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EASTER (1976) Jesus the Christ He is risen He is alive History now has a future As well as a past That heavy stone Has been rolled away That we might witness An already empty tomb Hope bursts and floods Upon and within our hearts And the adversary is powerless To halt the triumph of truth Dead men who once stinketh Continue to come forth And so we become Lazaruses all Oh ye that weep Mourn no more THe Author of Easter Living still Is in full charge Alleluia. Amen.
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FAMILY BLESSINGS An ancient prophet has written... "Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always... Pray in your families unto the Father always in my (Christ's) name, that your wives and your children may be blessed." As we ponder these words, we think about and feel concern for many an American family today...torn with anger, bitterness, strife, and division. And, while the answers cannot always be simplistic, certainly there must be better alternatives than continuous discord and divorce. Prayer, individually, and as a family, can change the direction and future of our family and our lives. Would you be blessed this night? Pray over your wives and children...and you will be blessed. HUMILITY It would seem that, as we might seek to enhance our inner character or enrich the lives of others, there is on area in which most persons of good will paradoxically, and ironically, take great pride in, and that's in the area of...humility. "Humility," wrote Andrew Murray, "is perfect quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted, or vexed, or irritated, or sore, or disappointed. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me." "It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, or when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble." Perhaps we should we adopt or accept this definition of humility, then our road toward humility would appear to be a long one. It's comforting to know that we do not travel the road alone. COUNTING VALENTINE Shortly after St. Valentine's day, last month, (April, 2013), I was lying in bed trying to go to sleep. Couldn't do it. So, I decided I would try counting the valentines I had received this year. "One...." Well, I soon discovered that wasn't going to put me to sleep, so I just laid there, hoping I might somehow fall asleep, when these two thoughts somehow entered my mind... You underestimate the goodness of God You underestimate the love of God (Wow! Don't we all) PALM SUNDAY (1978) We lay our palms down, dear Lord We cast them in your way We shout hosannas loud, dear Lord Don't you love our grand display What, dear Lord, desert you Never, never, nay Just listen how we praise you Just listen how we pray We shall deny you, dear Lord Before the cock crows thrice? But, that's already been done once, Lord And it wasn't very nice Don't you want our palms, dear Lord We thought you'd be impressed Are all our words vain repetitions And all our gestures merely jest You mean there's still a cross to bear There's still a bitter cup? And we must join you at Calvary If we're to sit with you and sup? Then let us go with thee, dear Lord With courage and stout heart And see the Cross as not the end But simply as a start Of something good SAINTS ALIVE Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to venerate a dead saint than a live one? Have you ever wondered why? Perhaps the answer lies within these words by an unknown author, taken from a card from St. Sephen's Church in Philadelphia... "Why were the saints, saints? Because they were cheerful when it was difficult to be cheerful, Patient when it was difficult to be patient; and because they pushed on when when they wanted to stand still, and kept silent when they wanted to talk, and were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable That was all. It was simple and always will be." Many are called to be saints... but few are chosen. MAJESTIC CALMNESS History teaches us many lessons. Here is one that is for sure...the fiercest of storms shall pass. Storms, both physical and mental, have been used over and over again by God to get us to turn that spiritual corner whereby we may abruptly, and joyously, come upon Him face to face. Storms may come and take away our home, our family, our health, and our wealth. But the God of love is with us still, and shall abide. And with the simple raising of his hand and with his eloquent utterance, "Peace be still," the storms will stop and there will be calmness and quietness within our hearts and within our souls. And we can pick up the pieces of our lives, and start over again. Confidently. Cheerfully. One step at a time. Only through the storms in our lives may we more deeply appreciate the majestic calmness of his love. IN STILLNESS In stillness... We may hear the robins sing We may let our thoughts take wing We may rest from labors done We may count the victories won We may prepare for another day We may encourage our souls to pray We may polish up our shields We may seek the higher fields In stillness, we may...slow down and...love THE LAST WORD An unknown author has written, "If you really way the last word in an argument, try saying... "I guess you're right." Just think how many hot, searing words might have been squelched, how many heartaches avoided, how many marriages saved had the embattled and embittered participants been taught to say..."I guess you're right." A hot fire is often easily doused when at least one of the verbal combatants offers a conciliatory remark. (I guess I'm right. Right? Oh, no, I beg your pardon. You're right.) GO ON THROUGH In one of his novels, Lloyd Douglas has one of his characters offering the following counsel... "For your comfort my son, let me tell you that I have laid hold upon a truth powerful enough to sustain me until I die. I know in spite of all the painful circumstances I have met, my course is upward. I know that the universe is on my side. I have been detained at times, but eventually I go on through." We may glean at least two powerful thoughts from Mr. Douglas' counsel. First, our "course is upward" and second, "eventually [we] go on through." At times, our mountains appear unclimbable and unconquerable. But given enough faith, patience, persistence, and time, our mountains may be overcome. If we are willing to continue putting one foot in front of the other and if we are willing yo to continually bend our knees, we shall discover that our course is indeed upward. And with the Lord's help, we shall... "Go on through." |
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