Like Little Children

People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

--Luke 18:15-17 (NIV)

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Loving the Rose's Thorns

MY PEACE AND MY JOY.


How many souls on earth there are,

Who vainly seek for peace and rest!

With me, tis otherwise by far;

Joy dwells forever in my breast.

No fading blossom is this flower,

Of its decay no fear have I;

Like fragrant rose in springtime's bower

So fair it is, yet shall not die.


Well nigh too great my gladness is,

All things I wish are mine to-day.

How can I help but show my bliss,

Who am so light at heart, so gay?

My joy I find in pain and loss,

I love the thorns that guard the rose;

With joy I kiss each heavy cross,

And smile with every tear that flows.


When clouds the sunny skies o'ercast,

And weary grows my heart the while,

My joy it is that joy is past,

And gone my Lord's consoling smile.

My peace is hid in Jesus' breast, --

May His sweet will alone be done!

What fear can mar my perfect rest,

Who love the shadow as the sun?


My peace,'tis like a child to be,

That doth not plan, nor understand;

So, when I fall, Christ raiseth me,

And leads me gently by the hand.

My childish love I manifest,

And for His grace alone implore;

Then, if He hide, my love to test,

I only love Him all the more.


My peace, it is to hide my tears,

Nor ever show my bitter pain.

What joy to suffer through the years;

To veil with flowers each galling chain!

To suffer, yet make no complaint,

Since this, my Jesus, pleases Thee!

Could any trial make me faint?

'Tis Thy sweet cross is laid on me.


My peace,-- it is with God to plead,

In prayers and tears, by day and night;

For many souls to intercede,

And say to Him, my heart's Delight:

"O Little Brother, Heavenly King!

For Thee the cross I gladly bear.

My only joy is suffering,

Since thus Thy earthly lot I share."


I long would live an exile here,

If that be Thy dear will for me;

Or soon would flee from exile drear,

If thou shouldst call me unto Thee.

Since Love's divine, celestial breath

Is all I need, my heart to bless,

What matters life, what matters death?

Love is my peace, my happiness!

January 21, 1897

--from Poems of Sr. Therese by Therese of Lisieux

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Imagining Heaven

What will Heaven be like? What will we do when we first gaze on the face and open arms of our savior welcoming us home? None of us know; we can only imagine it.



--MercyMe - I Can Only Imagine

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Only Going Through The Motions

How long do we have left on this earth? Wouldn't it be sad to get to the end of our sojourn here only to find that our faith was lukewarm at best? Do we only go through the motions in our Christianity or are we living in a way that may bring a smile to Christ's lips when we finally come home?



--Matthew West - The Motions

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Pressure Point

My mini-van astonished the mechanic. Actually, only one of the tires did, but I'm sure my vehicle was playing another of its famous jokes on him. It's sneaky that way.

Think I'm crazy? Why then will the overdrive light come on randomly when I have never touched the switch? How come the fuse cover on the driver's side will act like it has snapped back into place and then pop off for no reason? Why does the CD player act like my disc is scratched when it's really blemish free? I tell you, my car has a naughty streak.

The prank my Mazda pulled on the mechanic went like this. I mentioned that my right, front tire had only about 30 pounds of pressure according to the gauge I had used and refused to take more. The tires are rated at 32 PSI, and since my other tires were a bit higher than that he lowered them down before moving to the last one. He also noted that for some reason they all tended to look a little low even with the recommended amount. When he went to put air in the right, front one, though, he jumped back. The tire already had at least 50 PSI of air pressure in it! With that much pressure on a tire with a much lower rating I'm thankful it didn't blow in all my traveling.

Of course, I don't really believe my mini-van has a mischievous nature. Like all mechanical objects it just has a few quirks. But I do think the incident with the tire has a spiritual application.

Our daily lives are full of stressful situations that tend to build up within us an internal pressure. Sometimes we are aware of the strain and find a way to "let off steam" as the saying goes. Yet many of us, myself included, get so wrapped up in our ministries or careers that we are clueless of how high the pressure level inside us is getting. On the outside we might seem normal, and in some cases a bit low or even lethargic, until the right button is accidentally pushed. Suddenly, we blow, and often the victims of the blast are our family, friends, or co-workers.

So what's the solution? What I've discovered is that when I find myself too busy to spend time with God that that is a pretty accurate gauge that I'm carrying around too much pressure. Spending time in Bible study, meditation on His ways and truths, and prayer on a daily basis tends to reduce that pressure to acceptable levels. Am I completely stress and strain free? Hardly. But maintaining my quiet time with God helps keep a balance and provides the perspective I need to not allow internal pressures to rise too high.

Is my mini-van really out to get me? No, but the stresses of the world will unless I turn them over to God daily and let Him balance me out.

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