augustine

"man. . .but a particle of Thy creation"

"Thou awakest us
to delight in Thy praise;
for Thou madest us for Thy self,
and our heart is restless,
until it repose in Thee."

"For who is the Lord
but the Lord?
or who is God
save our God?
Most highest, most good, most potent, most omnipotent;
most merciful, yet most just;
most hidden, yet most present;
most beautiful, yet most strong;
stable, yet incomprehensible;
unchangeable, yet all-changing;
never new, never old;
all-renewing, and bringing age upon the proud,
yet they know it not.;
ever working, ever at rest;
still gathering, yet nothing lacking;
supporting, filling, and overspreading;
creating, nourishing, and maturing;
seeking, yet having all things.
Thou lovest, without passion;
art jealous, without anxiety;
repentest, but grievest not;
art angry, yet serene;
changest Thy words, Thy purpose unchanged;
receivest again what Thou findest,
yet didst never lose;
never in need, yet rejoicing in gains;
never covetous, yet exacting usury.
Thou receivest over and above, that Thou mayest owe,
and who hath aught that is not Thine?
Thou payest debts, owing nothing;
remittest debts, losing nothing.

"Behold, Lord, my heart is before Thee;
open Thou the ears thereof,
and say to my soul,
I am thy salvation."

recent reading

i have recently read two books which were a great encouragement to me. one was roots of endurance by john piper. the other was not by chance by layton talbert.

both are sober yet joyful reading, substantial encouragement for anyone facing any difficulty.

to leave or not to leave

yesterday my husband read me a quote from an article in "today's christian preacher". the section of the article from which he quoted dealt with the need for a minister to be careful not to leave a ministry too hastily.

i read the article for myself, and here is the gist of the quote, "many times the advice of a small representative group of spiritual leaders can accurately reflect the church's sense of God's will in the matter." however, the author cautions, "care should be taken to make sure the input is not just from a small 'anti-pastor' group of men vocal enough to make it seem that they represent the majority. i feel sure that many a pastor has left his church feeling that most of the people wanted him to leave even though the great majority of the congregation was deeply disappointed by his departure."

the author was john dodd. the creative capitalization is my own.

power

electric power
horse power
fire power
atomic power

the power of the tongue,
the spoken word,
or the written word

some say that gossip is powerful

but infinitely more
is the power of the resurrection

rhyme

i found this quote at this site:

"William Stafford (I think, maybe) wrote that in a fundamental way, all words rhyme because any two words are more like each other than they are like silence."

self-righteousness

consider this:

the Pharisee of the Pharisees
was also
the chief of sinners.

part 3: leprosy and me

so there was a spot,
red and inflamed,
that burned within my soul.
it was more than skin deep.
it penetrated to the very core of my being.

envy raged
as i compared my lot
with others'.
why do they prosper
and succeed,
i wondered in frustration,
when i am silenced
and ignored?


why does he get more prominence?
why is she recognized?

as i identified my problem
and saw the probable diagnosis
--bitter jealousy,
selfish ambition,
arrogance,
self-deception.

i went to the priest
for counsel,
hoping against hope.
but in the quiet moments of solitude
i recognized the infection that raged in my soul.
i knew the rebellion against God.
i saw the uncleanness,
the defilement.
i despaired.
how could i be cured?

the priest looked on me.
"you are unclean," he gravely said.
something within me tore in grief,
and i covered my mouth
and the word tore from my heart:
"unclean!"
and i went through the streets
aware of my isolation
even when in the midst of the crowd.

but i knew of a Man,
they said He had power
to cure and to cleanse.

so i went to Him,
begging for mercy.
and He looked on me
with unfathomable compassion.

He healed me
with His word,
making me pure,
peaceable,
gentle,
reasonable
full of mercy,
full of goodness,
steadfast,
unpretentious.

He is the bird slain in the running water,
the cedar is His cross,
the hyssop is the bitterness of His sufferings for me,
the scarlet thread is the spilling of His blood--
but i am the bird set free in the field.

He is the offering for my sin, my guilt, my peace.

to Him i dedicate my entire being--
heart, soul, mind, and strength!