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 |    We live much of life amid unique choices. Joy is anchored in The One beyond our life. |
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“There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. . . . Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord. . . .” ― Charles Spurgeon “Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths.” ― C. H. Spurgeon “Hope itself is like a star- not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity.” ― Charles Haddon Spurgeon “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.” ― Charles Spurgeon “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” ― Charles Spurgeon “Visit many good books, but live in the Bible.” ― Charles Spurgeon “When your will is God's will, you will have your will.” ― Charles Spurgeon https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2876959.Charles_Haddon_Spurgeon (Philippians 2:13, KJV)    |
The ancient man with knowledge great approached the rabbi rather late. He wanted to be right with God. He hoped his life would shine for laud. But Jesus questioned what he knew. “Be born again or you are through. “Be born of water and the wind if hope of kingdom you would find.” “How can this be? I do not know,” as wondered Nicodemus so. “You are a master in the land, yet these things you don’t understand?” “I speak of earthly things to teach you truth of Heaven, Heart to reach. “Remember Moses’ serpent pole. The cross I’ll bear with make you whole.” “For God so loved the broken world, His gave His Son as flag unfurled, “that anyone believing Him would live, not perish in his sin.” Salvation comes not through my skill. It’s the Gift of God by His own will. To let Him work, I need release my trying and my hopes to please. Surrender means my heart is “Yes!” The Savior works my heart to bless. Believing trusts the Surgeon’s Hand. My future’s saved by His dear Plan. by Jay O’Toole on April 22nd, 2019 |
| The past six weeks have been a time of growth and endurance. Giving up the daily creation of blog entries for this personal profile blog has required the discipline of just saying, "No," to the impulse of trying to maintain a perfect record of blog entries, since I began on November 5th, 2016 as I recall. Before Lent, 2019 I had created blogs most days for over nearly two and half years, missing less than a dozen days, purely by oversight. Giving up this prideful status has reminded me that The Lord's Name is worthy of Glory, not my own. Now, I will try to maintain my blog posts as often as possible for the purpose of doing Him honor. Giving up coffee and drinking only tea has been a matter of self-discipline. At least I was permitted to avoid the "no caffeine headache," that I've been forced to endure at other points in my life, but I has required me to drink probably twice to three times as much tea in order to maintain the caffeine levels. Refusing myself coffee has made for adjustments in my social events. Going to coffee shops with friends is a major respite in my life. During Lent I have learned to drink tea lattes and chai tea when I'm in a coffee shop, which has felt a little bit outside of the Comfort Zone. What is the first lesson, that I've learned from Lent, 2019? Jesus gave up His life for the humans of Humanity, many of whom still to this day do not stop to appreciate just what His sacrifice meant. I, on the other hand, had the much simpler task of giving up two simple things for the benefit of my spirit's growth, while it is fully appreciated by Jesus, the One, Who made me to grow to be like Him. I'll close for today because I feel like I'm starting to ramble, but I hope to add more thoughts about Lent in the up-coming days. This has truly been a learning experience for me, since I'm not catholic, nor am I part of the truly reformed denominations, like Methodist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran. My background is Baptist. My forebears often lived out in the wilderness, even in caves to stay away from the debate between the aforementioned parties. This means, that even this Baptist has been challenged to learn from the disciplines, that give groups, like the Methodists their very name. Finally, for now, I started back writing a poem each day at the first of April to coincide with NaPoWriMo, aka National Poetry Writing Month. If you would like to catch up with what I have been doing, during the April section of Lent, then you can find that here. https://jesusislord.video.blog (It's a Word Press blog. The web address looks a little funny, since it includes the word, "video" of which I have none, but this was the only format currently that was free. Previously, the free ones had the suffix, ".wordpress.com.") Anyhow, that's for what's it's worth. by Jay O'Toole on April 22nd, 2019 |
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