
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Journal Entries
1st Day. Monday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the middle of the road. I fell into it. I cried out, "Please help me, God. I didn't know the hole was there." He helped me find the way out.
2nd Day. Tuesday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the middle of the road. I fell into it. I
cried out, "Please help me. God. I didn't realize the hole was still there. Somebody should have repaired it. So it's not my fault!" He helped me find the way out.
3rd Day. Wednesday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the the middle of the road. I fell into it. I cried out, "Please help me, God. This is all my fault. I knew it was there, but I fell into it anyway." He helped me find the way out.
4th Day. Thursday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the middle of the road. I squeezed around it and went on into town praising God!
5th Day. Friday. I went to town. I took another road.
2nd Day. Tuesday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the middle of the road. I fell into it. I
cried out, "Please help me. God. I didn't realize the hole was still there. Somebody should have repaired it. So it's not my fault!" He helped me find the way out.
3rd Day. Wednesday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the the middle of the road. I fell into it. I cried out, "Please help me, God. This is all my fault. I knew it was there, but I fell into it anyway." He helped me find the way out.
4th Day. Thursday. I went to town. There was a big hole in the middle of the road. I squeezed around it and went on into town praising God!
5th Day. Friday. I went to town. I took another road.
Holiness
I've just noticed how Psalm 111 and Psalm 112 relate to each other. What a blessing this is!
Look at how the attributes of God listed in Psalm 111 are also listed as the attributes of righteousness people in Psalm 112!
I especially love verse 2 of 111: "Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them."
I am going to ponder more these days -- I do take great delight in them --
This morning's sunrise was another glorious expression of His beautiful works -- It reminded me of Emily Dickinson's poem:
"I'll tell you how the sun rose,--
A ribbon at a time,
The steeples swam in amethyst,
The news like squirrels ran.
The hills untied their bonnets,
The bobolinks began.
Then I said softly to myself,
'That must have been the sun!'"
The birds were so joyous this morning. They were heralding the new day, too! I think God notices how much we need a new leaf, a clean slate, a new beginning-- each day.
And I remember the saying from my younger years, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life!"
Thank you, LORD, for this new day! I really needed it!
Look at how the attributes of God listed in Psalm 111 are also listed as the attributes of righteousness people in Psalm 112!
I especially love verse 2 of 111: "Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them."
I am going to ponder more these days -- I do take great delight in them --
This morning's sunrise was another glorious expression of His beautiful works -- It reminded me of Emily Dickinson's poem:
"I'll tell you how the sun rose,--
A ribbon at a time,
The steeples swam in amethyst,
The news like squirrels ran.
The hills untied their bonnets,
The bobolinks began.
Then I said softly to myself,
'That must have been the sun!'"
The birds were so joyous this morning. They were heralding the new day, too! I think God notices how much we need a new leaf, a clean slate, a new beginning-- each day.
And I remember the saying from my younger years, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life!"
Thank you, LORD, for this new day! I really needed it!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Obedience
From Moby Dick, by Melville:
Before Ishmael leaves for his voyage, he hears a sermon on Jonah. In words full of foreboding,
Father Maple warns, "And if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists."
Before Ishmael leaves for his voyage, he hears a sermon on Jonah. In words full of foreboding,
Father Maple warns, "And if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves; and it is in this disobeying ourselves, wherein the hardness of obeying God consists."
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