My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.
~ Albert Einstein
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Success is Simple
Success is simple. Do what's right, the right way, at the right time.
A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.
All some folks want is their fair share and yours.
An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.
Expecting something for nothing is the most popular form of hope.
Fear is the lengthened shadow of ignorance.
Improvement begins with I.
Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.
Live so that your friends can defend you but never have to.
One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.
Telling a teenager the facts of life is like giving a fish a bath.
The fewer the facts, the stronger the opinion.
The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.
What the country needs are a few labor-making inventions.
~ Arnold H. Glasow
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors
/a/arnold_h_glasow.html
A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down.
All some folks want is their fair share and yours.
An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.
Expecting something for nothing is the most popular form of hope.
Fear is the lengthened shadow of ignorance.
Improvement begins with I.
Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.
Live so that your friends can defend you but never have to.
One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.
Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.
Telling a teenager the facts of life is like giving a fish a bath.
The fewer the facts, the stronger the opinion.
The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.
What the country needs are a few labor-making inventions.
~ Arnold H. Glasow
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors
/a/arnold_h_glasow.html
Monday, August 28, 2006
God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved
Isaiah 45:22-23 NRS 22 Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself I have sworn, from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: "To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."
Ephesians 2:11-22 NRS 14 For [Jesus] is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. … 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.)
1 Timothy 2:1-6 NRS 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all-- this was attested at the right time.
Ephesians 2:11-22 NRS 14 For [Jesus] is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. … 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.)
1 Timothy 2:1-6 NRS 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all-- this was attested at the right time.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The Alien and the Stranger
NRS Exodus 12:48 If an alien who resides with you wants to celebrate the passover to the LORD, all his males shall be circumcised; then he may draw near to celebrate it; he shall be regarded as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it;
NRS Exodus 12:49 there shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you.
NRS Exodus 22:21 You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
NRS Exodus 23:9 You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
NRS Exodus 23:12 Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have relief, and your homeborn slave and the resident alien may be refreshed.
NRS Leviticus 16:29 This shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall deny yourselves, and shall do no work, neither the citizen nor the alien who resides among you.
NRS Leviticus 18:26 But you shall keep my statutes and my ordinances and commit none of these abominations, either the citizen or the alien who resides among you
NRS Leviticus 19:10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.
NRS Leviticus 19:33 When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien.
NRS Leviticus 19:34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
NRS Leviticus 23:22 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the LORD your God.
NRS Leviticus 24:22 You shall have one law for the alien and for the citizen: for I am the LORD your God.
NRS Leviticus 25:47 If resident aliens among you prosper, and if any of your kin fall into difficulty with one of them and sell themselves to an alien, or to a branch of the alien’s family,
NRS Leviticus 25:48 after they have sold themselves they shall have the right of redemption; one of their brothers may redeem them,
NRS Leviticus 25:50 They shall compute with the purchaser the total from the year when they sold themselves to the alien until the jubilee year; the price of the sale shall be applied to the number of years: the time they were with the owner shall be rated as the time of a hired laborer.
NRS Numbers 9:14 Any alien residing among you who wishes to keep the passover to the LORD shall do so according to the statute of the passover and according to its regulation; you shall have one statute for both the resident alien and the native.
NRS Numbers 15:14 An alien who lives with you, or who takes up permanent residence among you, and wishes to offer an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the LORD, shall do as you do.
NRS Numbers 15:15 As for the assembly, there shall be for both you and the resident alien a single statute, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you and the alien shall be alike before the LORD.
NRS Numbers 15:16 You and the alien who resides with you shall have the same law and the same ordinance.
NRS Numbers 15:29 For both the native among the Israelites and the alien residing among them-- you shall have the same law for anyone who acts in error.
NRS Numbers 15:30 But whoever acts high-handedly, whether a native or an alien, affronts the LORD, and shall be cut off from among the people.
NRS Numbers 19:10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. This shall be a perpetual statute for the Israelites and for the alien residing among them.
NRS Numbers 35:15 These six cities shall serve as refuge for the Israelites, for the resident or transient alien among them, so that anyone who kills a person without intent may flee there.
NRS Deuteronomy 1:16 I charged your judges at that time: "Give the members of your community a fair hearing, and judge rightly between one person and another, whether citizen or resident alien.
NIV Deuteronomy 5:14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.
NRS Deuteronomy 10:19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
NRS Deuteronomy 23:7 You shall not abhor any of the Edomites, for they are your kin. You shall not abhor any of the Egyptians, because you were an alien residing in their land.
NRS Deuteronomy 24:17 You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge.
NRS Deuteronomy 24:19 When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings.
NRS Deuteronomy 24:20 When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.
NRS Deuteronomy 24:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.
NRS Deuteronomy 25:5 When brothers reside together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage, and performing the duty of a husband's brother to her,
NRS Deuteronomy 26:1 When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it,
NRS Deuteronomy 26:2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.
. . .
NRS Deuteronomy 26:5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.
NRS Deuteronomy 27:19 "Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice." All the people shall say, "Amen!"
NRS Joshua 8:33 All Israel, alien as well as citizen, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.
NRS Joshua 8:34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, blessings and curses, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
NRS Job 29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban.
NRS Job 29:15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame.
NRS Job 29:16 I was a father to the needy, and I championed the cause of the stranger.
NRS Job 29:17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous, and made them drop their prey from their teeth.
NRS Job 31:32 the stranger has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler—
NRS Jeremiah 7:5-7 5 For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, 7 then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.
NRS Jeremiah 22:3 3 Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.
NRS Ezekiel 22:6-7 6 The princes of Israel in you, everyone according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. 7 Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within you suffers extortion; the orphan and the widow are wronged in you.
NRS Ezekiel 22:29 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery; they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the alien without redress.
NRS Zechariah 7:9-10 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; 10 do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.
NRS Malachi 3:5 5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.
NRS Matthew 25:31 - 26:1 31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 45 Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Egypt, Assyria and Israel
Isaiah 19:17-25 - "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage."
17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the plan that the LORD of hosts is planning against them. 18 On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun. 19 On that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior, and will defend and deliver them. 21 The LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the LORD on that day, and will worship with sacrifice and burnt offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing; they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their supplications and heal them.
23 On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage."
NRS Exodus 12:49 there shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you.
NRS Exodus 22:21 You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
NRS Exodus 23:9 You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
NRS Exodus 23:12 Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have relief, and your homeborn slave and the resident alien may be refreshed.
NRS Leviticus 16:29 This shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall deny yourselves, and shall do no work, neither the citizen nor the alien who resides among you.
NRS Leviticus 18:26 But you shall keep my statutes and my ordinances and commit none of these abominations, either the citizen or the alien who resides among you
NRS Leviticus 19:10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.
NRS Leviticus 19:33 When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien.
NRS Leviticus 19:34 The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
NRS Leviticus 23:22 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the LORD your God.
NRS Leviticus 24:22 You shall have one law for the alien and for the citizen: for I am the LORD your God.
NRS Leviticus 25:47 If resident aliens among you prosper, and if any of your kin fall into difficulty with one of them and sell themselves to an alien, or to a branch of the alien’s family,
NRS Leviticus 25:48 after they have sold themselves they shall have the right of redemption; one of their brothers may redeem them,
NRS Leviticus 25:50 They shall compute with the purchaser the total from the year when they sold themselves to the alien until the jubilee year; the price of the sale shall be applied to the number of years: the time they were with the owner shall be rated as the time of a hired laborer.
NRS Numbers 9:14 Any alien residing among you who wishes to keep the passover to the LORD shall do so according to the statute of the passover and according to its regulation; you shall have one statute for both the resident alien and the native.
NRS Numbers 15:14 An alien who lives with you, or who takes up permanent residence among you, and wishes to offer an offering by fire, a pleasing odor to the LORD, shall do as you do.
NRS Numbers 15:15 As for the assembly, there shall be for both you and the resident alien a single statute, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you and the alien shall be alike before the LORD.
NRS Numbers 15:16 You and the alien who resides with you shall have the same law and the same ordinance.
NRS Numbers 15:29 For both the native among the Israelites and the alien residing among them-- you shall have the same law for anyone who acts in error.
NRS Numbers 15:30 But whoever acts high-handedly, whether a native or an alien, affronts the LORD, and shall be cut off from among the people.
NRS Numbers 19:10 The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. This shall be a perpetual statute for the Israelites and for the alien residing among them.
NRS Numbers 35:15 These six cities shall serve as refuge for the Israelites, for the resident or transient alien among them, so that anyone who kills a person without intent may flee there.
NRS Deuteronomy 1:16 I charged your judges at that time: "Give the members of your community a fair hearing, and judge rightly between one person and another, whether citizen or resident alien.
NIV Deuteronomy 5:14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.
NRS Deuteronomy 10:19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
NRS Deuteronomy 23:7 You shall not abhor any of the Edomites, for they are your kin. You shall not abhor any of the Egyptians, because you were an alien residing in their land.
NRS Deuteronomy 24:17 You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge.
NRS Deuteronomy 24:19 When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings.
NRS Deuteronomy 24:20 When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.
NRS Deuteronomy 24:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.
NRS Deuteronomy 25:5 When brothers reside together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage, and performing the duty of a husband's brother to her,
NRS Deuteronomy 26:1 When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it,
NRS Deuteronomy 26:2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.
. . .
NRS Deuteronomy 26:5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.
NRS Deuteronomy 27:19 "Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice." All the people shall say, "Amen!"
NRS Joshua 8:33 All Israel, alien as well as citizen, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.
NRS Joshua 8:34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, blessings and curses, according to all that is written in the book of the law.
NRS Job 29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban.
NRS Job 29:15 I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame.
NRS Job 29:16 I was a father to the needy, and I championed the cause of the stranger.
NRS Job 29:17 I broke the fangs of the unrighteous, and made them drop their prey from their teeth.
NRS Job 31:32 the stranger has not lodged in the street; I have opened my doors to the traveler—
NRS Jeremiah 7:5-7 5 For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, 7 then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.
NRS Jeremiah 22:3 3 Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.
NRS Ezekiel 22:6-7 6 The princes of Israel in you, everyone according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. 7 Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within you suffers extortion; the orphan and the widow are wronged in you.
NRS Ezekiel 22:29 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery; they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the alien without redress.
NRS Zechariah 7:9-10 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; 10 do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.
NRS Malachi 3:5 5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.
NRS Matthew 25:31 - 26:1 31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' 45 Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Egypt, Assyria and Israel
Isaiah 19:17-25 - "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage."
17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the plan that the LORD of hosts is planning against them. 18 On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of the Sun. 19 On that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the center of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt; when they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior, and will defend and deliver them. 21 The LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians; and the Egyptians will know the LORD on that day, and will worship with sacrifice and burnt offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. 22 The LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing; they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their supplications and heal them.
23 On that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage."
A Heavy Heart
Like vinegar on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood,
sorrow gnaws at the human heart.
~ Proverbs 25:20 NRSV
NRS Notes (Pro 25:20)
(1) Gk: Heb Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, like vinegar on lye
(2) Gk Syr Tg: Heb lacks Like a moth . . . human heart
Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood,
sorrow gnaws at the human heart.
~ Proverbs 25:20 NRSV
NRS Notes (Pro 25:20)
(1) Gk: Heb Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, like vinegar on lye
(2) Gk Syr Tg: Heb lacks Like a moth . . . human heart
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Sickness and Healing
Sometimes God takes the sickness away from us.
Sometimes God takes us away from the sickness.
~ Ann, August 2006
Sometimes God takes us away from the sickness.
~ Ann, August 2006
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Charles Barkley quotes
Barkley quotes from Phil Sheridan:
Phil Sheridan, Inquirer Columnist
"Note to Barkley: Go for the White House"
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Sun, Jul. 30, 2006
www.philly.com
He once famously said that the guys who pumped gas when he was growing up all voted Democratic, and they were still pumping gas.
Recently, in explaining his decision to switch to the Dem side, he said: "I was a Republican until they lost their minds."
...
Barkley makes Harry Truman look gun-shy about speaking his mind, because Barkley figured out what neither party seems to grasp: "Only half the people are going to like you anyway; the half that don't like you need a life."
Some other gems, culled from clintcam.com/barkley and then checked against other sources:
"You get two rich guys arguing over who's conservative and who's liberal - and you go: Now they just argued for an hour, and nothing got solved."
"You're voting for who'll do the best for you, and I don't like that system. You should vote to help everybody."
"Hey, we can't even get black coaches in the NFL. You think we gonna have a black president?"
"You know how you can tell politics is corrupt? President Bush is going to raise $250 million for a job that pays $400,000. Now tell me there isn't something wrong there."
"I don't have time to put up with... politics. Who's a Democrat? Who's a Republican? Who's liberal? Who's conservative? Man, can my daughter just go to a school and not get killed?"
...
"I've got a technique," Barkley once said of his prodigious rebounding skills. "It's called just go get the damn ball."
Phil Sheridan, Inquirer Columnist
"Note to Barkley: Go for the White House"
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Sun, Jul. 30, 2006
www.philly.com
Good God!
~a shawl maker’s prayer~
By Janet Bristow
6-2005
Good God!
Guide me through the
knots,
kinks,
dropped stitches,
split yarn,
shredded fringe,
dye lot mismatches,
pattern mistakes,
errors,
and the myriad other “issues” that get in the way of my centeredness!
Help me to see that these annoyances:
knotted emotions,
kinked plans,
dropped dreams,
split relationships,
shredded hopes,
mismatched friendships,
mistaken assumptions,
errant goals
are actually metaphors of life!
As I knit through the creation of the shawl,
I gratefully acknowledge and accept the imperfections,
weaving them into my prayers and intentions for the one who will be
wrapped in and
blessed by it all!
By Janet Bristow
6-2005
Good God!
Guide me through the
knots,
kinks,
dropped stitches,
split yarn,
shredded fringe,
dye lot mismatches,
pattern mistakes,
errors,
and the myriad other “issues” that get in the way of my centeredness!
Help me to see that these annoyances:
knotted emotions,
kinked plans,
dropped dreams,
split relationships,
shredded hopes,
mismatched friendships,
mistaken assumptions,
errant goals
are actually metaphors of life!
As I knit through the creation of the shawl,
I gratefully acknowledge and accept the imperfections,
weaving them into my prayers and intentions for the one who will be
wrapped in and
blessed by it all!
A Communion Prayer of St. John Chrysostom
I stand before the gates of thy Temple,
and yet I refrain not from my evil thoughts.
But do thou, O Christ my God,
who justified the publican,
and had mercy on the Canaanite woman,
and opened the gates of Paradise to the thief;
open unto me the compassion of thy love toward mankind,
and receive me as I approach and touch thee,
like the sinful woman and the woman with the issue of blood;
for the one,
by embracing thy feet received the forgiveness of her sins,
and the other
by but touching the hem of thy garment was healed.
And I, most sinful, dare to partake of thy whole Body.
Let me not be consumed but receive me as thou did receive them,
and enlighten the perceptions of my soul,
consuming the accusations of my sins:
through the intercessions of Her that, without stain,
gave Thee birth,
and of the heavenly Powers;
for thou art blessed unto ages of ages.
Amen
and yet I refrain not from my evil thoughts.
But do thou, O Christ my God,
who justified the publican,
and had mercy on the Canaanite woman,
and opened the gates of Paradise to the thief;
open unto me the compassion of thy love toward mankind,
and receive me as I approach and touch thee,
like the sinful woman and the woman with the issue of blood;
for the one,
by embracing thy feet received the forgiveness of her sins,
and the other
by but touching the hem of thy garment was healed.
And I, most sinful, dare to partake of thy whole Body.
Let me not be consumed but receive me as thou did receive them,
and enlighten the perceptions of my soul,
consuming the accusations of my sins:
through the intercessions of Her that, without stain,
gave Thee birth,
and of the heavenly Powers;
for thou art blessed unto ages of ages.
Amen
23rd Psalm for Recovering Alcoholics
The Lord is my sponsor, I shall not want.
He makes me to go to many meetings.
He leads me to sit back, relax, and listen with an open mind,
He restores my soul, my sanity, and my health.
He leads me in the path of sobriety, serenity, and fellowship for my own sake.
He teaches me to think, to take it easy, to live and let live, and do first things first.
He makes me more humble and grateful.
He teaches me to accept the things I cannot change,
to change the things I can,
and gives me the wisdom to know the difference.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of despair, frustration, guilt, and remorse,
I will fear no evil.
For Thou are with me; your program, your way of life, your twelve steps, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies:
rationalization, fear, anxiety, self-pity, resentment.
You anoint my confused mind and jangled nerves with knowledge, understanding, and hope.
No longer am I alone; neither am I afraid, nor sickened, nor helpless, nor hopeless.
My cups runs over.
Surely sobriety and serenity shall follow me every day of my life,
one day at a time, twenty-four hours at a time.
As I surrender my will to You and carry Your message to others,
I will dwell in the house of Higher Power, as I understand him,
one day at a time, forever and ever.
Amen
~ Author Unknown
He makes me to go to many meetings.
He leads me to sit back, relax, and listen with an open mind,
He restores my soul, my sanity, and my health.
He leads me in the path of sobriety, serenity, and fellowship for my own sake.
He teaches me to think, to take it easy, to live and let live, and do first things first.
He makes me more humble and grateful.
He teaches me to accept the things I cannot change,
to change the things I can,
and gives me the wisdom to know the difference.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of despair, frustration, guilt, and remorse,
I will fear no evil.
For Thou are with me; your program, your way of life, your twelve steps, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies:
rationalization, fear, anxiety, self-pity, resentment.
You anoint my confused mind and jangled nerves with knowledge, understanding, and hope.
No longer am I alone; neither am I afraid, nor sickened, nor helpless, nor hopeless.
My cups runs over.
Surely sobriety and serenity shall follow me every day of my life,
one day at a time, twenty-four hours at a time.
As I surrender my will to You and carry Your message to others,
I will dwell in the house of Higher Power, as I understand him,
one day at a time, forever and ever.
Amen
~ Author Unknown
17th Century Nun's Prayer
Lord Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and every occasion.
Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs.
Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all,
but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;
give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains,
but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet.
I do not want to be a Saint - some of them are so hard to live with - but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people.
And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
~ Amen
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and every occasion.
Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs.
Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all,
but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;
give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains,
but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet.
I do not want to be a Saint - some of them are so hard to live with - but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people.
And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
~ Amen
One Day At A Time
One day at a time,
with its failures and fears,
With its hurts and mistakes,
with its weakness and tears,
With its portion of pain
and its burden of care;
One day at a time
we must meet and must bear.
One day at a time
to be patient and strong;
To be calm under trial
and sweet under wrong;
Then its toiling shall pass
and its sorrow shall cease;
It shall darken and die,
and the night shall bring peace.
One day at a time—
but the day is so long,
And the heart is not brave,
and the soul is not strong,
O Thou merciful Christ,
be Thou near all the way;
Give me courage and patience
and strength for the day.
~ Author Unknown
with its failures and fears,
With its hurts and mistakes,
with its weakness and tears,
With its portion of pain
and its burden of care;
One day at a time
we must meet and must bear.
One day at a time
to be patient and strong;
To be calm under trial
and sweet under wrong;
Then its toiling shall pass
and its sorrow shall cease;
It shall darken and die,
and the night shall bring peace.
One day at a time—
but the day is so long,
And the heart is not brave,
and the soul is not strong,
O Thou merciful Christ,
be Thou near all the way;
Give me courage and patience
and strength for the day.
~ Author Unknown
Words For It
I wish I could take language
and fold it like cool, moist rags.
I would lay words on your forehead.
I would wrap words on your wrists.
“There, there,” my words would say—
or something better.
I would ask them to murmur,
“Hush” and “Shh, shhh, it’s all right.”
I would ask them to hold you all night.
I wish I could take language
and daub and soothe and cool
where fever blisters and burns,
where fever turns yourself against you.
I wish I could take language
and heal the words that were the wounds
you have no names for.
~ Julia Cameron
The Artist’s Way
and fold it like cool, moist rags.
I would lay words on your forehead.
I would wrap words on your wrists.
“There, there,” my words would say—
or something better.
I would ask them to murmur,
“Hush” and “Shh, shhh, it’s all right.”
I would ask them to hold you all night.
I wish I could take language
and daub and soothe and cool
where fever blisters and burns,
where fever turns yourself against you.
I wish I could take language
and heal the words that were the wounds
you have no names for.
~ Julia Cameron
The Artist’s Way
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Jesus Christ Delivers Us From Death
Jesus, for us and for our salvation, was crucified, dead, and laid in a new tomb. He descended into hell.
At the sight of Jesus, the bolts of hell were broken, the gates shattered, graves opened up, and the dead were raised. Jesus defeated the power of death to redeem us and transform us and restore us to the relationship with God that we were meant to have at creation. He extended His hands and brought together all that had been divided. He showed His power by His actions when He unbound those who had been held captive.
The prophet Isaiah witnessed to your Glory, saying “The dead shall rise, and those in the graves shall awake, and all earthly creatures shall rejoice.”
Blessed are You, Jesus Christ our deliverer. Through you, Adam was recalled to life, the curse was annulled, Eve was set free, death was put to death, and we were made alive. Therefore we proclaim, “Blessed are You, Christ our God, for You have willed it so; glory to You!”
~ Author Unknown
At the sight of Jesus, the bolts of hell were broken, the gates shattered, graves opened up, and the dead were raised. Jesus defeated the power of death to redeem us and transform us and restore us to the relationship with God that we were meant to have at creation. He extended His hands and brought together all that had been divided. He showed His power by His actions when He unbound those who had been held captive.
The prophet Isaiah witnessed to your Glory, saying “The dead shall rise, and those in the graves shall awake, and all earthly creatures shall rejoice.”
Blessed are You, Jesus Christ our deliverer. Through you, Adam was recalled to life, the curse was annulled, Eve was set free, death was put to death, and we were made alive. Therefore we proclaim, “Blessed are You, Christ our God, for You have willed it so; glory to You!”
~ Author Unknown
Praying for Healing
Sometimes God takes the disease away from us.
Sometimes God takes us away from the disease.
~ Ann
Sometimes God takes us away from the disease.
~ Ann
Love Heals
A woman went with her husband to the doctor's surgery. After the husband's check up the doctor called the wife into the consulting room.
He said, "Your husband is suffering from a very serious disease, combined with considerable stress. If you don't do the following your husband will die. Each morning you need to be pleasant to him, encourage him and get out of bed early enough to sit down to breakfast with him. Chat with him and don't go on about YOUR stress; this will make him feel worse. When he gets home at night don't burden him with chores but instead give time to him to join him in a hobby he really enjoys. Let him see how much you love him by giving him and his needs the priority in your life. If you can do this for at least ten months, I think your husband will regain his health completely."
On the way home, the husband asked his wife, "What did the doctor say to you?"
"You're going to die." she said.
He said, "Your husband is suffering from a very serious disease, combined with considerable stress. If you don't do the following your husband will die. Each morning you need to be pleasant to him, encourage him and get out of bed early enough to sit down to breakfast with him. Chat with him and don't go on about YOUR stress; this will make him feel worse. When he gets home at night don't burden him with chores but instead give time to him to join him in a hobby he really enjoys. Let him see how much you love him by giving him and his needs the priority in your life. If you can do this for at least ten months, I think your husband will regain his health completely."
On the way home, the husband asked his wife, "What did the doctor say to you?"
"You're going to die." she said.
Mother Teresa: Forgetting What Is Human Love
From her Third World perspective caring for the poor of India for sixty years, this is what Mother Teresa wrote about the West:
"People today are hungry for love, for understanding love, which is ... the only answer to loneliness and great poverty. That is why [our sisters] are able to go to the needy west, countries like England and American and Australia, where there is no hunger for bread. But there people are suffering from terrible loneliness, terrible despair, terrible hatred, feeling unwanted, feeling helpless, feeling hopeless. They have forgotten how to smile, they have forgotten the beauty of the human touch. They are forgetting what is human love."
Desmond Doig
Mother Teresa, Her People and Her Work
London: Collins, 1976, p. 159
"People today are hungry for love, for understanding love, which is ... the only answer to loneliness and great poverty. That is why [our sisters] are able to go to the needy west, countries like England and American and Australia, where there is no hunger for bread. But there people are suffering from terrible loneliness, terrible despair, terrible hatred, feeling unwanted, feeling helpless, feeling hopeless. They have forgotten how to smile, they have forgotten the beauty of the human touch. They are forgetting what is human love."
Desmond Doig
Mother Teresa, Her People and Her Work
London: Collins, 1976, p. 159
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