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So beautiful
Apr. 13th, 2010 10:55 amLike water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.
2 Samuel 14:14
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Apr. 9th, 2007 10:14 pmDo not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4:29
He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
Proverbs 17:9
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
First Peter 2:1
...Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
I Corinthians 10:12
Ephesians 4:29
He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
Proverbs 17:9
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
First Peter 2:1
...Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
I Corinthians 10:12
Last Wednesday night at church several people in the row in front of me got into an argument about whether angels ever have six wings. Kimi thought they did, but her husband thought they didn't. Kimi vaguely remembered a passage she'd read somewhere in the old testament about angels with six wings...
...and from somewhere in the recesses of my mind words came to me that I had memorized a long, long time ago in seventh grade Bible School. Isaiah 6:
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
That is some of the most poetic and magestic language I've heard in a good while. No wonder it stayed with me.
(I was Kimi's heroine for the evening; I'm not sure her husband liked me that much, though. *grin*)
...and from somewhere in the recesses of my mind words came to me that I had memorized a long, long time ago in seventh grade Bible School. Isaiah 6:
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
That is some of the most poetic and magestic language I've heard in a good while. No wonder it stayed with me.
(I was Kimi's heroine for the evening; I'm not sure her husband liked me that much, though. *grin*)
A serious post, and a long one (sorry!)
Jan. 27th, 2004 01:17 pm(All quotes in the NIV, that being the translation I happen to have handy right now)
A few days ago I read Ecclesiastes (though I still haven't learned to spell it without looking it up). I guess I've never read it through start to finish before. I expected it to be pessimistic and depressing--all is vanity, pleasure is meaningless, toil is meaningless, wisdom is meaningless--but in the end I found it inspiring.
I find it comforting to read what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? I'm not nessisarily afraid of change, but I do find comfort knowing that all the terrors the world seems to hold today are the same old things people have dealt with for thousands of years. Somehow it makes it easier to know I'm not the first one, or the only one. It's nothing new.
The subject of wisdom is hard to understand in Ecclesiastes. In one place it says, For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. That's true in a way. There are things I wish I didn't know. Often it's more painless to be ignorent. But then it says I saw that wisdom is better then folly... which is also true. But both wisdom and folly are equally meaningless without the knowledge of Christ. That's really the only kind of wisdom that's worth anything. I like knowledge, I like to learn, but it IS meaningless if I don't have Christ. It is a good thing (Wisdom brightens a man's face...), but only with God.
As with wisdom, pleasure is meaningless in and of itself. But with God comes pleasure! I'm so glad for that. Being a Christian doesn't mean being miserable on earth in order to gain eternal Joy...we can be happy here, and have glimpses and sometimes more then glimpses of Joy, when we have God. A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness... And a few verses later, That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God. Thank you, Lord!
God has told us about eternity, but it's so hard to comprehend. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. If only we could really, really "get" it...how different we'd be. If I really looked at people and saw eternal souls, how COULD I care what they thought of me when I told them about my faith? How could I be self conscience talking of my God? How could I hold back because of my fear?
The Godly man seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart. I wish I could stay filled with the goodness of God, so that I had no room for worry. I should be. I have enough blessings, that if I only remembered them all, I couldn't help but forget my fears.
On contentment: When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Hard to consider, but true.
A good name is better then fine perfume. Not as good--BETTER then Chanel No. 5! I hope that someday Marie can be more pleasant and fragrant then something like that. It should be, although I'm far too flawed to live up to that yet. I know some people whose very name brings up images of goodness and beauty; to be around these individuals is to be in the presence of something precious and lovely. I want to be one of those. It's depressing to think how far I have to go...how many times I've failed, all the things I need to rectify to make my name stand for something good and comely. All the times I've been petty and mean and cross can be erased, but it'll take time, and hard work, and trials, and lots and lots of God's help. I can't even begin without Him.
A few days ago I read Ecclesiastes (though I still haven't learned to spell it without looking it up). I guess I've never read it through start to finish before. I expected it to be pessimistic and depressing--all is vanity, pleasure is meaningless, toil is meaningless, wisdom is meaningless--but in the end I found it inspiring.
I find it comforting to read what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? I'm not nessisarily afraid of change, but I do find comfort knowing that all the terrors the world seems to hold today are the same old things people have dealt with for thousands of years. Somehow it makes it easier to know I'm not the first one, or the only one. It's nothing new.
The subject of wisdom is hard to understand in Ecclesiastes. In one place it says, For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. That's true in a way. There are things I wish I didn't know. Often it's more painless to be ignorent. But then it says I saw that wisdom is better then folly... which is also true. But both wisdom and folly are equally meaningless without the knowledge of Christ. That's really the only kind of wisdom that's worth anything. I like knowledge, I like to learn, but it IS meaningless if I don't have Christ. It is a good thing (Wisdom brightens a man's face...), but only with God.
As with wisdom, pleasure is meaningless in and of itself. But with God comes pleasure! I'm so glad for that. Being a Christian doesn't mean being miserable on earth in order to gain eternal Joy...we can be happy here, and have glimpses and sometimes more then glimpses of Joy, when we have God. A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness... And a few verses later, That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil--this is the gift of God. Thank you, Lord!
God has told us about eternity, but it's so hard to comprehend. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. If only we could really, really "get" it...how different we'd be. If I really looked at people and saw eternal souls, how COULD I care what they thought of me when I told them about my faith? How could I be self conscience talking of my God? How could I hold back because of my fear?
The Godly man seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart. I wish I could stay filled with the goodness of God, so that I had no room for worry. I should be. I have enough blessings, that if I only remembered them all, I couldn't help but forget my fears.
On contentment: When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Hard to consider, but true.
A good name is better then fine perfume. Not as good--BETTER then Chanel No. 5! I hope that someday Marie can be more pleasant and fragrant then something like that. It should be, although I'm far too flawed to live up to that yet. I know some people whose very name brings up images of goodness and beauty; to be around these individuals is to be in the presence of something precious and lovely. I want to be one of those. It's depressing to think how far I have to go...how many times I've failed, all the things I need to rectify to make my name stand for something good and comely. All the times I've been petty and mean and cross can be erased, but it'll take time, and hard work, and trials, and lots and lots of God's help. I can't even begin without Him.
